University of the Western Cape South Africa, Cape Town, South Africa.
Work. 2021;68(1):255-266. doi: 10.3233/WOR-203372.
Work holds great meaning and benefits beyond just monetary gain for people with intellectual disabilities. It gives these individuals the opportunity to engage in meaningful occupation.
The purpose of the study was to explore challenges that people with intellectual disabilities (PWID) experience when adapting to their worker roles in the open labor market.
The study used grounded theory as the research design. Five male participants and two key informants participated in the study. Two semi structured interviews were conducted with each one of the seven participants (five PWID and two key informants).
Three core concepts emerged: 1) Unforeseen challenges of change; 2) A well-planned work preparation program enables success and 3) Crossing the bridge into the workplace: "Do I belong here?"
This indicated that with sufficient external support, PWID are able to gain a sense of social belonging and develop the necessary skills to cope with challenges that arise in the workplace when PWID transition from protective/sheltered workshops to the open labor market. The findings of the study also indicated that work preparation programs and supportive employment approaches helped PWID transition to the open labor market.
工作对智力障碍者来说，除了金钱收益外，还有很大的意义和好处。它使这些人有机会从事有意义的职业。
本研究旨在探讨智力障碍者（PWID）在适应开放劳动力市场中的工作角色时所面临的挑战。
本研究采用扎根理论作为研究设计。五名男性参与者和两名关键知情人参与了研究。对七名参与者（五名 PWID 和两名关键知情人）中的每一位进行了两次半结构化访谈。
出现了三个核心概念：1）变革的意外挑战；2）精心规划的工作准备计划有助于成功；3）跨越工作场所的桥梁：“我属于这里吗？”
这表明，在充分的外部支持下，PWID 能够获得社会归属感，并发展必要的技能，以应对 PWID 从保护性/庇护性车间过渡到开放劳动力市场时在工作场所出现的挑战。研究结果还表明，工作准备计划和支持性就业方法有助于 PWID 过渡到开放劳动力市场。
