promoting career development after personal injury

Promoting Career Development after Personal Injury

Promoting Career Development after Personal Injury

James A. AthanasouThe University of Sydney, Australia

A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN: 978-94-6300-834-1 (paperback)ISBN: 978-94-6300-835-8 (hardback)ISBN: 978-94-6300-836-5 (e-book)

Published by: Sense Publishers, P.O. Box 21858,3001 AW Rotterdam,The Netherlandshttps://www.sensepublishers.com/

Cover image: Kobi, a dog by Mark Sebastian (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons with permission from Mark Sebastian.

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No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.

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This book is dedicated to the Estia Foundation for people with disabilities

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface ix

Chapter 1: Disability 1

Chapter 2: Learning and Earning Limitations 15

Chapter 3: Traits and Factors – A Good Way to Exclude a Career 37

Chapter 4: Work Interests 55

Chapter 5: Work Values 87

Chapter 6: Career Development 109

Chapter 7: A Clinical Vocational Assessment 131

Chapter 8: Adult Vocational Guidance 153

Chapter 9: Career Counselling for the Undecided 167

Chapter 10: Job Placement 181

Chapter 11: Reasonable Adjustment 193

Chapter 12: The Wonderful World of Work 207

Chapter 13: Overview and Summary 215

About the Author 221

Index 223

ix

PREFACE

In this little book I want to show you some aspects of the theory and practice of how to help people who have suffered an injury and disability find work.The content comes mainly from my clinical practice. It also comes from my

research in career development as well as from teaching Vocational Development and Counselling at the University of Sydney to graduate students in the Master and Postgraduate Diploma of Rehabilitation Counselling.

This book is not a theoretical buffet. The selection has been intentional. It is restricted mainly to those viewpoints that would be accepted by the educators, rehabilitation providers or disability employment services as well as the legal system, insurance companies or professionals that deal with personal injury matters.

The emphasis is inherently practical. The skills and knowledge sufficient for professional practice are given priority. It leans towards vocational assessment, career counselling, accommodations in the workplace and job placement. I try to emphasise the aspects that are beneficial for a practitioner. There should be enough in this book for you to earn a living.

It is the second book in a series that relates to personal injury. It could be read usefully in conjunction with the Sense edition (2016) of Encountering Personal Injury.

This book would not have been possible without Professor Elias Mpofu who gave me the opportunity to teach in the Discipline of Rehabilitation Counselling in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Sydney. The cooperation and support of Sense publishers is also gratefully acknowledged.

I am indebted to many people: firstly, to my students; secondly, to my longstanding colleague Professor Greg Murphy with whom I have collaborated over a 38-year period; to Dr Rodd Rothwell for many esoteric conversations; but above all, to each

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PREFACE

of the patients from my vocational practice. Over some 30 years they have taught me more than anyone else.

Every attempt has been made to reference sources but over the years some material has merged into my notes and may not have been acknowledged. Please feel free to draw any forgetfulness or omissions to my attention.

The sources for the excellent illustrations are the very useful public domain sources, Wikimedia Commons and Art Today. For those who might be bewildered by the multiple illustrations of dogs, do not despair but the answer is somewhat eccentric and tangential. They allude to the idea that we can help adults to change and that – in contrast to the old proverb – we can teach an old dog new tricks.

I do apologise in advance if at times the treatment of the topic seems somewhat subjective or idiosyncratic. This is because it reflects my personal journey and experiences in vocational assessment over many years in the formal and highly contested field of medico-legal vocational evaluations. In this journey I had the opportunity to test many theories and approaches and in essence, this book is a distillation of what works. No claim is made that it is comprehensive or complete.

May I thank you for your patience with this preface and may I wish you every success in your academic and professional career in educational and vocational rehabilitation. Please contribute as best you can to making the world a better place through your profession.

James AthanasouUniversity of Sydney

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CHAPTER 1

DISABILITY

In this opening chapter I provide you with an introduction to the field. There is some guidance on defining disabilities and categorising its extent. Then I show you a way of determining rehabilitation potential.

So – mesdames et messieurs – without further ado, let us look at some background to disabilities.

There is no better place to begin our journey into vocational aspects of injury and disability than with a typical case that one might encounter.

Case Study1

Mr A is a 20-year-old male referred for vocational assessment. He is a personal trainer. He was injured in a motor vehicle accident when he was aged around 18 years.

He suffered a head injury with a Glasgow Coma Scale2 of 3 rising to 13. He now has diplopia in some head positions, has some facial scarring and chest pain through a fractured sternum.

He claims some disabilities that include, amongst others, back and neck pain, chest pain, double vision, bad headaches, memory loss, depression, trouble sleeping and concentrating.

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Prior to the accident he had obtained the Higher School Certificate without an Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank. His best subject was sport and his worst was English.

He likes to read but loses attention because of double vision; his spelling is described as adequate; and he did not consider his level of arithmetic as satisfactory. He has computing skills. He is able to use office equipment such as a photocopier. He is able to complete forms, write a letter and interpret a bank statement if required. His reading for work purposes was assessed briefly using the oral word reading list from the Wide Range Achievement Test 4.3 Results indicated an educational standard of around middle high school level.

Results of an independent, psychological assessment of his intellectual ability indicated someone of below average IQ.

At the time of the accident, he had just enrolled in a Certificate II Fitness course. Future plans and interest for further education or training were to complete the Fitness Certificate but have been put on hold.

At school he had completed a period of work experience at a fitness centre and his ambition was to become a personal trainer.

On the Career Interest Card Sort4 he displayed a major preference for Creative and People Contact activities and a dislike of Business and Office activities.

He had some part-time work while at school on a casual basis in retail. He now resides in an area of medium unemployment.

As you will come to realise quite quickly, the effects of any disability go well beyond work and education. They also impact on quality of life. Typically, I like to round out the picture with some other personal and social aspects of a disability. In our work it would be inappropriate to consider only the medical or vocational aspects of disability.

Some standardised basis for analysis of overall well-being and all its components may be helpful. A brief guide to some key aspects of living has been developed

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for survey purposes. This is the EUROHIS Quality of Life Scale5 It considers one’s health and quality of life in the last two weeks. The interpretation is straightforward and taken at face value. It provides a broad indication of different aspects of well-being.

Mr A rates his overall quality of life in the last few weeks as neither poor nor good. He is dissatisfied with his health as well as his ability to perform his daily living activities. He has little enough energy for everyday life. He is dissatisfied with himself but satisfied with his personal relationships. He does not have enough money to meet his needs but is satisfied with his conditions of living.

There is much more one could say about this case. For instance, I have omitted personal and social details; the results of functional ability assessments; evaluation of mental status; descriptions of appearance; post-accident education and employment, as well as relevant medical opinions. Here it is used merely as a typical example of the patients or clients6 I encounter on a day-to-day basis.

My first question to you is does the person in our case study have a disability? The second question is what type of disability? The third question is whether it could be described as profound, severe, moderate or mild? The fourth question is whether there is a restriction in employment or education? The final question is about the vocational potential of Mr A? Let me attempt to provide some guidelines for you to answer these questions.

Does Mr A have a Disability?

One needs a definition of disability in order to answer this question. You will encounter many perspectives on disability. In answering the question, I refer to the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers.7 This is undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and I use its formal criteria.

A disability involves a limitation, restriction or impairment, which has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least six months and restricts everyday activities. Typically, this is associated with a medical diagnosis. Mr A does have a disability.

What Type of Disability?

The question about the type of disability for Mr A is complex because there is more than one condition involved. Disabilities have been categorised formally and cover:

• loss of sight (not corrected by glasses or contact lenses)• loss of hearing where communication is restricted, or an aid to assist with, or

substitute for, hearing is used• speech difficulties• shortness of breath or breathing difficulties causing restriction• chronic or recurrent pain or discomfort causing restriction• blackouts, seizures, or loss of consciousness

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• difficulty learning or understanding• incomplete use of arms or fingers• difficulty gripping or holding things• incomplete use of feet or legs• nervous or emotional condition causing restriction• restriction in physical activities or in doing physical work• disfigurement or deformity• mental illness or condition requiring help or supervision• long-term effects of head injury, stroke or other brain damage causing restriction• receiving treatment or medication for any other long-term conditions or ailments

and still being restricted• any other long-term conditions resulting in a restriction.

Possibly Mr A has some loss of sight, restriction in physical activities or in doing physical work, long-term effects of head injury, disfigurement or deformity, maybe some difficulty learning or understanding and a nervous or emotional condition causing restriction.

Is the Disability Profound, Severe, Moderate or Mild?

The third question dealt with the extent of disability. Disability status is characterised according to a series of graded categories from no reported disability to profound core activity limitations.

The core activities are communication, mobility and self-care and the categories are defined in Table 1.1. Around 16% of the population reported a disability that had specific limitations or restrictions.

Limitation means a person needs help with, or uses aids or equipment for the activity and the overall level is determined by their highest level of limitation in these activities.

It was not clear to me that the person in our case study fell neatly into the profound, severe, moderate or mild classification. It is more likely that they have a general employment or education restriction.

Is There a Restriction in Employment?

A schooling or employment restriction is claimed by 1.69 million Australians (7.4% of the population). Four levels of employment restrictions are determined based on whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment in their employment. The four levels of limitation used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics are:

• Profound – the person’s condition permanently prevents them from working• Severe – the person: requires personal support; needs ongoing supervision or

assistance; requires a special disability support person; receives assistance from a disability job placement program or agency

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• Moderate – the person is restricted in the type of job and/or the numbers of hours they can work or has difficulty in changing jobs

• Mild – the person needs: help from someone at work; special equipment; modifications to buildings or fittings; special arrangements for transport or parking; training; to be allocated different duties

In this case study there was a moderate employment restriction. It was considered that there is a restriction in the type of work that he can undertake and the likely number of hours that he can work.

Table 1.1. Core activity limitation and proportion in the population (15–64 years)

Limitations Description

Profound the person is unable to do, or always needs help with, a core activity taskSevere the person sometimes needs help with a core activity task, or the person

has difficulty understanding or being understood by family or friends, or the person can communicate more easily using sign language or other non-spoken forms of communication.

Moderate the person needs no help, but has difficulty with a core activity taskMild the person needs no help and has no difficulty with any of the core

activity tasks, but uses aids or equipment, or has one or more of the following limitations:• cannot easily walk 200 metres• cannot walk up and down stairs without a handrail• cannot easily bend to pick up an object from the floor• cannot use public transport• can use public transport, but needs help or supervision• needs no help or supervision, but has difficulty using public transport.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia, Catalogue No. 4430.0, November 2013; Does not include those with a schooling or employment restriction as this involves some double counting.

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Is There a Restriction in Education?

Four levels of schooling restrictions are also determined based on whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment in their education. The four levels of educational limitation are:

• Profound – the person’s condition prevents them from attending school.• Severe – the person: attends a special school or special classes; receives personal

assistance; receives special tuition; receives assistance from a counsellor/disability support person.

• Moderate – the person: often needs time off from school; has difficulty at school because of their condition(s); has special assessment procedures

• Mild – the person needs: a special computer or other special equipment; special transport arrangements; special access arrangements; other special arrangements or support services

Although the terms relate to schooling, I have applied them liberally to post-school education. Mr A had just left school and enrolled in a course. In this case study my estimate was that of a moderate educational restriction.

You may not agree with this official categorisation but it offers a formal, standardised framework. It provides a national basis for data collection.

What Is the Vocational Potential of Mr A?

This question is directly relevant to vocational development. I am now trying to link the current disability of Mr A with future educational and vocational rehabilitation. In order to do this, I will use the Vocational Rehabilitation Index as my example.

The Vocational Rehabilitation Index (VRI)8 is a seven-item assessment. The VRI was developed from an analysis of variables associated with early return to work in a representative sample of persons who received compensation for injuries at work or in road traffic accidents.

This index ranges from 7 (very high potential for rehabilitation) to a maximum of 24 (very low potential for rehabilitation).

The index is based on the age, sex, occupational skill level, length of medical treatment, local labour market conditions, history of spinal injury and the psychological problems following injury. It is scored as follows:

• Age: 16–30 years (1 point); 31–40 years (2 points); 41–50 years (3 points); 51+ years (4 points).

• Sex: males (1 point); female (2 points).• Occupation: professional/associate professional (1 point); skilled manual

(2 points); semi-skilled manual (3 points); other non-manual (4 points); unskilled manual (5 points).

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• Length of treatment: less than 6 months (1 point); 6–12 months (2 points); 13–18 months (3 points); 19 or more months (4 points).

• Labour market: low unemployment (1 point); medium unemployment (2 points); high unemployment (3 points).

• Spinal injury: none (1 point); whiplash, simple fracture (2 points); lumbar disc lesion, spinal cord injury (3 points).

• Psychological problems: none (1 point); minor (post-traumatic neurosis, anxiety state) (2 points); major (personality change, cognitive deficit, functional overlay, poor motivation) (3 points).

