People with Disabilities Benefit from the Rise of Remote Work – Center for Retirement Research

The prolonged job boom caused by the pandemic has opened up new job opportunities to keep older Americans with disabilities employed until they are ready to retire.

Remote work has its advantages, including ease of travel, flexibility, and access to a wide range of activities. Older workers took full advantage of this during the crisis, when telework and hybrid work systems began.

From 2018 to 2022, the employment rate increased by 11.6 percent for people between the ages of 51 and 64 with disabilities due to the increase in telecommuting jobs, according to Siyan Liu and Laura Quinby at the Center for Retirement Research, which supports this blog.

Compare that to stagnant employment at the time for workers with disabilities in jobs that cannot work remotely.

But are these benefits real? After all, a strong labor market has helped everyone find a job or a better situation. Workers with disabilities are no different. Many people also report having so-called brain fog, a symptom of prolonged COVID. The increase in the employment of people with disabilities, to some extent, may reflect a shift away from employment by people who are already employed but develop this mental disorder.

However, even when the researchers accounted for these factors, the increase in the employment rate was still high, at 10.4 percent. “Space work benefits older workers with disabilities by allowing them to return to work and others to change jobs instead of leaving the workforce,” they concluded.

They investigated who among the disabled people benefited from this practice. People with prior experience working remotely, even if they haven’t been working recently, have seen significant employment benefits. So are people who are already employed, although they are not far away, which is an indication that they are likely to switch to a flexible job that allows them to work remotely.

Long career increases have given older workers with disabilities more opportunities to continue working and expand their careers. Now that the epidemic has subsided, it should be clear whether this will continue to be a viable option for them.

Reading this in short by Siyan Liu and Laura Quinby, see “Does Remote Work Help Older People with Disabilities?”

The research reported here is derived in whole or in part from research activities conducted pursuant to a grant from the US Social Security Administration (SSA) funded as part of the Retirement and Disability Research Consortium. The opinions and conclusions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or policy of SSA, any federal government agency, or Boston College. Neither the United States government nor any of its agencies, nor any of its employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal responsibility or liability for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of the contents of this report. Reference herein to any particular commercial product, process or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not imply endorsement, recommendation or favor by the United States Government or any agency thereof.