Working in Sheltered Employment: A Weekly Diary Study

This study examined the work outcomes of 81 individuals with a physical, cognitive, or psychological disability who worked at a sheltered workshop and filled out a total of 309 weekly questionnaires on 4 or 5 consecutive weeks. In line with the job demands-resources model, multilevel analyses showed that exhaustion was higher as participants experienced more physical demands and higher work load. Work engagement was higher as participants experienced more support and higher autonomy at work. Self-rated productivity was higher as participants experienced higher autonomy, higher work load, and lower mental demands. In addition, week-specific variations in work load contributed to these work outcomes: Weeks with relatively high work load resulted in high work engagement, high exhaustion, and high productivity. Moreover, in line with the person- environment fit theory, a good person-job fit was related to lower exhaustion and to higher work engagement. It is concluded that a good match between the job and the individual's abilities and needs with regard to job demands and job resources will benefit both the productivity and well-being of individuals with a work handicap. In addition, it is concluded that both the job demands-resources model and the person- environment fit theory are well applicable to disabled individuals in sheltered workshops, which contributes to the robustness of both theories.