Cornes, who developed the Vocational Rehabilitation Index, classified the overall result into four levels (lower, 7–11; lower middle, 12–14; upper middle, 15–17; and upper, 18–24). These levels are a guide to educational and vocational rehabilitation. He set out the rehabilitation requirements and vocational objectives as follows:

a. lower group (7–11) the vocational rehabilitation requirements were minimal, possibly needing facts or recommendations; the vocational objective included obtaining a position in the open labour market;

b. lower middle (12–14), the vocational rehabilitation requirements were for facts, career recommendations, advising and adjustments to the workplace; the vocational objectives were obtaining a position in the open labour market promptly and ideally retaining one’s previous job;

c. upper middle (15–17), the vocational requirements were career advising, educational and vocational assessment, employment training, re-skilling, workplace modifications and equipment needs; the vocational objectives included an eventual placement in the open labour market following medical and vocational rehabilitation;

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d. upper (18–24), the rehabilitation requirements were considered to merit specialised medical, social and individual attention; the vocational objective directed to part-time or casual employment, non-vocational activities or subsidised employment.9

The Vocational Rehabilitation Index is only a rough guide but it has discriminated between persons who return to work and those who do not. The percentage in employment at 12 months varied from 86% for lower, through 45% to lower middle, to 10% for upper middle and only 5% for the upper Vocational Rehabilitation Index levels.

Only some of the Vocational Rehabilitation Index criteria fit the person in our Case Study A so we need to interpolate some values. He is aged 16–30 (1 point); he is male (1 point); he was a student at the time of the accident but the closest occupational background is possibly that of fitness trainer or other non-manual (4 points); the length of treatment was less than six months (1 point); he lives in an area of medium unemployment (2 points); there may well be some whiplash or simple fracture (2 points); and he is likely to have some major psychological problems (3 points). On the basis of these criteria one would estimate a Vocational Rehabilitation Index of 14. His vocational rehabilitation requirements were for information provision, career recommendations, advising and adjustments to the workplace; his vocational objectives might centre upon obtaining a position in the open labour market fairly promptly.

The Vocational Rehabilitation Index is not a perfect index by any means but at least it is standardised and testable. There are other indices like this but the main point here is to indicate its descriptive use and application to a typical case. In any event it shows some vocational consequences for the person in our case study.

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Some Definitions

Before we embark any further on our journey of helping people with an injury and disability find work, I would like to outline the definitions of some terms. I make no apology for using the national dictionary (Macquarie Dictionary10) as my point of reference rather than the various terms defined by different authors or researchers. Using this source ensures that we use the commonly accepted meaning of a word in a standardised fashion.

• Work is defined as exertion to produce or accomplish something; it is something on which exertion or labour is expended; it is something to be made or done; it is a task or undertaking; it is a productive or operative activity. In the field of employment, work is a job, especially that by which one earns a living (Macquarie Dictionary, p. 2016).

Of course, work may mean many different things to people and ‘job’, ‘occupation’ ‘career’ and ‘career development’ are also used in relation to work and the formal definitions of these terms are:

• Job – a post of employment (Macquarie Dictionary, p. 947).• Occupation – one’s habitual employment, business, trade or calling

(Macquarie Dictionary, p. 1230) but more specifically a set of jobs with similar tasks11 (Source: Australian Standard Classification of Occupations, 2nd edition, p. 5).

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• Career – the general course of action or progress of a person through life, as in some profession, in some moral or intellectual action; also an occupation or profession followed as one’s lifework (Macquarie Dictionary, p. 274)

• Vocation – a particular occupation, business or professions; a trade or calling. It also refers to a calling or summons, as to a particular activity or career (Macquarie Dictionary, p. 1953).

• Vocational guidance – the process of helping pupils and students choose their future careers (Macquarie Dictionary, p. 1953).

Of course, you will see many fancier definitions of these terms12 but it is probably best to restrict our use to the commonly accepted meaning of the words, so that laypersons can also understand us without misconceptions.

Summary

In this chapter I outlined a straightforward case study and used it as an example for the definition of disability. The different types of disability were described and the categories of restrictions from no disability through to profound were outlined. Official definitions of the schooling and employment restrictions were provided. The basis for calculating the Vocational Rehabilitation Index was summarised. I outlined how a disability has a broad impact on different aspects of quality of life. It should now be possible for you to take a case, classify the disability using

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the official statistical criteria, categorise the restrictions and determine the potential for vocational rehabilitation.

Exercise

Read the following case study and answer these six questions as best you can. It is satisfactory to make some assumptions if details are not provided but indicate any assumptions.

• Does the person in the case study have a disability?• What type of disability?• Is there a disability?• Is the disability profound, severe, moderate or mild?• Is there a restriction in employment or education?• Determine the Vocational Rehabilitation Index for this person?

Case Study B

Mr B is a 37-year-old male, bus driver who was injured following a chemical explosion when he was aged around 35 years. The major injuries were burns and lacerations to face and hands. There is a hearing problem (tinnitus). He has problems using his hands. There is no whiplash or disc injury.

He completed his schooling to Year 10 level but did not obtain the School Certificate.

His reading was assessed briefly using the oral word reading list from the Wide Range Achievement Test. Results indicated an educational standard around middle high school level.

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He has no formal post-school qualifications but holds various driving licences.His pre-accident employment history is centred on work as a commercial driver.

His employment history has been stable but there have been some periods of unemployment.

He attempted to return to work after the accident but lasted only a few days. He has not been referred for rehabilitation training. He has looked for work and was referred to job network providers. He lives in a region of high unemployment.

His personal and social adjustment appeared normal. He indicated that he never had a nervous breakdown and had never seen a doctor for nerves. He never made a suicide attempt and has never been in a psychiatric ward. He does not smoke and said that he does not drink. He has never been a heavy drinker. He has never taken hard drugs or been in trouble with the law. He manages his own finances.

He is left-handed but cannot grip. Writing was not a problem for him. He cannot use hand tools easily and cannot move, twist or turn things by hand.

The history was coherent, internally consistent and spontaneous. His capacity in dealing with the affairs of the examination was within normal limits.

Appendix: Glasgow Coma Scale

Source: Teasdale G., & Jennett, B. (1974). Assessment of coma and impaired consciousness. Lancet, 2(7872), 81–84.

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NOTES

1 To preserve anonymity and confidentiality these case studies are derived from multiple sources. They have been modified with demographic as well as other details altered randomly. Unless otherwise indicated, any resemblance to actual persons is coincidental.

2 Teasdale, G., & Jennett, B. (1974). Assessment of coma and impaired consciousness. Lancet, 2(7872), 81–84. The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was designed to assess the impact of acute brain damage. Head Injury Classification: A Coma Score of 13 or higher correlates with a mild brain injury: 9 to 12 is a moderate injury and 8 or less a severe brain injury (see Appendix for scoring).

3 Wilkinson, G. S., & Robertson, G. J. (2006). Wide-Range Achievement Test 4. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

4 Athanasou, J. A. (2013). Some Australian data on a career interest card sort for use in adult vocational assessments. Australian Journal of Career Development, 22(2), 100–104.

5 Power, M. (2003). Development of a common instrument for quality of life. In A. Nosikov & C. Gudex (Eds.), EUROHIS: Developing common instruments for health surveys (Vol. 53, pp. 145–163). Amsterdam: IOS Press. In my professional practice I use it as a survey rather than as a scale, so I interpret each response individually for a person rather than add them together to obtain an overall quality of life index. There is a problem of lack of additivity in attitude scales.

6 I work exclusively in a medical setting and prefer to use the word “patient” rather than “client”.7 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2013, November). Disability, ageing and carers, Australia (Catalogue

No. 4430.0). Canberra: Author.8 Cornes, P. (1990). The vocational rehabilitation index: A guide to accident victims’ requirements for

return-to-work assistance. International Disability Studies, 12(1), 32–36; Cornes, P., & Roy, C. W. (1991). Vocational rehabilitation index assessment of rehabilitation medicine service patients. International Disability Studies, 13(1), 5–8.

9 Based on Cornes (1990), op. cit., Table 6, p. 35.10 Delbridge, A., Bernard, J. R. L., Blair, D., Peters, P., & Butler, S. (Eds.). (1991). The Macquarie

dictionary (2nd ed.). Macquarie University, NSW: Author.11 Australian Bureau of Statistics/Statistics New Zealand. (2006). Australian and New Zealand standard

classification of occupations first edition (Catalogue No. 1220.0). Canberra: Author.12 Note also that disability is defined as lack of competent power, strength, or physical or mental ability;

and as incapacity (Delbridge et al., op. cit., p. 501); rehabilitation is restoration to former health and rehabilitation in medicine, is the use of medical, social, educational or vocational measures or a combination of these to train or retrain someone who has a disability as a result of illness or injury (Delbridge et al., op. cit., p., 1453).

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CHAPTER 2

LEARNING AND EARNING LIMITATIONS

This chapter describes some of the consequences that disabilities have on learning, earning and working. The big picture is that 4.2 million Australians have a reported disability. Around 2.2 million are aged 15–64 years.

These figures and the subsequent information I will provide are derived from the official results from the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers from August 2012 to March 2013 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.1 This is the official categorisation that I referred to in the previous chapter.

Of the persons aged 15–64 years with a disability, some 1.8 million have a specific limitation or a schooling or employment restriction.2 This is a sizable group that hardly features in textbooks on career choice.3

In the next section I will consider some educational aspects of disabilities and then turn to the employment restrictions. I need to warn you that there will be quite a few charts and tables in this chapter, so I hope that this is your cup of tea.

Education4

Most laypersons would anticipate that disability has an impact upon the highest level of schooling achieved as well as the level of post-school education and training. They are correct.

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Firstly, schooling or employment restrictions increase with age (see Figure 2.1) so age must figure as a first component in rehabilitation thinking about disability.

Figure 2.1. Schooling or employment restrictions, 15–64 years – Australia, 2012

Secondly, fewer people with a disability completed the highest level of schooling (Year 12) and greater proportions completed Year 10 or below (see Figure 2.2). Please remember that these are generalisations and that group statistics may not apply to an individual case.

Figure 2.2. Proportion completing level of schooling, with and without a reported disability – Australia, 2012


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Persons with disabilities have around a one-third probability of completing the highest level of secondary schooling. This fact places them at an educational disadvantage as a group right from the start of their career.

Figure 2.3 illustrates the impact of the level of disability (profound, severe, moderate, mild or nil) on the completion of Year 12. So, in addition to age, we might add the level of disability into our vocational rehabilitation equation.

Figure 2.3. Core activity limitation and proportion completing Year 12 – Australia, 2012

The educational consequences of disabilities do not stop with schooling. They continue after schooling is completed. Disabilities also have a direct effect on the level of highest non-school qualification achieved. For instance, around 15% of those with disabilities will achieve a bachelor degree or above compared with about 26% of those without a reported disability. Table 2.1 summarises the overall situation.

Table 2.1. Level of highest non-school qualification and reported disability – Australia, 2012

Highest non-school qualification With disability No disability

Bachelor degree or above 14.8% 26.2%

Diploma 9.0% 10.3%

Certificate 25.8% 21.3%

No non-school qualification 47.6% 40.0%Level not determined 2.7% 2.2%

Although these statistics paint a bleak picture of educational disadvantage, there is a positive aspect – people with a range of disabilities are able to achieve

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educationally. That is why I emphasise repeatedly that these are group findings and may not apply to an individual case. It is now time to look at the field of employment.

Labour Force Status

Whichever way one slices the employment cake there is an inherent inequality for people with disabilities. It is related directly to the extent of disability, increasing from those with a mild limitation to those with a profound limitation. For persons aged 15–64 years the government statistician has also defined an employment restriction and this was outlined for you in Chapter 1. To refresh your memory, it means that they meet one or more of the following conditions: (a) permanently unable to work; (b) restricted in the type of work they can or could do; (c) need or would need at least one day a week off work on average; (d) restricted in the number of hours they can or could work; (e) require or would require an employer to provide special equipment, modify the work environment or make special arrangements; (f) require assistance from a disability job placement program or agency; (g) need or would need to be given ongoing assistance or supervision; or (h) would find it difficult to change jobs or get a better job.

In the following sections, I will examine the relationship between disabilities and labour force participation, unemployment, work life expectancy, occupation and earnings.

Labour Force Participation

The labour force participation rate is a key labour market measure. It is the number of employed persons plus unemployed persons as a percentage of the population in


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the same group. It is affected by factors such as age and sex. It is an indicator of what proportion of the population is working or available for work.

The labour force participation for males with a profound restriction in core activities is 19.4%, increasing to 34.1% for males with a severe restriction, through to 49.4% for those with a moderate restriction and 59.8% for those with a mild restriction compared with 88.5% with no reported disability.

The picture for females is similar with 18.0% for females with a profound restriction, through to 35.4% for those with a severe restriction, to 45.8% for those with a moderate restriction and 51.5% for those with a mild restriction compared with 76.5% with no reported disability.

The overall participation rate for persons with a disability is 52.8% compared with 82.5% and as shown above is directly related to the extent of restriction. So, the first general impact of disabilities was on education and now we can see that it results in lowered labour force participation. But there is more to come.

Unemployment

Even when people with disabilities have the chance to enter the labour market, they encounter markedly higher levels of unemployment.

By way of background, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has a formal and internationally agreed upon categorisation of someone who is unemployed. It is not the number of unemployed on welfare benefits.

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Unemployed persons are defined as: aged 15 years and over and not employed during the reference week of the official survey but they had actively looked for full time or part time work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the reference week and were available for work in the reference week of the survey. Note that you have to look actively for work to be categorised as unemployed.

The actual unemployment rate that you will see cited in newspapers or other media is the number of unemployed persons as a percentage of the labour force. Note that there is a margin of error around this figure as it is always based on a sample. It is important not to interpret small differences in unemployment as being significant.

