2. Are you contemplating one of
these options?
Going back to school
Join or rejoin the workforce
Volunteering
3. Episodic Disabilities
Episodic disabilities are
long-term conditions that are
characterized by periods of
good health interrupted by
periods of illness
or disability. These periods
may vary in severity, length
and predictability from one
person to another.
4. Are We There Yet ?
Preparedness
Readiness
Action Maintenance
5. Historically people have cited a number of reasons for working, including:
• Financial security that contributes to survival and improved quality of life (Schlechter, 1997)
• Enhanced self-esteem which contributes to improved health (Kasl et al. 1975; Linn et al., 1985)
• The opportunity to create a social support system (Roberts et al., 1997; Vinokur et al., 1995).
Benefits of
School
Work an Volunteering
6. Research shows there a number of reasons people living
with HIV and other episodic disabilities have when
considering workforce (re)entry. Some of these reasons
include:
Increased income. For most unemployed people living with
HIV disability income (e.g., Ontario Disability Support
Program (ODSP) or Ontario Works (OW)) Represents only a
fraction of their disability income. Living on disability
resources alone represents an ongoing challenge for many, if
not most, individuals. Financial reasons are often times the
catalyst for individuals living with HIV to return to work
(Arns et al., 2004).
7. Increased personal meaning. Many people derive a
substantial amount of self-worth from their jobs; a person’s
self-image is closely tied to the work they do. Self-worth, or a
reason for “existence”, may be seriously undermined by
disability and unemployment. Workforce (re)entry may,
therefore, help to restore a sense of personal worth and
meaning for many disabled/unemployed individuals living with
HIV.
8. Control and increased self-efficacy. Employment is a setting in
which many people express and gain competence, receive
positive feedback, expand abilities, and experience a sense of
control and achievement. This may be a uniquely important
anchor while dealing with an episodic disability that sometimes
is hard to control.
9. Reduction of family financial burden. Related to the need for
increased income and personal financial stability, many
individuals living with HIV and others with disabilities feel they
have become financial burdens to their families because of the
financial support their families provide. Employment allows the
disabled person to help reduce the financial burden (whether
real or perceived).
10. Increased social interaction. Employment is a major source of
social interaction, in contrast to the isolation experienced by
many individuals living with HIV disabled by their illness.
Employment may help reduce this isolation.
11. Contribute to society. For many individuals living with HIV,
their diagnosis may have spawned a desire to leave a legacy or
to make a positive contribution they can leave behind. Finding
a job that meaningfully allows such a contribution may help
address this need.
12. Reduction of the role of HIV. Going back to work can add an
important and absorbing set of activities that provide a balance
to the often-overwhelming considerations that living with HIV
imposes in a life. Working can help relegate HIV to the status of
a medical problem, rather than a lifestyle.
13. • Longer histories of disability/unemployment, these
obstacles may suggest that efforts at workforce (re)entry are
not worthwhile, or that the costs outweigh the benefits
• Concerns related to possible loss of or change in health
benefits, fear and anxiety over the possibility of disclosure,
the reality of HIV-related prejudice and discrimination, and
relative lack of job skills and/or education are leading factors
in not considering workforce (re)entry
• Additional issues such as fear of stress that can contribute to
overall declines in health outcomes, fear of failure which can
lead to further self-disappointment, a loss of social support,
and a change of lifestyle they may have grown accustomed
to while un(der)employed and receiving social security
benefits are additional concerns that should be assessed
before workforce (re)entry.
Obstacles Often Make The Transition From
Disability/Unemployment To Employment Difficult:
14. From a psychosocial viewpoint associated with HIV/AIDS. As the
demographics of HIV have changed, HIV has become
increasingly associated with poverty indices and long-term
unemployment such as substance abuse and homelessness.
People living with HIV from such backgrounds due to poor
employment histories, these individuals may need additional
assistance with (re)entering the workforce, including job
preparation and job-hunting.
Additional Factors Constituting Barriers
16. References:
1. Episodic Disabilities Graphic: Canadian Working Group in HIV Rehabilitation (CWGHR)
2. Working with HIV: Issues for People with HIV/AIDS Contemplating Workforce (re)Entry
David J. Martin, PhD. Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Updated by Kristina R. Rerucha, MPH, American Psychological
Association, July 2011
3. Graphics: Google Images
Miguel Cubillos
Employment Placement Specialist
mcubillos@employmentaction.org
Ph. 416.345.8205 X267
