Worker Adaptation and Employer Accommodation Following the Onset of a Health Impairment

The responses of workers and their employers to the onset of work-limiting health impairments were investigated using data from the new Health and Retirement Survey. The results indicate that many workers who suffer from health limitations are directly accommodated by their employers, and that those who do not receive direct accommodation frequently adapt to their limitations by altering their job demands or by changing jobs. These findings point to the potential for adjustments on both sides of the market: by employers-- in the form of job accommodation--and by employees--in the form of job change