Five-Factor Model of Personality, Work Behavior Self-Efficacy, and Length of Prior Employment for Individuals with Disabilities: An Exploratory Analysis

With the continued lower employment rate for persons with disabilities, researchers are focusing more on barriers to employment that reach beyond functional impairment. Personality and self-efficacy have consistently been important factors when considering employment outcomes for persons without disability; less is known about these factors as they relate to job tenure in samples of people with disabilities. A sample of 56 individuals eligible for vocational rehabilitation services was used to investigate the relationship among personality, work behavior efficacy, and length of prior employment. Results of this study revealed that work behavior efficacy and personality are related to length of prior employment. Personality was found to account for a significant amount of variance in work behavior efficacy, and personality was a stronger predictor of length of prior employment over work behavior efficacy. Specifically, the personality trait "openness" significantly contributed to length of prior employment, and "openness" and "neuroticism" significantly contributed to length of prior employment among persons with low education. A discussion of the dynamic nature of personality as it relates to persons with disabilities and employment is included. (Contains 4 tables.)