In the case of those with disabilities versus those without disabilities, however, the differences in unemployment are large. In 2013, the unemployment rate for all persons with a reported disability was 9.4% compared with 4.9% for those without a disability. Hence, not only was the labour force participation rate for persons with a disability reduced but there was also a higher rate of unemployment.

Employment

The proportion of people with disabilities who are employed full-time is directly related to the extent of the restriction they face. This is illustrated in Figure 2.4. So, our general model for portraying the effect of disabilities is starting to take shape – it includes age, sex, the level of restriction (profound, severe, moderate, mild or nil) and this has an impact not only upon educational achievement but also labour force aspects such as participation and full-time employment or unemployment.

Here is the disclaimer again – this applies to people with disabilities in general; it does not necessarily apply to an individual case. The disclaimer is important because there is a tendency for some to make inferences from group findings to individuals.

Figure 2.4. Full-time employment rate and level of core restrictions – Australia, 2012


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Work-Life Expectancy

The net effect of the reduced participation that I have just outlined is to dramatically shorten productive work-life in terms of employment for persons with a disability.

In the USA Gamboa5 attempted to determine the work-life expectancy of people with disabilities. This work was replicated in Australia in 19996 but was hampered to some extent by the smaller population base, the attendant large sampling errors and technical problems that occur when finer and finer cross-tabulations are sought (e.g., levels of disability by gender by educational achievement/qualifications by age).

For this chapter I have tried to produce comparable overall tables for work-life expectancy. These take into account the level of disability (profound, severe, moderate, mild and no disability), age and gender. Work-life expectancy was calculated for each disability group to a retirement age of 65 years.

The basis for this calculation was the joint probability of participation at a particular age and the probability of life at that age. In short, I determined the chances of a person living to a particular age and then their chances of working at that age.

These are then summed for each age level to produce a work-life expectancy that is expressed in years for a person. These tables were first produced in Australia 1999 and attempted again for the disability data from 2012.

For instance, in 1999 a 35-vear-old female without a disability had a work-life expectancy to age 65 of 18.5 years, compared with only 2.4 years for a female of the same age with a profound disability, 9.8 years with a severe disability, 10.5 years with a moderate disability and 13.1 years for a mild disability.

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In 2012, a 35-vear-old female without a disability had a work-life expectancy to age 65 of 20.7 years. This has increased partly due to the higher levels of female participation in the workforce.

This work-life expectancy of 20.7 years for a female without a disability can be compared with only 4.3 years for a female of the same age with a profound disability, 8.9 years with a severe disability, 9.9 years with a moderate disability and 13.3 years for a mild disability. The results from 1999 to 2012 are slightly different but still quite close over a 15-year period.

Some readers may have subtracted 35 years from 65 years and ended up with 30 years of remaining work-life for a female without a disability and you may be wondering how the much lower figure of 20.7 years was calculated. First, some people die. Next others get sick or do not work.

Reference to life tables shows that from an original cohort of 100,000 newborn female babies, just over 93,000 will make it to age 65 years (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Life Tables Australia, 2010–2012). A female aged 35 has a probability of 0.94 of surviving to age 65 and theoretically this gives around 28.8 uninterrupted years of working. But this needs to be reduced by the probability of employment for females without a disability. This was set at 0.72 (it assumes a constant employment rate which is not correct but it is a starting point).

Where does the 0.72 come from? It is the total number of females employed or seeking work out of the total female population. Unfortunately, this is an average and one really needs the figure for each age group because labour force participation is definitely a function of age.

Taking into account the extent of employment and one’s survival rate means that there is a slightly clearer perception of the overall vocational disadvantage suffered

Table 2.2(a). Estimate of work-life expectancies to age 65 – females, Australia

Age Profound Severe Moderate Mild No disability

15 7.1 14.7 19.5 21.9 34.2

20 6.4 13.3 17.6 19.7 30.9

25 5.7 11.8 15.7 17.6 27.5

30 5.0 10.4 13.7 15.4 24.1

35 4.3 8.9 11.8 13.3 20.7

40 3.6 7.5 9.9 11.1 17.3

45 2.9 6.0 7.9 8.9 13.9

50 2.2 4.5 6.0 6.7 10.5

55 1.5 3.0 4.0 4.5 7.1

60 0.7 1.5 2.0 2.3 3.664 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.7


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by people with disabilities. It is massive because the employment rates are low when compared to those without a disability.

An abbreviated table for five-year age groups is listed as Tables 2.2(a) (b). They are also illustrated in Figures 2.5(a) (b).

Please note that these are approximations and estimates. They make many untested assumptions about participation rates at each age level. They should be interpreted with a great deal of caution and do not take into account individual circumstances. At best they show that there is a substantial effect on labour force participation for people with disabilities over the period 15–64 years.

You have now seen the overall impact of disabilities (in general) on labour force participation, unemployment and worklife expectancy. The next step is to consider the types of employment available. This includes occupations, industry, working conditions, restrictions and earnings.

Occupation and Industry

It is the professions (19.9%) that make up the largest occupational group for persons with a disability. Labourers are the next largest group (15.2%), followed by technicians and trades as well as mangers (both 12.2% – see Figure 2.6). The overall pattern of employment for persons with a disability across occupations is highly correlated (r = .899) with that of persons who have no reported disability.

Table 2.2(b). Estimate of work-life expectancies to age 65 – males, Australia

Age Profound Severe Moderate Mild No disability

15 8.3 14.3 20.7 24.4 38.6

20 7.5 12.9 18.7 22.0 34.9

25 6.7 11.5 16.7 19.6 31.1

30 5.9 10.1 14.7 17.3 27.3

35 5.0 8.7 12.6 14.9 23.6

40 4.2 7.3 10.6 12.5 19.8

45 3.4 5.9 8.5 10.0 15.9

50 2.6 4.4 6.5 7.6 12.1

55 1.7 3.0 4.4 5.1 8.1

60 0.9 1.5 2.2 2.6 4.164 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.8

Note: The reader is cautioned against inferring from these estimates to individuals

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Nevertheless, this correlation masks differences across disability groups and within levels of restriction. For those with a profound restriction almost 28% are labourers compared with only 8.9% of those with no reported disability.

Health care is the major industry for persons with a disability and restriction, It employed 17.2%. This is followed by retail, construction, manufacturing, education and public administration (see Figure 2.7). Employment in the private sector for person with a disability was around 85% and this proportion was consistent for

Figure 2.5(a). Work-life expectancies for various levels of disability – females, Australia

Figure 2.5(b). Work-life expectancies for various levels of disability – males, Australia


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those without a disability. As with occupations, the overall pattern of employment for persons with a disability across industries and occupations is highly correlated with that of persons who have no reported disability.

Employment Restrictions

The type of employment restrictions faced by persons with a disability is relevant to vocational rehabilitation. It can be considered under several headings: (a) type of employment; (b) needing time off work; (c) needing special employer arrangements or equipment; and (d) needing ongoing supervision or assistance.

Type of Employment

Some 46% of employed persons with a disability reported a restriction in the type of job; 25.8% were restricted in the number of hours; and 36.2% reported difficulty in changing jobs or getting a preferred job. The level of restrictions was much higher for those in part-time compared with full-time employment and even higher still (62%) for those persons with a disability who were unemployed.

Needing Time off Work

Just over a quarter of the part-time employees with a disability (25.7%) reported the need for time off work because of a disability. This was less for those employed full-time (5.7%).

Figure 2.6. Occupations of persons with a disability – Australia, 2012

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Needing Special Employer Arrangements or Equipment

Only around 1 in 10 needed equipment or modifications in the workplace. The pattern of assistance is summarised below:3.7% provided special equipment;0.9% modified buildings or fittings;1.4% provided help from someone at work;0.7% provided training or retraining;2.8% allocated different duties;4.4% other arrangements.Note that the proportions may not be added as some persons may need more than one type of arrangement.

Figure 2.7. Industry of main job for persons with a disability – Australia, 2012


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Needing Ongoing Supervision or Assistance

The need for ongoing supervision or assistance was reported by 5.1% and was greater for those employed part-time than full-time.

The employment of persons with a disability may not be as onerous as imagined by many. Around 6 in 7 needed no time off work because of their disability; 9 out of 10 did not need workplace modifications or special arrangements; and 19 out of 20 worked without ongoing supervision or assistance.

There appear to be as many similarities as there are differences in the pattern of employment of persons with a disability compared to those without a disability. Some similarities appeared at the macro level but as one digs deeper the pervasive effect of restrictions becomes more apparent. Of course, all this has an impact on the income earned and I want to conclude this labour market analysis with a consideration of income.

Income

The net effect of restricted educational and vocational potential is highlighted in reduced income and earning capacity.

For those aged 15–64 years without a disability, the median7 gross personal income per week was $767 compared with $400 per week for those with a disability. The main source of income (47.8%) is a government pension or allowance.

The median gross personal income per week is clearly a function of the extent of limitation. Figure 2.8 illustrates that in general, increased disability results in lower

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median gross personal income per week. The median gross income for persons aged 15–64 years with a profound core activity restriction was only $330; $370 for persons with a severe core activity restriction; $394 for moderate core activity restriction; $423 for a mild core activity restriction; compared with $767 for those with no reported disability.

Almost assuredly this means that persons with a disability will suffer substantial economic disadvantage. This is highlighted by calculating lifetime earnings.

Lifetime Earnings

Remember the example of our female aged 35 years. Let us calculate her available lifetime earnings over her remaining 20.7 years and then we can compare this to a female of the same age with a mild disability. I only had figures for males and females combined but here are my rough calculations:

Person 35 Years, No Reported Disability

Median gross income = $767 multiplied by 20.7 years multiplied by 52 weeks = $825,598.

Person 35 Years, Mild Disability

Median gross income = $423 multiplied by 13.3 years multiplied by 52 weeks = $292,546.

Any comparisons need to take into account other factors (e.g., after tax income, other vicissitiudes of life, longevity differences in the groups) but the general

Figure 2.8. Median gross weekly income with and without a disability – Australia, 2012


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message is that the economic loss suffered through a disability is likely to be quite large. Of course the disparities increase as the level of disability increases and the age of onset is younger.

Disability and Employment 1993–2012

One of the advantages of relying on the official statistics is that we can compare findings over time. In the case of disabiltiy and employment we have data from 1993, 1998, 2003, 2009 and 2012. What does this show? Has the participation rate changed over time? Has unemployment improved for people with disabilities as a result of policy, legislation and services? Is the proportion of people with a disability increasing?

Naturally, I have some charts to show you. The first relates to the unemployment rate (Figure 2.9) and you might have guessed that the unemployment rate for people with disabilities would track that of those without a disability. It is largely a function of the economy, however there seems to be an increase for disabilities in 2012.

Figure 2.9. Unemployment for persons with and without a disability, 1998–2012

In terms of participation (Figure 2.10) there has not been a major improvement. The pariticpation rate for those without a disability has increased but in the case of persons with a disability it has remained fairly constant. This is not a good look, especially when one considers all the money thrown at disability services over the years.

The employment rate is the proportion of people employed. There seems to be a ceiling effect of around 50% employment across good times and bad times (see Figure 2.11). May I respectfully suggest that this figure of 50% will come back to haunt us. When we examine return to work rates for people with specific disabilities it rarely exceeds this ceiling effect.

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Figure 2.10. Labour force participation,with and without a disability, 1998–2012

Figure 2.11. Employment rate for persons with and wihtout a disability, 1998–2012

This evaluation concludes the general discussion on the educational and vocational impacts of disability. So there you are – 13 Figures and 2 Tables later – the general picture is one of overall disadvantage. You could have saved yourself a lot of trouble by skipping all the preceding sections and coming directly to this summary statement.

As I have emphasised repeatedly this is a generalised picture and one that is not necessarily representative of each case you will encounter. Fortunately there are exceptions and it is our role to create more exceptions.


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Three Levels of Analysis

It is now time to revert to an actual case and see where all this analysis and description has taken us. To get started we can apply three different levels of analysis to this case.

The first is that of the government statistician. This is essentially a medical model and based on functional level (i.e., profound, severe, moderate, mild or no disability). A second level is that of the Vocational Rehabilitation Index – it amalgamates socio-demographic, medical and some individual factors. The third level is labour market model that looks at demographics, workforce participation and income to determine work-life expectancy and potential earnings.

Look now at the features of Case Study C. My initial questions would be similar to the previous chapter. Again, I realise that you do not have all the background details: (a) does the person in our case study have a disability?; (b) what type of disability?; (c) is it best described as profound, severe, moderate or mild?; (d) is there an employment restriction?; (e) is there an educational restriction?; (f) is there rehabilitation potential? (g) what is this person’s work-life expectancy; and (h) will there be a loss of earning capacity and if so, how much? Case Study C is not a complete profile of information but it is enough.

Case Study C

A 20-year-old male, suffered a traumatic brain injury from a skateboarding accident when he was aged around 6 years. There was no loss of consciousness but he underwent neurosurgery and was hospitalised for over a week.

He was a school pupil at the time of the accident. Subsequent educational achievement was above average in the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) for Reading and for Writing, for Language Conventions and for Numeracy.

In the Higher School Certificate, he obtained an Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank of 58.15.

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The results of a psychologist’s assessment of intellectual ability was someone of above average IQ

After leaving school he enrolled in a Business program at university. He was granted special entry. There has been a record of failure and he has been required to provide justification in order to continue his studies.

On the Career Interest Card Sort he displayed a major preference for Business and People Contact activities.

