Job Satisfaction of People With Intellectual Disability: Associations With Job Characteristics and Personality.
Give adults with ID more job resources and lighter demands, especially if they are highly conscientious.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Akkerman et al. (2018) asked adults with intellectual disability about their jobs.
They looked at job resources, job demands, age, and the big-five personality traits.
Workers filled out short surveys. The team ran stats to see what predicted happiness at work.
What they found
More job resources and older age raised job satisfaction.
Highly conscientious workers felt worse when job demands were high. Other traits had no clear effect.
How this fits with other research
Geurts et al. (2008) found social support and people skills lift life satisfaction in the same group. Alma's team shows the same idea applies to job satisfaction.
Levin et al. (2014) mapped seven personality clusters linked to aggression. Alma narrows it down: only conscientiousness changes how workers feel about job stress.
In-Lee et al. (2012) meta-analysis shows exercise boosts well-being. Alma adds that everyday job features matter just as much as exercise programs.
Why it matters
You can raise job happiness fast by giving clear tasks, helpful bosses, and the right tools. Watch highly conscientious clients closely; they react strongly to heavy workloads. Shift some demands or add supports for them first.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
To obtain an understanding of factors associated with job satisfaction of people with intellectual disability (ID), this study investigates the associations of job satisfaction with job characteristics (i.e., job demands, job resources) and personality, using the job demands-resources model. Data were gathered from 117 people and their employment support workers, using structured questionnaires adapted from well-established instruments. Job resources and age were positively associated with job satisfaction. Job demands and personality showed no significant direct associations with job satisfaction. Moderation analyses showed that for people with ID with high conscientiousness, enhanced job demands were associated with reduced job satisfaction, which was not the case for those with low conscientiousness. This study emphasizes the importance of job design.
American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2018 · doi:10.1352/1944-7558-123.1.17