Disability management practices in education, hotel/motel, and health care workplaces

BACKGROUND: The high costs and the impact of work disability have become a growing concern for workplaces. As a result, workplace disability management approaches have been developed to lower disability costs, protect the employability of workers, and promote early return to work. METHODS: A stratified random sample of 455 employers in education (n = 157), hotel/motel (n = 110), and health care (n = 188) sectors who completed a mailed Organizational Policies and Practices (OPP) questionnaire is reported. The OPP questionnaire asked questions about eight workplace disability management practices. The article examined the multi-dimensionality, internal consistency, and discriminant validity of the OPP and compares disability management practices across the three sectors. RESULTS: The OPP questionnaire showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.95) and discriminant validity. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for each of the eight subscales demonstrated that there were statistically significant differences between the sectors in ergonomic practices (F (2,452) = 15.8, P < 0.001), disability case management (F (2,452) = 4.6, P < 0.01), return to work (F (2,452) = 10.3, P < 0.001), and people-oriented culture (F (2,452) = 4.5, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: On examining disability management practices in education, hotel/motel, and health care sectors, the OPP seems to be a promising instrument that can be used to assess and monitor how employers are managing disability