There have been a number of short-term and casual jobs. The special difficulties he has in working now are: (a) multi-tasking; (b) concentration; (c) loss of balance; (d) motivation (e) headaches and (f) minor blackouts.

He has seen a doctor for nerves. He has never been in a psychiatric ward. He does smoke and said that he drinks. He has been a heavy drinker. He has taken hard drugs.

He has problems with some daily household activities and in managing finances. His capacity to deal with the affairs of the examination was within normal limits.

My tentative answers are:

a. there is a disability because there is a restriction or impairment that has lasted for at least six months and it is associated with a medical diagnosis;

b. the type of disability is really a matter for specialist medical opinions but my best estimate of the main condition is long-term effects of head injury, causing restriction;

c. the extent of the disability was hard to classify and might be moderate because he needs help with some core activity tasks;

d. I believe that the employment restriction is moderate because he is restricted in the type of job and unbeknown to you he is limited in the number of hours that he can work;

e. the educational restriction was moderate. He had difficulty at school especially in the senior years; and

f. I estimated the Vocational Rehabilitation Index as 13 (I had to approximate some categories – see below) with the rehabilitation needs being for information, advice, vocational guidance or counselling leading to more appropriate educational placement than a tertiary course:

Categories Criteria Index scoreAge 16–30 1Sex M 1Occupation Non-manual (estimated) 4Length of treatment <6 months 1Labour market Medium unemployment 2Spinal injury None 1Psychological Major (cognitive deficit, poor motivation) 3


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g. given that he is a male aged 20 years with a “moderate” level of restriction in core competencies, he may have an estimated work-life of only 18.7 years compared with 34.9 years for a male of the same age without a reported disability.

h. then there is the loss of income. Here are my calculations for Case Study C on loss of income:

Person 20 years, no reported disabilityMedian gross income = $767 multiplied by 34.9 years by 52 weeks = $1,391,951Person 20 years, moderate restriction in core activitiesMedian gross income = $384 multiplied by 18.7 years by 52 weeks = $373,401

The accuracy of these estimates is fraught with many difficulties and is far from exact. We could spend a considerable amount of time improving the basis for these calculations and it should be done but it is unlikely to overturn the conclusion that a moderate disability – by and large – has a major loss on employment income of something like a million dollars (gross) for a 20-year old male.

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Summary

The educational and vocational impacts of disabilities were described in this chapter. In one sense the results of this analysis are depressing. They indicate marked social and economic disadvantage for a substantial proportion of the Australian population in terms of education and employment. In general, educational achievement at school and beyond is restricted through disability. Participation let alone employment rates are lower. Income is reduced. Work-life expectancy is likely to be reduced but it is difficult to estimate accurately.

One positive aspect still remains as a stimulus for future action. This is that some people with disabilities are able to work. They are employed despite major restrictions.

Estimated work life and earnings capacity were applied to a case study in this chapter and illustrate three broad levels of vocational analysis. I showed you a three-level evaluation of the effects of an injury and disability. This was in terms of functional ability, vocational rehabilitation potential and work-life capacity.

In the next few chapters I would like to take this analysis further. I will introduce you to some relevant approaches to thinking about the world of work and how you might help people make a career choice. These approaches serve as a framework for many existing services and programs.

Exercise

Read the following case study and answer the seven questions as best you can. It is satisfactory to make some assumptions if details are not provided but indicate any assumptions. Apply a functional, vocational rehabilitation and work-life evaluation.Does the person in the case study have a disability?What type of disability?Is the restriction profound, severe, moderate or mild?What is the level of restriction in employment or education?Determine the Vocational Rehabilitation Index for this person?What is this person’s work-life expectancy?How much loss of earning capacity is there compared to someone with no reported disability (assume that he is aged 20 years)?

Case Study D

This case study is that of a 21 year-old-male who was injured in a motor vehicle accident in April 1991, when he was aged around 17 years. He was a passenger in the accident. His injuries involved: intra-abdominal bleeding, vertebral fractures, compound fractures of the leg and right-sided facial fractures. There were seven operative procedures with the most recent in 1995 and some nine hospital admissions.


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Education. He left school in Year 9. Since the accident, he has obtained a truck licence. The results of a formal psychological assessment of his intellectual ability indicated someone of around low average to average intelligence.

Work history. From 1988 to 1991 he worked in the family retail business. He was employed as a chicken boner and prepared cuts of chicken for sale at the shop.

He returned to work after the accident in a similar position with another employer in September 1991 (some 5 months after the accident) but lasted only one week. He then re-joined the family business late in 1991, working largely reduced hours and on his own time frame. He was referred to the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service in June 1992. He worked for some 6–7 weeks with a newsagency on a paper run. In April 1993, he managed the family business until June when the father returned as the business was not operating profitably. Eventually the business closed entirely. In July 1993 he worked as a chicken boner for one week, then casual employment as a kitchenhand for 10 weeks. He has tried work as a car detailer but found this difficult. In 1994, he obtained employment through the former Commonwealth Employment Service as a labourer but this lasted only a few days. The Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service became involved in his rehabilitation in March 1994.

Personal and social. There have been problems of personal and social adjustment since the accident. He now lives with his fiancée and their two children.

Judgement. He was awarded $72,167 for past loss of income (plus interest of $19,396) and $200,000 for future loss of income.

In the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, Master Hogan concluded:8 “What restricts him is not so much lack of muscular strength or

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restriction of movement. It is pain. That is permanent… I think that for the rest of his life he will get work if he does, periodically only, and that there will always be periods when he will be out of work…” (para. 62)

NOTES

1 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2013, November). Disability, ageing and carers, Australia (Catalogue No. 4430.0). Canberra: Author. Preparation of this chapter would not have been possible without recourse to the excellent statistical information provided through the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Both published and unpublished data have been used from the Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia, Catalogue No. 4430.0, November 2013. This has been used for all the tables and charts. All the statistics quoted are based on this survey, unless otherwise indicated. This assistance is gratefully acknowledged.

2 In the official statistics a schooling restriction has a formal definition. It applies to persons aged 5 to 20 years who because of their disability: (a) are unable to attend school; (b) attend a special school; (c) attend special classes at an ordinary school; (d) need at least one day a week off school on average; or (e) have difficulty at school.

3 Brown, D., & Associates. (2002). Career choice and development (4th ed.) San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

4 Sections of this chapter are taken from Athanasou, J. A. (2014). The impact of disability status on education and work in Australia, Australian Journal of Career Development, 23(2), 100–104.

5 Gamboa, A. M. (1998). The new worklife expectancy tables. Kentucky, KY: Vocational Econometrics.6 Athanasou, J. A. (1999). Disability and employment in Australia. Some positives and negatives.

Australian Journal of Career Development, 8(3), 18–22.7 The median is chosen for reporting as it is the middle value. It is a typical value that is useful for

comparisons but it should not be used as a guide to someone’s earnings. Income levels are affected by factors such as age, occupation, hours of work, managerial status and sex, so the median is only a rough guide. The average income for these groups would not be suitable as it would be influenced by the earnings of those with very high salaries.

8 Kenneth James Enright v Brian Windley [1993] ACTSC 84 cited in Athanasou, J. A. (2007). The vicissitudes of life: Some effects of injuries on career development. Australian Journal of Career Development, 16(2), 29–38.

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CHAPTER 3

TRAITS AND FACTORS – A GOOD WAY TO EXCLUDE A CAREER

In the last chapter you saw the adverse effect of disabilities on education, employment and earnings. Your role is to overcome such disadvantage and promote vocational adjustment. In order to do this, you need a working model to

guide your professional practice.In short, you need a way to help someone choose a career. Now it just so happens

that I have a slightly used but valid model of career choice to offer you in this chapter. It is not perfect but it does the job (no pun intended)!

Trait-Factor Theory

The first stop on your journey to a good model is the trait-factor approach. This is the original vocational guidance theory. I will outline its background, its key ideas and I make some comments about its relevance for rehabilitation. In particular, I examine

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it through the lens of disability and rehabilitation. When I read about any idea I always ask myself: (a) how relevant this is for the people I see, (b) how well does this theory cope with disability and (c) what are its implications for rehabilitation practice.

It is worthwhile to consider an actual case before we move on to theories.

Case Study E

The chart in Figure 3.1 shows Mr E’s work history from the time he left school. The numbers on the line show the age at each step. The changes in occupation are listed on the horizontal axis. To save time, allow me to provide you with some information.

Figure 3.1. An employment history

Mr E has a disability from a major burns injury. His work restrictions included intolerance of heat, restriction in physical activities, inability to stand. The disability is disfigurement, problems of personal and social adjustment and chronic pain. The level of restriction in employment is moderate because he is restricted in the type of job and/or the numbers of hours he can work or he will have difficulty in changing jobs. The Vocational Rehabilitation Index (17) was calculated as follows:


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Age 31–40 2Sex M 1Occupation Semi-skilled manual 3Length of treatment 19+ 4Labour market High unemployment 3Spinal injury None 1Psychological problem Major 3

I now have a small but actually rather huge task for you. Take a moment after reading these details to sketch the outline of what type of career approach might cope with this case. Feel free to make any assumptions about medical, personal or social details that are not provided.

You might frame your answers in terms of (a) what has been or will be the career development in this case, (b) what are the likely occupational choices, (c) is there any vocation or calling in life to which this person is suited, and (d) what type of career guidance or services might be provided. It is not an easy task but it starts to show you some things that career theories might address. My guess is that it shows we need person- and purpose-specific vocational approaches rather than an overall general theory. In this chapter I would like to focus on answering (c).

Frank Parsons and the Vocational Guidance Bureau

Now let me start with a story. Once upon a time there was no career development theory. There was no formalised career guidance service. Work and careers were largely informal, personal and familial. The world of work was culturally, economically, geographically or religiously defined. People went about their lives in complete oblivion to the career development theories in our textbooks.

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No doubt there were choices to be made in those times but life went on largely uninterrupted by career counsellors. Then as the world became industrialised there were more career choices than in the past. This was the case in large cities where it was considered that there was a need for a system of career guidance to assist young people with occupational choices.

The first Vocational Guidance Bureau was founded in Boston by Frank Parsons and this provided a rationale (or for want of a better word a theory) for career guidance. There were some precursors to this service1 but none as famous.

This was an age or a period in history that epitomised the sentiments of the philosopher and educator John Dewey:

Nothing is more tragic than failure to discover one’s true business in life, or to find that one has drifted or been forced by circumstance into an uncongenial calling. A right occupation means simply that the aptitudes of a person are in adequate play, working with the minimum of friction and the maximum of satisfaction.2

I love this quote – I guess I have built my whole career around trying to make it come true for others (and me).

Anyway, Frank Parsons was a social reformer and he addressed this need. He set out a common-sense talent-matching approach. Later, this came to be called the Trait and Factor Theory of Occupational Choice. At the centre of Parsons’ theory is this concept of matching personal traits and job factors.

Parsons proposed that occupational decision-making is promoted when people have achieved three things:

• A knowledge of self (that is an accurate understanding of their individual traits such as aptitudes, interests or abilities);

• A knowledge of occupations (that is information about jobs and the labour market); and

• True reasoning (that is, logical and objective thinking about their traits and job factors).

• In my experience aspects of this three-part philosophy still exist in vocational rehabilitation: a knowledge of self, a knowledge of occupations and true reasoning.

This approach occurred at around the same time as the development of psychological testing. There was a belief that it was possible to accurately measure human abilities or traits. I wish this was true.

Trait-factor theory operated with the idea that if you assessed a person on some basic characteristics then it was possible to match this with the related factors in different jobs. It assumed that there was one most suitable job for each person. The aim was satisfaction and also productivity. Laypersons still have the idea of finding the job that you are best suited to – the idea of ‘a square peg in a square hole’; they are not wrong in their aims but the complexity of the task is daunting.


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Matching Process

Let me give you an example of this matching process. For instance, each occupation in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles3 can be described in terms of some basic characteristics. These characteristics are the factors part of the trait-factor theory. They included factors such as:

General educational development (formal and informal education – included reasoning, mathematics and language); Specific vocational preparation (the amount of time required to learn and perform at an average level);

• Aptitudes (the specific abilities required for work);• Interests (the activity preferences in an occupation);• Temperaments (the adaptability requirement for an occupation);• Data-People-Things (the involvement with people vs things and data vs ideas);• Strength (a mixture of weights carried and the force required);• Physical Activities (the physical demands of an occupation); and• Environmental Conditions (the surroundings in which an occupation is performed).

By the same token each person’s traits or characteristics could (in theory) be determined and voila all one had to do was find a perfect match!

Alas, it was not so simple. Life, people and working are much more complex.To take this trait-factor example a stage further for you, let us start with aptitudes

as one component of the overall classification.

Aptitudes

Aptitudes are qualities that a person has that will promote learning. How do you know that someone has an aptitude? In theory you could take the time taken to learn something and divide by the average time that people take. If you have an

Figure 3.2. The vocational guidance model of Parsons for promoting career choice

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aptitude, then you will learn quicker than most people. Aptitudes are not assessed using this approach because it is somewhat impractical. We rely on self-report or various psychological tests.

Each occupation has been rated and categorised on a variety of aptitude dimensions. These are the factors part of the trait-factor model.

