We use longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study to examine what factors
influence employer accommodation of newly disabled workers and how effective such
accommodations are in retaining workers and discouraging disability insurance applications. We
find that only a quarter of newly disabled older workers are accommodated by their employers in
some way following onset of a disability. Importantly, we find that few employer characteristics
explain which workers are accommodated; rather, ...
We use longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study to examine what factors
influence employer accommodation of newly disabled workers and how effective such
accommodations are in retaining workers and discouraging disability insurance applications. We
find that only a quarter of newly disabled older workers are accommodated by their employers in
some way following onset of a disability. Importantly, we find that few employer characteristics
explain which workers are accommodated; rather, employee characteristics, particularly the
presence of certain personality traits correlated with assertiveness and open communication, are
highly predictive of accommodation. This suggests that policies targeting employer incentives
may not be particularly effective at increasing accommodation rates since employers may not
even be aware of their employees need for accommodation. We also find that if employer
accommodation rates can be increased, disabled workers would be significantly more likely to
delay labor force exit, at least for two years. However, we do not find significant effects on the
disability insurance claiming margin.
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