engleski

Employment as the Major Determinant of Life Satisfaction and Self-perception for People with Physical Disabilities

We live in a society where the value of a person as such is assessed through their work, employment type and income level. However, this is not only related to other’ s evaluations but is in fact relevant in assessments of the self. It seems that images of one’ s self and satisfaction with one’ s life depend on this aspect. For this reason, we endeavored to investigate the influence of employment and income level on self-perception and life satisfaction among a population in which employment is still very difficult to access - people with disabilities. Research showed that employment has a greater importance for a positive self-perception than lower levels of disability. Namely, while those with lower levels of disability think about their capabilities and usefulness in much the same way as those persons with the highest levels of disability, those that are employed feel significantly more useful and capable than those that are unemployed. Likewise, the degree of disability does not have a significant influence on the level of life satisfaction among respondents, while the level of monthly income (e.g., social welfare, disability allowance, etc.) does have an impact in the unemployed group. On average, the employed are more satisfied with their lives than the unemployed but interestingly the level of monthly income in this group does not have a statistically significant effect. Thus, to ensure persons with disabilities self-satisfaction and happiness in society, it is necessary to strongly stimulate their employment.

Employment; Work; Life Satisfaction; Self-perception; People with Physical Disabilities

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