G General Learning Ability (aptitude to learn, reason and make judgments)V Verbal Ability (use of words and understanding ideas)N Numerical Ability (ability to undertake mathematical functions)S Spatial Perception (visualisation of two and three dimensions)P Form Perception (perception of graphical details)Q Clerical Perception (clerical speed and accuracy)K Motor Co-ordination (coordination of eyes, hands and fingers)F Finger Dexterity (handling of small objects)M Manual Dexterity (handling, placing and moving)E Eye-hand coordination (responding to visual stimuli)C Colour discrimination (ability to math or discriminate colours)

There were five levels of these aptitudes based on a normal distribution of abilities (see Table 3.1):

Table 3.1. Aptitude levels in the dictionary of occupational titles4

Aptitude level

Percentile Interpretation

1 Highest 10% of the working population Superior2 Upper third, excluding the highest 10% Above average3 Middle third of the working population Average4 Lowest third excluding the lowest 10% Below average5 Lowest 10% of the working population Minimal ability – unable to perform

An occupation such as material handling technician would have the following profile: G3 V4 N3 S3 P4 Q4 K3 F4 M3 E3 C4. It was then a matter of determining one’s aptitudes (the trait part of the trait-factor approach) and finding if this is the best fit. This could also be done for general educational development, interests, temperaments, strength, physical demands and factors such as environmental conditions.

A focus on matching does not mean that only a few factors should be considered. Unfortunately, this matching became rather mechanical in the past. It was aided and abetted by a belief in the validity of psychological testing. For instance, people were matched with occupations merely on the basis of characteristics, such as IQ.

We used IQ or general reasoning ability as a routine guide to recommending occupations right up to the early 80s in vocational guidance services. There is more


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to life than IQ but mind you there is some support for the validity of general ability as a predictor in the absence of other factors.5 Schmidt and Hunter summarised the research on general mental ability and indicated that it “…predicts both occupational level attained and performance within one’s chosen occupation and does so better than any other ability, trait, or disposition and better than job experience.”6

It is good to exclude unlikely options but there can be some problems with matching if one does not take into account the variability that occurs in occupations.

I still have in my files some data from the Australian norming study for the General Aptitude Test Battery from the former Department of Labour & Industry. This set out the average IQ for occupational groups and occupations (see Table 3.2). If my memory is correct this was based on data from national servicemen.

Table 3.2. Occupational norms – major occupational groups

Occupational group Estimated average IQ

Professional, technical and related workers 115Administrative, executive and managerial workers 111Clerical workers 111Sales workers 103Farmers, fishermen, timber getters etc. 101Miners, quarrymen 99Transport workers 98Craftsmen, production workers, labourers, service, sport-recreation workers

99

Although Table 3.2 shows average IQs it masks the information in Figure 3.3. This shows that there is (a) a considerable range within each occupation; and (b) that people in some occupations overlap in IQs (that is, there are some labourers whose IQs are higher than professionals). So it is important in a trait-factor approach to have a wide margin of error in your selection and exclusion criteria. Now it is time to look at how Parsons went about helping people.

Stages of Assistance

Parsons did not envisage such a technical comparison. For a start, it was not available to him. Instead, he outlined seven stages for a career counsellor to work through with clients:

1. Obtain the personal data: include key facts about the person, collect the relevant information that has an influence on the vocational problem.

2. Self-analysis: this involves reflection and self-examination. It is done privately. The professional may guide and instruct. Any inclination or preference is noted.

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3. The person makes a choice or decision. This might occur in the previous two steps. The choice of vocation is made by the person and the professional merely is a guide.

4. There is a period of analysis: the person’s decision is examined to see if it is consistent with the calling or “main quest”.

5. Information on careers and outlook for occupations: the professional should be familiar with industries, employment, education and training.

6. Orientation and advice: an open-minded approach together with “true reasoning” is essential at this stage.

7. General assistance: the professional helps the person to fit into the chosen occupation or job or course and to evaluate the decision.7

Over time Parson’s approach was developed into a formal system of testing and guidance.

This idea of vocational guidance spread to Australia and in 1926, a Vocational Guidance Bureau was established by the New South Wales Government. The process in New South Wales went something like this. A person would have

Figure 3.3. Variation in IQs within occupational groups


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an interview with a guidance officer. An assessment would be scheduled that comprised a verbal reasoning test, quantitative reasoning test, abstract reasoning test, spatial reasoning test, mechanical aptitude test, speed and accuracy test, spelling and an interest questionnaire. This would take the best part of a morning. In the afternoon, the results were discussed at a second interview and a report written.

In the 1960s a State government vocational guidance report, prepared for a 15-year-old male student who was in Year 9, was typical of this situation:-

In the vocational tests you revealed superior general intellectual ability, superior spelling and very superior clerical speed and accuracy. Practical aptitudes were average. A test of colour discrimination revealed no defect.

These results and your school record indicate that you are capable of success in Leaving Certificate Examination studies and in tertiary studies at degree level. Your own choice of a degree in Arts, leading to secondary teaching, a position as a psychologist, or social work, is recommended.

A position as an executive trainee with a large commercial organisation would also be suitable and could follow a degree in Arts or in Economics or Commerce.

A further discussion about your future training and employment should be arranged after publication of your Leaving Certificate Examination results. (Department of Labour and Industry New South Wales, Division of Vocational Guidance Services, copy, 3.1.68)

There were variations on this approach for special needs clients. There were also mass testing programs in schools that lacked finesse and completeness. They gave the trait-factor approach a bad name from which it is unlikely to recover.

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I am almost at the end of my story and if you look around you will still find some traces of Parsons’ ideas in rehabilitation practice today, though it is not without criticism. It does not allow for flexibility in people. There was an implicit assumption of one best choice. Matching also assumed a degree of stability within the labour market.

Trait-factor approaches became less prescriptive and morphed further into what is now called a person-environment approach to guidance. Directive approaches also fell by the wayside as client-centred counselling approaches took over.

So this was the foundation of career guidance and I must say that some of it still permeates my thinking about careers. This is because occupations have requirements that must be satisfied. There is considerable flexibility in the job market but at the end of the day some occupations are not suitable for a person by virtue of physical requirements, educational qualifications, temperament or aptitude let alone other practical reasons such as transport or working conditions.

For the life of me I cannot see what is wrong with the essence of this approach if it is applied with care and consideration. It can be used to explore occupational alternatives in a meaningful way. It has some evidence base.

What happened, however, was that it became a process of something like: “three interviews and a cloud of dust”.8 It was the way it was applied – unthinkingly, impersonally and inflexibly – that made it unwelcome.

In the next section I have a case study for you to show how trait-factor thinking can still operate in the area of disability.

Case Study F

A 30-year old male construction worker was injured in a fall on a work-site. There were transverse fractures to the L1–L4 (see Figures 3.4 and 3.5 for an illustration of the transverse process and the L1–L4 region). He was hospitalised. These transverse fractures did not cause any instability to the spine or any damage to the spinal cord.9

Figure 3.4. Transverse process10


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By way of background there is a transverse process on each side of every vertebra in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. It is a bony protrusion from the back of a vertebrae bone in the spine.

Figure 3.5. Lumbar spine with L1 to L4 shaded grey11

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It is now around nine months’ post-injury and he complains of constant back ache and swelling in the lower back. He has difficulty lifting and sitting for long periods, including driving. I believed that his complaints were genuine.

He indicated that he can sit comfortably for around 45 minutes and can stand comfortably for 10 minutes. Walking is a problem and he can manage 20 minutes. Using stairs, lifting or carrying and climbing were all said to be problems for him. He said that he can bend at the waist. He does not limp and is steady on his feet. Hand grip strength is satisfactory but back-leg pull strength is well below average.

For the purposes of this case presentation, I have omitted all the educational details, the work history and the social background.

On the basis of the information available to me, I listed the work activities from the Occupational Information Network O*NET (the successor to the Dictionary of Occupational Titles) in Table 3.3. I indicated those activities that I considered were suitable or unsuitable for him. These job factors cover four broad areas of (a) information input, (b) interacting with others, (c) mental processes and (d) work output.

It is in the area of work output that he is facing the greatest problems. This covers controlling machines, handling moving objects, operating vehicles, performing general physical activities and repairing or maintaining.

Table 3.3. Limitations for Mr F in work activities using a trait-factor approach

Work activities Suitability

Information inputEstimating

Getting information

Identifying objects

Inspecting equipment

Monitoring processes

Interacting with othersAssisting and caring

Coaching and developing

Communicating with persons outside

Communicating with supervisors, peers

Coordinating the work and activities of others

Developing and building teams

Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships

Guiding, directing and motivating

Interpreting the meaning of information for others


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Work activities SuitabilityMonitoring and controlling resources

Performing administrative activities

Performing or working directly with the public

Provide consultation and advice

Resolving conflicts

Selling or influencing

Staffing organisational units

Training and teaching

Mental processesAnalysing data

Developing objectives

Evaluating information

Judging qualities

Making decisions

Organising, planning

Processing information

Scheduling work

Thinking creatively

Updating and using relevant knowledge

Work outputControlling machines

Documenting information

Drafting, laying out devices, parts, equipment

Handling moving objects

Operating vehicles

Performing general physical activities

Repairing and maintaining

= suitable; = unsuitable

In the O*NET, performing general physical activities is rated as being 80% important for work as a carpenter; handling and moving objects is rated at 78%; controlling machines and processes is rated at 69%; and operating vehicles or mechanised devices is rated at 65% importance.

Table 3.3. (Continued)

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Accordingly, using a trait-factor framework in a negative way, it seems reasonable to infer that this man is not suited for work as a construction carpenter. There may well be many other occupations for which he is suited but in this case the trait-factor approach was helpful in identifying work for which someone may not be suited. He is now working as a site manager with a less “hands-on” role and likely to extend his qualifications into a diploma of building.

Other Approaches to Career

This trait-factor approach remained influential for over 60 years but has largely fallen by the wayside. People now refer to it in a derogatory way. Yet I am not sure that what they have to replace it with is as valid or works on a large scale in a busy everyday practice. Let’s face it, who is really going to opt for occupations for which they are not suited?

For many years, the big four career theories have been (a) person-environment approaches like that of John Holland, (b) social learning theories like that of Krumboltz, (c) developmental theories like that of Super and (d) the work adjustment approach of Dawis and Lofquist. These were the basic theories with which I grew up in vocational guidance.

Since that time additional approaches have included Gottfredson’s Theory of Circumscription and Compromise and Social Cognitive Theory. In recent years there has been a wave of theorising and my once relatively stable field of career development is changing.

Now newer theories are challenging the old order. They embody constructivist, narrative, systems-theory and post-modern approaches. I cannot deal with all of them for you in the time or space available. Here is my listing of theories to show you that there are far too many to cover. It is a little scary that there are so many competing explanations.

Bordin’s psychodynamic model of career choiceBrown’s values-based theoryCognitive information processingGinzberg’s theory of career developmentGottfredson’ circumscription and compromise theoryKrumbotz’ social learning theoryPatton & McMahon a systems approachPerson-environment fit theory: Holland’s theory of vocational personalitiesPryor & Bright chaos theoryRoe’s theory of personality development and career choiceSavickas’ Career construction: a developmental theorySocial cognitive theorySuper’s life-span life-space approach


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The Big-Five theoryTheory of work adjustmentTiedeman & O’Hara differentiating ego identityTrait-factor theoryValach & Young contextualist approachVondracek developmental contextual approach

Someone might rightly ask: what are all these theories trying to achieve? I think that they are trying to explain particular aspects of career development. Are they useful? Each has something to offer but I believe that few if any have overall application with disabilities and rehabilitation.

In 2006, Patton and McMahon12 analysed these theories in terms of their content. They also categorised them in terms of whether they referred to disability. Each was characterised as no mention of disability, some acknowledgement of disability or substantial reference to disability. You might find the results disconcerting.

No mention of disabilityBig-Five theoryCircumscription and compromise theoryCognitive information processingContextualist approachDifferentiating ego identityPerson-environment fit theoryPsychodynamic model of career choiceTheory of career developmentTheory of work adjustment

Some acknowledgement of disabilityCareer construction: a developmental theoryDevelopmental contextual approachLife-span life-space approachRoe’s theory of personality development and career choiceSocial cognitive theorySocial learning theoryTrait-factor theoryValues-based theory

Substantial reference to disabilityNil.

There is a proliferation of theorising. Sadly, career development theories make little or no reference to disability. They disenfranchise some 4.2 million Australians. This book is an attempt to reverse that process.

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Summary

In this chapter, a listing was provided of the major career theories. The reader was introduced to the origins of vocational theory through the work of Frank Parsons. A brief outline of the trait-factor model was provided as a precursor to person-environment fit approaches.

The original trait-factor approach did not refer extensively to disability because it was developed for another time and place. Nevertheless, it is applicable to rehabilitation because it is based on the practical criterion of being able to undertake a work task. It utilises our knowledge of occupations and applies this to the individual.

In essence it means that in using a trait-factor approach it is likely that people will have the potential to undertake a wider range of occupations than they might have considered initially. It is certainly helpful in documenting unsuitability.

The major proviso is that it is not used in a prescriptive or unthinking fashion. Were one to follow the seven steps outlined by Parsons then it is possible for the trait-factor approach to have greater utility for career exploration than is often imagined. This is especially the case if it is used to broaden opportunities.

In the next two chapters we shall consider developments of the trait-factor approach that incorporate interests and work values. Meanwhile it is recommended that the central core of matching in the trait-factor approach is retained in vocational rehabilitation. Some case study exercises follow

Exercise

The first case is a continuing disability, the second case study is a mid-career disability and the third is a chronic illness. They define some of the real-life parameters of disability and careers that you will encounter.

