Meaning of Work-life Balance for Workers With Disabilities.

ABSTRACT

Background: This article aims to show that work-life balance (WLB) for workers with disabilities can have important meanings that can affect turnover intention and exclusion from the labor market. Methods: Using the Korean Panel Survey of Employment for the Disabled (1st-8th), panel logit models were applied to analyze the effect of WLB on the voluntary turnover intention and behavior of workers with disabilities. WLB types were categorized into four groups (Work-Life Dissatisfaction Group, Only Work Dissatisfaction Group, Only Life Dissatisfaction Group, and Work-Life Balance Group) based on the integration of job satisfaction and life satisfaction. Results: Turnover intention was significantly higher in the work-life imbalance groups (Work-Life Dissatisfaction Group, Only Work Dissatisfaction Group), which is commonly associated with job dissatisfaction. The effect of WLB on turnover intention was 1.38 times higher in Only Work Dissatisfaction Group ( ß 2.25, 99% confidence interval [CI] 1.50, 2.31), characterized by dissatisfaction solely with their job, than in Work-Life Dissatisfaction Group ( ß 1.90, 99% CI 1.97, 2.53), which was experiencing dissatisfaction with both work and life. Only Work Dissatisfaction Group resulted in actual turnover, with females (ß 0.73, 95% CI 0.37, 1.09) more likely to exit the labor market and males (ß 0.66, 99% CI 0.41, 0.89) showing a higher tendency to change jobs. Conclusion: WLB policy should focus on job dissatisfaction, a key predictor of turnover intention that leads to actual turnover behavior. Furthermore, women workers with disabilities are a priority policy target group to prevent exclusion from labor.