Perceptions of employability following an acquired brain injury

Abstract

While South African legislation has created the structure to foster an equal society for all citizens, there is a lack of inclusive hiring behaviours of people with disability, particularly those with acquired brain injury (ABI). ABI significantly limits an individual’s daily functioning and subsequent employment opportunities. Negative perceptions held by Human Resource (HR) personnel of the employability of candidates with ABI represent a significant barrier to their employment. The study followed ethical guidelines and employed a concurrent triangulation mixed-methods design through an online survey to examine HR personnel’s perceptions of the employability of people with ABI. The study investigated participant’s familiarity with disability, perceptions of employability, intentions to hire determined by the Theory of Planned Behaviour and their interest to hire based on different disability groups. While this sample of HR personnel was open to hiring candidates with a disability, in comparison to two other disability cohorts (physically disabled and visually impaired), people with ABI were least likely to be hired. The sample were unwilling or unable to adapt their perceptions or act upon these positive perceptions in practice. Irrespective of policy benefits and personal perceptions based on the costs and benefits of hiring a person with ABI, HR personnel did not see survivors of ABI as viable employees. Future research could investigate an adapted form of employment for people with ABI, namely a state-sponsored entrepreneurial endeavour that guides people with ABI to integrate into the mainstream labour force. Such a shift could alter perceptions of employability of people with ABI and shift human resource practices to support and integrate people with an ABI into the workforce