Case Study G

Miss G is a 16-year-old female, high school pupil. She attended for an educational assessment. The issue was continual learning difficulties and dyslexia. She was in a special class for reading at a younger age. No grades have been repeated in her schooling.

Educational Assessments

Word reading 6.4 grade equivalentComprehension 6.2 grade equivalentSpelling 11.0 grade equivalentMathematics >12.9 grade equivalent


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Intellectual ability. Her estimated IQ (vocabulary and matrix reasoning) was in the range 87–100. She is able to process 100 units of information in just over 6 seconds which is slightly above average.

Other details. She has worked part-time. Her social adjustment appeared normal. There may be some underlying problems of personal adjustment. She does not have any special vocational aspiration at this time. Her aim is to complete Year 12 and proceed to university.

Case Study H

Mr H is a 25-year-old male, who was injured in a work-related accident when he was aged around 20 years. His injuries included, amongst others, a catastrophic head injury. He has been accepted into a lifetime care program.

He completed his schooling to Year 12 level and obtained the Higher School Certificate. There are no post-school qualifications. He attempted a financial services course at TAFE but discontinued before the first semester concluded.

He worked for a group apprenticeship scheme as an apprentice for two months, then as a process labourer in a factory for around six months. At the time of the accident he was a construction labourer employed on a casual basis through a temporary hire labour firm. His vocational aspiration at the time of the accident was to travel to Western Australia and obtain employment in the mining industry.

Case Study I

Ms I is a 31-year-old female, who has a chronic illness. She has recently undergone a renal transplant. There have been personal problems associated with dialysis and kidney failure. She is now in receipt of a disability support pension. She is able to work part-time and is keen to return to full-time work.

She obtained the School Certificate. There are no formal post-school qualifications but she has undertaken an office skills course. Her reading for work purposes was assessed briefly using the oral word reading list from the Wide Range Achievement Test. Results indicated an educational standard beyond senior high school level.

When she left school she wanted to enter nursing but has worked mainly as a shop employee and in waitressing. This is due to restrictions in the local labour market. On the Career Interest Card Sort she displayed a major preference for People Contact and Outdoor activities and a dislike of Office and Business activities.

Use a trait-factor approach to determine what type of work activities might not be suitable for the persons in these cases?

a. use the O*NET list from Table 3.1. If you are uncertain about an activity, then leave the work activity blank;

b. think about each of these cases in terms of some of the Dictionary of Occupational Title’s criteria that I mentioned earlier. Take into account: General educational

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requirement; Specific vocational preparation; Aptitudes; Strength; and Physical Activities (the physical demands of an occupation).

NOTES

1 In 1881, Lysander Richards published the first American textbook on vocational counselling, naming it Vocophy.

2 Dewey, J. (2012). Democracy and education. Los Angeles, CA: IndoEuropean Publishing.3 United States Department of Labor. (1977). Dictionary of occupational titles (4th ed.). Washington,

DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. O*NET is the successor to the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.

4 Note that there may be some variations between authors in describing Levels 4 and 5. The actual distribution of abilities in occupations varies from the distribution of aptitudes population. For instance of the 12,671 occupations in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles only 337 titles (around 3%) are rated for General Learning Ability at level 1, whereas by definition 10% of people have that aptitude at Level 1.

5 Gottfredson, L. S. (1997). Why g matters: The complexity of everyday life. Intelligence, 24(1), 79–132.

6 Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. (2004). General mental ability in the world of work: Occupational attainment and job performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(1), 162–173.

7 Parsons, F. (1909). Choosing a vocation (pp. 45–46). London: Gay & Hancock.8 Crites, J. O. (1981). Career counseling: Models, methods and materials (pp. 49–52). Scarboro, ON,

McGraw-Hill Book Co.9 Patten, R. M., Gunberg, S. R., & Brandenburger, D. K. (2000). Frequency and importance to transverse

process fractures in the lumbar vertebrae at helical. Radiology, 215(3), 831–834.10 Gray, H. (1918). Anatomy of the human body Gray’s Anatomy, Plate 93. Licensed under Public

Domain via Wikimedia Commons.11 Gray, H. (1918). Anatomy of the human body. Gray’s Anatomy, Plate 111. Licensed under Public

Domain via Wikimedia Commons.12 Patton, W., & McMahon, M. M. (2006). Career development and systems theory. Connecting theory

and practice (2nd ed.). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

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WORK INTERESTS

Iwas on a sabbatical at the beautiful campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign way back in October 1998 when I asked Professor Lenore Harmon who had been editor of the Journal of Vocational Behavior, which career theory

was best to teach my students. She replied unhesitatingly, “Holland”. I was sceptical but I have followed her advice and it still seems practical some 24 years alter.

No matter in which direction I turn in vocational psychology, I usually come up against some aspects of the Holland approach. The years have passed and new ideas emerged but I recommend that you should be familiar with the vocational choice theory of John Holland.

Holland’s theory is a close cousin of the trait-factor approach. Holland outlined this theory in his book Making Vocational Choices: A Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments. This book was in its third edition when Holland passed away in 2008.

The importance of Holland’s theory lies in its domination of the field. It has the advantage that is it is easily understood. It is applicable across a wide field of practice although there is no direct reference to “disability”.

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What is so special about John Holland and his theory? It gives you a basis for assessing a person’s work interests. It allows you to relate these interests to the world of work and to find occupations that may be suitable for someone.

It means that you can add interests to the aspects we discussed in the last chapter. Maybe first look at what someone can do then look at what they like (or vice-versa). It still fits neatly within a trait-factor approach.

The Holland categories to which I will introduce you shortly are used as a basis for classification of occupations. For instance, Australian occupational information in Job Outlook utilises the Holland categories. O*NET uses the Holland categories. Many vocational assessments use these same categories. It has become an industry standard.

The aim of this theory was to help individuals make successful career choices. By and large it achieves this goal. It does this by promoting a match between a person and an occupation. This is what is called person-environment fit. It is a natural successor to the trait-factor approach that we discussed in the last chapter.

An indication of the popularity of this theory is that at one stage the publisher reported that some 21 million copies of his Self-Directed Search had been sold.1

It is especially popular amongst practitioners and is now in its 5th edition. I recall a conference at Lehigh University when someone in the audience rose and said “John Holland, you’re my hero”. The Holland approach to careers is used so widely and its impact so broad that one needs more than a nodding acquaintance with its content.

There is considerable background to the theory and the historical picture is probably not as rosy as painted but here it is and like many ideas in vocational psychology it has blossomed and flourished.2 It was developed over a considerable period, at least from around 1959 and has its origins in personality research. I have a sneaking suspicion that parts of it may be correct but for the wrong reasons!

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Vocational Preference Inventory

When John Holland developed a personality questionnaire in 1953 that used occupational titles there were also six vocational types amongst the personality factors. That personality questionnaire is called the Vocational Preference Inventory.

The Vocational Preference Inventory consists of occupational titles that represent the six major vocational types in Holland’s theory as well as scales such as self-control, status, masculinity-femininity, infrequency (of choices) and acquiescence (in responding). Acquiescence and Infrequency are used to assess random responding or lack of cooperation. In a sense it is a projective test (like the famous Rorschach ink-blot test) because inferences are made about someone’s personality from their occupational likes and dislikes.

People indicate “like” or “dislike” to 160 occupations. Answers can also be left blank if undecided. It is completed in around 15–30 minutes and is scored by a psychologist. There are no right or wrong answers but hopefully only what is true for the person.

In terms of technical details, there are norms or comparison tables for very large, student, male and female samples from more than 30 different institutions as well as some occupational groups. The test-retest reliabilities after four years are around 0.5 which I consider as somewhat low. For a small sample of 28 adult women after 2 months the test retest reliabilities ranged from 0.57 to 0.84.

Meanwhile, the vocational types were considered to be personality types and they are all based on occupational choices. For instance, if you say that in the main you like jobs such as: mechanic, park ranger, carpenter, bulldozer operator, surveyor, building inspector, train driver, electrician or engineer, then you might be categorised as a Realistic type. If you say that you mainly like jobs such as: – social worker, primary school teacher, child care worker, counsellor, psychologist or nurse, then you might be categorised as a Social type.

I think it was George Frederic Kuder, the developer of the Kuder Preference Record who said that it was quite circular reasoning to use job titles in an interest questionnaire that was intended for use in occupational counselling.3

Notwithstanding this critique, the Vocational Preference Inventory was based on some very powerful insights that are summarised in the following postulates:4

• Personality is expressed through the choice of an occupation;• Our interest assessments are essentially personality-type questionnaires; and• There is personal value in the perceptions or stereotypes that people have of

different occupations.

If these statements are correct – and I have no reason to doubt them – then they have wide-ranging implications for occupational choice and its assessment.

Holland formulated these six basic vocational types but did very little as far as I know with the other personality scales in his Vocational Preference Inventory

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because the six types “took off”. They became extremely popular and widely researched. Anyway, good luck to him!

Six Vocational Types

Here are his six vocational types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and Conventional also called RIASEC for short. Each type is characterised in terms of tasks, activities and interests.

Realistic.• Tasks – includes mainly physical requirements.• Activities – Realistic people may like to repair things, construct, operate

machinery, use tools, work on motors, weld, design equipment.• Interests – Outdoor, Practical, Mechanical.

Investigative.• Tasks – mainly intellectual demands.• Activities – Investigative people may like to reason logically, study science,

experiment, explore nature, solve abstract problems or think mathematically.• Interests – Scientific, Health.

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Artistic.• Tasks – mainly artistic, theatrical, dance, literary or musical components.• Activities – Artistic people may like to paint, play music, create a sculpture, work

with pottery, engage in craft activities, express themselves through acting, play in an orchestra, sing in a choir, attend a concert, write poetry or read fiction.

• Interests – Creative, Artistic, Literary, Musical.

Social.• Tasks – mainly social service and welfare requirements.• Activities – Social people may like to maintain friendships, belong to clubs, help

others, take care of people, attend parties, go dancing, take part in meetings, go to church or sporting events.

• Interests – People Contact, Community.

Enterprising.• Tasks – mainly business or persuasive requirements.• Activities – Enterprising people may like to persuade others, engage in politics,

operate a business, be on a committee, take part in local activities, lead others or run a business.

• Interests – Business, Enterprising.

Conventional.• Tasks – mainly clerical and office requirements.• Activities – Conventional people may like to organise themselves, keep records

in some order, keep accounts or act as a secretary for a group.• Interests – Office work, Computing.

An individual may be categorised according to these types. Replying to criticisms that there are more than six personalities, Holland indicated that these are basic types. They are models or ideal categories.

Although students in Australia seem to have a preference for Enterprising, Social and Artistic activities,5 the available evidence supports the idea that the types are spread across the population. If you are sitting on a bus or train in downtown Sydney then feel free to ask the other passengers what Holland type they are. The process should be quite memorable for you!

The six categories represent a compromise. These basic six types are expanded by all the permutations and combinations of the RIASEC types.6 If my mathematics is correct there are 720 possible combinations of these six types. So there are not just six categories but really 720 types.

These 720 types are unmanageable and Holland argued that people can be described usefully by the combination of their three highest interests. This yields 120 combinations. This three-letter code introduces some flexibility.

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The three main types are determined, starting with the main type, then the second most relevant and then third most relevant. An example of a three-letter code would be SIA (Social type first, then Investigative type and finally Artistic type). What would you think is your three-letter code?

Next Holland said7 people search for environments that (a) their type prefers, (b) that match their talents or abilities, and (c) that are consistent with their views in life. Have you noticed that this is an extension of our trait-factor approach, except that it is the person who is doing the matching based on their personality type.

Hence a Realistic type might look for outdoor or practical work, an Investigative type will prefer scientific work, an Artistic type will seek creative work, a Social type will like people contact, an Enterprising type will have business interests and the Conventional type will be attracted to office activities – and the Lazy type might just take the day off work!

Work Environments

There are also six work environments (RIASEC) in the Holland scheme and all occupations have been categorized as one or more of these six types. So it is a short step to go from the six personal types (traits) to the six work environments (factors) – voila Frank Parsons!

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I have put together a classification of Australian occupations by the Holland types. This is set out in Table 4.1. It classifies occupations into the six Holland categories. The occupations are actually listed in order of workforce popularity within each group. Occupations were classified in terms of what was considered to be the main type but it is recognised that there may be considerable overlap in some instances.

Table 4.1. Classification of Australian occupations by Holland type

REALISTIC

Truck driver * Cleaner * Storeperson * Electrician * Carpenter * Kitchenhand * Livestock farmer * Motor mechanic * Fitter and machinist * Welder * Plumber * Packer * Shelf filler * Crop farmer * Chef * Police * Gardener * Production manager * Security officer * Building labourer * Forklift driver * Painter * Courier * Bulldozer operator * Product assembler * Delivery driver * Miner * Handyman * Factory worker * Electronics trade * Bus driver * Car driver * Plasterer * Gardener * Concreter * Bricklayer * Fast food cook * Baker, pastrycook * Cleaner * Cabinetmaker * Engineering worker * Sports coach * Housekeeper * Butcher * Air conditioning mechanic * Printer * Laundry worker * Car detailer * Wall and floor tiler * Fitness instructor * Aircraft engineer * Sewing machinist * Panelbeater * Insulation installer * Greenkeeper * Pilot * Fireman * Train driver * Furniture handler * Defence force * Prison officer * Tyre fitter * Surveyor * Animal attendant * Spraypainter * Tram driver * Meat boner * Plastics production * Floor finisher * Fencer * Crane operator * Timber worker * Power plant operator * Tailor * Toolmaker * Glazier * Marine transport professional * Deck hand * Paving labourer * Sportsperson * Wood machinist * Auto electrician * Printing assistant * Safety inspector * Roof tiler * Vending machine attendant * Footwear production * Printer * Boat builder * Caretaker * Farmer * Shearer * Rubbish collector * Upholsterer * Logging worker * Canvass maker * Aquaculture farmer * Bricklayer * Outdoor adventure guide * Fitness worker * Prison officer

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INVESTIGATIVE

Software programmer * University lecturer * Doctor * Computer technician * Engineer * Technical sales representative * Computer network professional * Medical technician * Pharmacist * Science technician * Medical scientist * Environmental scientist * Physiotherapist * Policy analyst * Occupational safety professional * Radiographer * Dentist * Electrical engineer * Chemist * Agricultural scientist * Veterinarian * Geologist * Biologist * Mining engineer * Actuary * Mathematician * Statistician * Surgeon * Anaesthetist * Dietitian * Psychiatrist * Chemical engineer * Horticulturalist

ARTISTIC

Architectural technician * Web designer * Illustrator * Journalist * Performing arts technician * Media producer * Media presenter * Musician * Photographer * Town planner * Television director * Gallery technician * Crafts professional * Museum guide * Fashion designer * Signwriter * Multimedia specialist * Actor * Dancer * Screen printer * Jeweller * Author * Display assistant

SOCIAL

Registered nurse * Primary school teacher * High school teacher * Sales representative * Sales manager * Waiter * Child carer * Aged and disabled carer * Real estate sales * Nursing support * Teacher’s aide * Bar attendant * Barista * Hairdresser * Human resource professional * Welfare worker * Trade teacher * Private tutor * Beauty therapist * Dental assistant * Pre-school teacher * Minister of religion * Counsellor * Welfare worker * Special education teacher * Psychologist * Social worker * Midwife * Nurse manager * Librarian * Ambulance officer * Library assistant * Massage therapist * Child care centre manager * Flight attendant * Occupational therapist * Teacher of English * Dental hygienist * Carer or aide * Diversional therapist * Nurse educator * Podiatrist * Personal carer

ENTERPRISING

Sales assistant * Shop manager * Checkout operator * Construction manager * Manager * Chief executive * Café manager * Finance manager * Solicitor * Advertising professional * Management analyst * Financial adviser * Spare parts sales * Call centre manager * Pharmacy sales assistant * Travel agent * Café worker * Hotel manager * School principal * Importer * Public relations professional * Event organiser * Computer sales * Sales demonstrator * Telemarketer * Debt collector * Insurance agent * Service station attendant * Amusement centre manager * Licensed club manager * Barrister * Hotel service manager Driving instructor * Auctioneer * Funeral worker * Economist * Finance broker *

CONVENTIONAL

General clerk * Receptionist * Accountant * Secretary * Office manager * Accounts clerk * Bookkeeper * Purchasing clerk * Bank worker * Keyboard operator * Inquiry clerk * Personal assistant * Finance manager * Inspector * Credit and loan officer * Despatch or transport clerk * Insurance clerk * Call centre worker * Payroll clerk * File clerk * Mail sorter * Ticket sales * Auditor * Court clerk * Practice manager * Valuer * Conveyancer * Human resource clerk * Switchboard operator * Archivist * Curator * Insurance investigator * Survey interviewer * Betting clerk


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You could use this table to search for occupations that match the Holland type of your clients or patients. There are also more detailed tables based on three letter codes. Normally I search the two highest interests and look for suitable occupations in either of the two highest categories.

Again, Holland went further than merely categorising every occupation by its major type. As I alluded to earlier, each occupation was described not only by its main type as in Table 4.1 but more exactly by a combination of the three highest Holland codes.

For instance, high school teacher is SAE (Social, Artistic, Enterprising), chef is SER (Social, Enterprising, Realistic) and Social worker is (Social, Enterprising, Artistic). On the other hand, in 1992 vocational counsellor was classified as _ _ _ and I shall let you guess!

Along with primary school teacher, home economics teacher, foreign language teacher, high school teacher, home economist, homemaker, pre-school teacher, speech teacher, teacher’s aide and social service aide, the occupation of vocational counsellor was SAE in 1992.8

By 1997, vocational rehabilitation counsellor had moved to SEC along with claim agent, library director, fund raiser, paralegal, personnel manager, kindergarten teacher, special education teacher, homemaker, psychiatric aide, security guard and other jobs.9

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Well there you are – do allow for some flexibility in the coding. It is not perfect and more of an art than a science but it may be helpful in guiding career exploration.

As you can easily see in Table 4.1, there is a vast difference in the number of occupations per type. It is also reflected in the occupational popularity of the six types. On my calculations the Realistic category dominates in Australia, accounting for over one-third of the workforce. The position is summarised in Table 4.2. This distribution of occupations across the types did not seem right to me in my early research into interests, so I split Realistic into Outdoor and Practical as a partial solution but I have still come to accept the utility of the Holland categorisation over time.

Table 4.2. Distribution of the Holland types

Scale Percent of workersN=8,938,595

R – Realistic 34%I – Investigative 6%A – Artistic 2%S – Social 17%E – Enterprising 25%C – Conventional 16%

All percentages rounded; Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006 Census Tables, Catalogue No. 2068.0

Types and Expected Performance

Holland emphasised the trait-factor or person-environment aspect: namely, people who work in an environment that is matched with their personality type are more likely to be satisfied.

He listed 27 statements or hypotheses about the types and their expected performance in terms of career pathways, level of aspiration and achievement, career involvement and satisfaction, job shifts and unemployment, educational behaviour, social behaviour and environmental responsiveness.

In stating these hypotheses, Holland was correct to limit their truth with the phrase ceteris paribus, that is, other things being equal. It means that something is true after controlling for gender, social class, intelligence and education. Should one add disability to this list?

• Career pathways – Holland considered that personality pattern is related to what work a person prefers and the first-letter code is related to the direction of vocational choice;

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• Level of aspiration and achievement – E, S and A types are most related to vocational aspirations but level of achievement in a field is linked with consistency, differentiation and identity;

• Career involvement and satisfaction – this is positively correlated with congruence (the closeness of the match between a person’s type and an occupation);

• Job shifts and unemployment – to quote Holland: “Effective coping with voluntary and involuntary job changes (i.e., layoffs and firings) and with unemployment will be positively associated with high levels of consistency, differentiation, and especially identity.”10

• Educational behaviour – stability and satisfaction follows similar rules above as for vocational behaviours;

• Social behaviour – personality patterns, especially Social and Enterprising, determine the extent of involvement in public affairs;

• Environmental responsiveness – resistance to external influences comes with consistent, differentiated personality patterns.

This is only a brief summary and the reader is referred to a more complete statement of the 27 hypotheses.11

Exercise

Here is a task for you. Find the Holland code for rehabilitation counsellor. To do this first go to http://joboutlook.gov.au/ There is no heading for rehabilitation counsellor or vocational rehabilitation counsellor so I suggest that you use counsellor.

Go to the heading SKILLS. Then select Interests as an attribute and click on Show. You should get a profile like Table 4.3 with a Holland code of SAI.

If you prefer the O*NET classification (www.onetonline.org) then undertake an occupations search for “rehabilitation counselor”. The interest code for rehabilitation counsellor is SI.

http://joboutlook.gov.au/

http://www.onetonline.org

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Holland’s model is easy to use and to understand. You have seen that it is well-supported by the careers industry both in Australia and abroad. You will find a wealth of available occupational information based around it.

It originated with the Vocational Preference Inventory then the Self-Directed Search was developed as a self-help instrument containing activities, abilities and occupations. This is self-scored and a three-letter code is obtained. The results can then be compared to a list of occupations. An entire industry has developed around these assessments.

At last count, it included the Vocational Preference Inventory, Self-Directed Search Career Planning Kit, Career Explorer, the online version of the Self-Directed

Table 4.3. Interest details for the occupation of counsellor

Interest Importance (%) Description

Social 100 Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Artistic 61 Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Investigative 57 Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Enterprising 42 Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Conventional 28 Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Realistic 19 Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

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Search, Dictionary of Holland Occupational Codes and the Position Classification Inventory.

The Holland codes became so influential that they were adopted by the Strong Interest Inventory, which historically has been the leading vocational interest questionnaire in the USA. Hansen and Campbell12 described the benefits of the Holland typology which is used in the Strong Interest Inventory:

The major advantage of Holland’s categories is that he paid close attention to the theoretical concerns of classification systems… He constructed categories that were both exhaustive and mutually exclusive, and most important, he developed a rationale for his classification and described it at length…. (p. 59)

Exercise

Before I move on to explore some other aspects of Holland’s theory allow me to pause and ask ‘What Holland type would you allocate to our previous case studies?’ Refer to case studies G, H and I from the previous chapter. Here are my answers.

Case Study G

At present there is insufficient information about the 16-year old female in Case Study G. It may help a little if I say that her best subject was Business Studies and her worst subject was English. At present she is studying Personal Development, Health and Physical Education, Business Studies, Food Technology, Religion, General Mathematics and English. There are no special hobbies or interests. It is still difficult to formulate a type but probably some can be eliminated, namely Realistic, Investigative and Artistic based on her choice of school subjects. This leaves some combination of Social, Enterprising and Conventional (SEC, SCE, ECS, ESC, CSE, CES).

Case Study H

Based on the employment history and aspiration, this person seems likely to be a Realistic type. There was no further background information available to me.

Case Study I

We cannot rely entirely upon her work history to determine her Holland type as this was limited by the local labour market. Her completion of an office skills course was also determined by circumstance. Her occupational aspiration to enter nursing is a partial clue. The results of the Career Interest Card Sort offer a second clue. This

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indicated a preference for People Contact and Outdoor activities. The dislikes are particularly important as an indicator. The People Contact interest is analogous to the Holland Social type. The Outdoor interest is Realistic but is not unusual in an Australian context as an indicator of freedom and leisure interest. I would say that she is an SRE type and I would consider it safe to start exploring occupations of a social nature.

The Holland typology can also be applied to work histories. Here are two examples.

Case Study J

The employment history of a 40-year old female is summarised briefly below. If you have time, then allocate the Holland codes to the occupations.

10 years General Hospital registered nurse – acute surgical3 months Belfast Hospital general nurse7 months immigration law, UK paralegal9 years government office lawyer (solicitor)

The progression is from nurse (SIC) to legal clerk (CER) to solicitor (EIA) or more generally from S to C (short-term job) to E.

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Case Study K

This is the employment history of a 58-year old male. Allocate the Holland codes to the occupations.

7 years merchant marine deck handseveral years electronics firm electrical trade assistant2 ½ years funeral director resident manager1 year funeral director resident managerseveral years photographic shop photographic developer, printer3 years self-employment photographic developer, printerseveral months pest control operator1 year hoist equipment despatch clerk3 years self-employed cleaning services2 years community group cleaning services manager2 years pressure cleaning commercial cleaning8 years partnership specialised commercial cleaning3 years high voltage electrical trades assistant1 year aluminium company crane operator

Here is my answer: REI deck hand; RCI electrical trade assistant; SER funeral manager; SER funeral manager; RCA photographic developer, printer; RCA photographic developer, printer; RIA pest control; CER despatch clerk; RCE cleaning services; RCE cleaning services manager; RCE commercial cleaning; RCE specialised commercial cleaning; RCI electrical trades assistant; RCI crane operator.

The pattern of realistic occupations is evident. This was a man who had considerable unfulfilled potential. He performed at a very high standard of reading achievement and abstract reasoning, and by comparison higher than the lawyer in the previous case study.

The great advantage of the Holland framework is that it offers a structured approach. The results from many different sources can be utilised. They can be converted easily to Holland codes.

I think that it is extremely important for rehabilitation practitioner to become familiar with this approach as it has some good points. There are also many aspects of Holland’s broader thinking about careers that are really worthwhile considering, even if one does not agree with the basic six types.

Holland’s Hexagon

If you think that the Holland theory ends with the six types, then you are sadly mistaken. Somewhere along the line Holland and his co-workers realised that the six types could be laid out in a special arrangement. The shape was broadly hexagonal (see Figure 4.1).

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This hexagon became an important symbol of his theory. I recall that on his business card he had ‘Have hexagon will travel’ that was reminiscent of the title of the 1957–1963 television series Have Gun Will Travel.

The circular or hexagonal Holland model is a spatial organization of interests. It is one of many different occupational structures that group together occupations, activities or courses in a logical way. Rounds and Day noted that such classifications are important for person-environment fit: “These theories claim that both people and work environments can be categorized in parallel ways and that a match between the person and the environment bodes well for job performance, stability, and satisfaction.”13

Figure 4.1. The hexagonal Holland model of interests

The hexagonal arrangement of the six types is an oversimplification but it added considerably to the utility of his model. It allowed a further degree of interpretation. The first aspect is consistency.

Consistency

From this hexagonal layout you can see that Realistic and Investigative types are closest (so are Realistic and Conventional) but Realistic and Enterprising or Realistic and Artistic are less compatible. The type that is most unlike Realistic is the Social type.

This interpretation relates to consistency or the calculus of the circumplex. The circumplex is the circular order of the hexagon. It indicates which interests are more closely related than others.

The closeness of the relationship is that adjacent interest types are thought to be more consistent than alternate interests, which are thought to be more consistent than opposite interests on the hexagon.

For example, the Realistic type shares some characteristics in common with the Investigative and Conventional types, has less in common with the Artistic and Enterprising types, and is quite different from the Social type.

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There are some technical issues with this approach but you will be fairly safe (there are exceptions) when you consider the diagonally opposite types as most unlike: Realistic is most unlike Social; Investigative is most unlike Enterprising; and Artistic is most unlike Conventional. They are the furthest apart on the hexagon.

Congruence

Moreover, the results can be related to fields of study as well as careers in a special way. This led to the ideas of congruence.

Congruence is the closeness of the match between one’s Holland code and the educational or work environment or career.

A Realistic person working or studying in a Realistic environment is congruent, whereas a Realistic person in a Conventional environment is less congruent and even less congruent is a Realistic person in a Social environment. How do we decide this congruence? We can compare the match or there are some ways we can compute the congruence between the person’s three-letter code and the three-letter code for an occupation or course or career.

Zener and Schnuelle assigned values to the extent of agreement between occupational choices and one’s Holland code. The values for the Index of Agreement are:

6 the codes are exactly alike (e.g., SIE/SIE = 6)5 the first two letters are in the same order (e.g., IAS/IAC = 5)4 the letters are the same but out of order (e.g., (SAR/RSA = 4)1 the first letters of one code match any two letters in the other (e.g. CRI/AIC = 1)0 the first letter of one code is not included in the other code (e.g., ASE/SEI = 0)

There have been more recent and updated measures of congruence that have been reviewed but the Zener Shnuelle index may be of most use to practitioners as a broad descriptor of agreement.14

We now have six types, a hexagonal arrangement with some consistency and congruence thrown into the pot. Next let us add some differentiation to the stew.

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Differentiation

The differentiation of interests applies to how clear is the pattern of one’s interests. For some people there is a particular interest that stands out above all the others. This would be clearly differentiated. For others all the interests may be around the same level and this would be undifferentiated or flat in its shape.

Figure 4.2. High and low differentiation in interest profiles

For example, if you administered the Vocational Preference Inventory you would obtain a set of six scores. Look at the difference between the highest and lowest scores and the overall pattern of the profile of the six interests. There would be a high level of differentiation if there were marked differences between the types or there would be low level of differentiation if the overall profile was fairly flat. Figure 4.2 indicates two profiles with high and low differentiation.

Identity

The fourth component after consistency, congruence and differentiation is identity. This is about one’s career focus and having few occupational goals. It is not evaluated from the hexagon or from the interest questionnaire. It is determined independently.

It has to do with the meaning of a career for a person in terms of the clarity of their goals or self-perceptions.15 Typically it is assessed through the questionnaire My Vocational Situation16 although there is no reason why it cannot be evaluated through a structured interview.

Identity becomes important as a qualifier for many aspects of career development in the overall theory. Before we consider the postulates of the theory there is an optional exercise for you to check your application of these ideas.

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Exercise

I have just completed the Careers Quiz on Job Outlook and my results are shown in Figure 4.3. The results can be interpreted directly in terms of Holland’s theory.What is my Holland type (today)?What is my three-letter code?Is my pattern of interests differentiated?Is my pattern of interests consistent?Is my pattern of interests congruent with work as a psychologist?Is my pattern of interests congruent with work as a rehabilitation counsellor?Is my pattern of interests congruent with my work as an academic?

Figure 4.3. Carreers quiz results from job outlook

Answer

1. What is my Holland type (today)? My Holland type today is Conventional (i.e., Administrative).

2. What is my three-letter code? My three-letter code is CES, CEA, or CEI. Probably it is better to work on the first two letters CE in this case.

3. Is my pattern of interests differentiated? Yes – the Conventional type is clearly higher than the overall pattern. It is a bit like Mt Kosciuszko on a map.

4. Is my pattern of interests consistent? Yes, Conventional and Enterprising are adjacent types.

5. Is my pattern of interests congruent with work as a psychologist? Probably not because the three-letter code for psychologist is ISA.

6. Is my pattern of interests congruent with work as a rehabilitation counsellor? Probably not because the three-letter code for psychologist is SAI.

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7. Is my pattern of interests congruent with my work as an academic? Probably not because the three-letter code for psychologist is SEI.

Well, that’s it folks. According to the Careers Quiz from job Outlook, I would be more interested in another job.

Unfortunately, it is a bit late – I have been a psychologist for 40 years and a university lecturer for some 25 years but I was a clerk in a former life!

By the way, what occupations might match the CES code from the Careers Quiz? According to one list,17 I should consider some of the following: Auction Assistants (auctioneers), Auction Clerks (auctioneers), Box Office Cashiers (cinema), Brake Operators (railroad), Cashiers, Classified Advertising Clerks (publishing), Coders (marketing researchers), Congressional Aides, Couriers, Credit Authorizers, Customer Service Representatives, District Office Representatives, Employment Clerks, Enrolled Agents, Fire Inspectors (fire fighters), Forest Fire Inspectors (fire fighters), Medical Secretaries, Messengers, Order Clerks (office), Parcel Delivery Workers, Procurement Clerks (purchasing agents), Public Utilities Service Representatives, Railroad Clerks (ticket agents), Reservation Agents (ticket), Slot Key Persons (gaming), Staff Assistants, State Office Representatives, Tax Auditors, Taxicab Dispatchers, Tax Preparers, Ticket Sellers (agents), Ticket Takers (cinema), Toll Collectors, Trust Operations Assistants (officers), Ushers (cinema).

Applying Holland’s Theory in Vocational Guidance

I have indicated the structural aspects of Holland’s approach but said hardly anything so far about how he used it.

His approach to guidance was set out explicitly in the Self-Directed Search. This career-assessment and guidance process has been included in each edition of his book as an appendix. It has also been issued and sold as a separate publication together with supporting materials such as an Occupations Finder.

As its name implies it is self-directed and in some sense mimics a directive guidance procedure. It comprises the following steps:

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• Occupational Daydreams – this is an historical list of the eight occupations someone has considered. They are classified in terms of the Holland code;

• Activities – this is a list of activities organised in the RIASEC groups (e.g., “fix electrical things” for Realistic). There are 11 activities in each group and people indicate those activities they would like to do. The preferences are summed for each RIASEC category;

• Competencies – this is a list of activities that people can do well or competently. They are also organised in terms of the Holland RIASEC groups and comprise items such as “I can name three foods that are high in protein content” (Investigative). The preferences are summed for each RIASEC category;

• Occupations – this is a list of 14 occupations in each RIASEC category. The person indicates those occupations (e.g., “Poet” for Artistic) that are of interest. The preferences are summed for each RIASEC category;

• Self-estimates of Ability – two sets of self-rating scales of ability are included. People rate their ability from 1 (low) to 7 (high) across the RIASEC categories. The abilities include headings such as “teaching ability” or “friendliness” (Social). The preferences are summed for each RIASEC category; and

• Occupation Search using the Summary Code – the scores from each section are entered on a summary page and a total score is obtained. This is used to determine the three-letter summary code.

As you can see the whole process is quite mechanical. It is highly structured. It is directive and prescriptive. It is based on an additive approach to ratings across activity preferences, abilities, occupational choices and aptitudes.

One could be justified in having some misgivings about its validity or utility but it has been an outstanding success in terms of sales and has been evaluated positively. Nevertheless, it shows an adherence to a strict trait-factor approach.

Holland extended the trait-factor approach and structured it using a framework. The foundation of Holland’s approach is matching on the basis of six personality types. These types are complex in nature as I have already mentioned but they really boil down to activity preferences, abilities, interests and aptitudes.

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Practical Applications of the Holland Theory

Holland outlined Practical Applications of his theory in Chapter 9 of Making Vocational Choices (3rd edition), He mentioned that results from interest assessments can be used by counsellors in the following way, namely to:

a. Explain interest results using the Holland theory;b. Indicate the occupations that match a person’s interests;c. Link congruency with any current job dissatisfaction;d. Find any compatible jobs for those who are unemployed (taking into account

education and training);e. Distinguish clients who need more detailed career assistance.

As Holland noted, “All counsellors perform most of these activities now. The major contribution of the Theory is to provide more explicit, comprehensive, and reliable rules for the diagnostic processes”.18

For instance, Holland showed how conflicting occupational choices can be handled by classifying them in terms of the theory and using the hexagonal model to illustrate how close or far they are apart. Job dissatisfaction can be handled through the concept of congruence and examining the sources of irritation or stress.

He also wrote about maladaptive career development and described this as “…a failure to develop a clear sense of vocational identity (i.e., a personality pattern that is consistent and differentiated) or a failure to establish a career in a congruent occupation”.19 These are very powerful insights.

To be fair, this brief description hardly does full justice to Holland’s contributions to vocational behaviour and the reader is referred to the latest exposition of his theory.

Holland, however, did not refer specifically to “disability”. It is not even listed as a term in the index to his book, so I have presumed that he considered the theory applied to everyone irrespective of ability.

There are some labour market implications for injury and disability in the distribution of types. It affects the number of job opportunities available in the workforce in Australia.

Holland’s Theory and Vocational Guidance

Trait-factor theory has given us a useful foundation for providing career guidance and one that I am reluctant to ditch without good reason. The seven steps of Parsons may be dated and even the practical applications of Holland are beginning to show their age but they are still useful today with some variation.

My observation of much career development practice is that despite all the rhetoric it often returns to these steps at some stage. Of course there is more to vocational rehabilitation than person-environment approaches or trait-factor theory.

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I am concerned that practitioners may rely routinely on careers tests, interest questionnaires or other assessments with adult clients. It is not always appropriate. That time might be better spent in creating empathy and rapport.

For instance, I have been in an agency where I overheard a person with a traumatic brain injury react negatively to such inventories. He told the counsellor the tests (and he was referring to the Self-Directed Search) only told him “what I can’t do”. It was a salutary lesson.

In another context I was asked to assess someone who had been labelled as aggressive. Previously, another counsellor had even called security for assistance. Yet the patient was really quite a placid person. He had been frustrated by the insistence of that vocational service to use the Self-Directed Search and probably some other tests that he thought were childlike or for students.

The moral of these stories is that interest assessments need to be used with caution. You do not always need to use an interest inventory to determine the Holland type. An interview with a decent personal, educational, social and vocational history may suffice.

The Holland approaches embody a particularly western approach that relies upon written assessments. My impression is that Americans love tests and questionnaires and this methodology has been exported world-wide. It permeates the social sciences. Remember that questionnaires are really just a standardised interview. There are alternatives to tests. I value a structured interview with practical assessments that cover the main dimensions. Mostly there is no need for pencil-and-paper tests or inventories.

Alternatives to the Holland Assessments

There are many interest questionnaires currently available in Australia. I counted at least 17 commercially available interest assessments that were sold in Australia. They are not all helpful or relevant for a rehabilitation context. The user is cautioned about the indiscriminate or overconfident use of such measures. Some years ago I outlined the disadvantages of such questionnaires of vocational interest and you may find that summary helpful.20

At the time of writing the Australian version of the Self-Directed Search booklet plus Occupations Finder plus You and Your Career will cost around $6.80 per person and $69.95 for the Second Edition manual. The Vocational Preference Inventory will cost you $109.94 for a combined test booklet, answer sheet and profile plus $89.95 for the Manual. By any measure this is a profitable business, which is the dark side of commercial interest assessments.21

O*NET

As I mentioned, the commercially available interest assessments involve some cost and are not necessarily better than some that are available freely. For instance,

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O*NET has an interest explorer that is free. This description is taken directly from O*NET:

The O*NET Computerized Interest Profiler (CIP) is a vocational interest assessment instrument administered by computer. Users receive an accurate, reliable profile of their vocational interests that:

• provides valuable self-knowledge about their vocational interests,• fosters career awareness, and• provides a window to the entire world of work via the 800+ occupations within

O*NET OnLine.22

The Computerized Interest Explorer comprises 180 questions and takes around 30 minutes’ completion time, depending on the literacy level of the user. It assesses the Holland types. It is also available as a paper-based version. There are some costs associated with ordering the printed copies but the PDF files can be downloaded freely. A shorter 60-item online version called the Interest Profiler Short Form is also available. It may be hard to locate at first as you will find it listed under My Next Move (https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip).

Here is my Holland profile in March 2016 from O*NET interest Explorer (Figure 4.4). After all these years it does not seem a very differentiated profile. Note that the consistency of my interests is low because I have high Investigative and Enterprising scores. In terms of congruence Investigative matches my university interests and who knows what Enterprising matches. I would have liked to have been higher on Social but that’s life. So here is a readily available assessment for you to consider.

Incidentally these results were nothing like my profile on the Careers Quiz on Job Outlook (Figure 4.3). If I were a betting man, then I would place more faith in the O*NET measure. Remember these assessments are not perfect.

https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip

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One point again – these interest questionnaires are merely standardised interviews on paper. They have their place as a catalyst for exploration but not much more.

They have major problems, like all psychological and educational tests. It is because the answers are grouped into categories and the ratings on each question are added together to give a total score. The margin for error in all of this rating and scoring and addition is huge. Of late I have been critical of the assumptions underlying questionnaires such as the Self-Directed Search, the Vocational Preference Inventory and many others. There is no psychological unit of interest that enables such ratings to be added meaningfully.

Career Interest Card Sort

I use an interview or possibly the Career-Interest Card Sort23 when I wish to explore interests with adults and to broaden their choices. This card sort approach has a long history. It originated in 198024 and was further developed with my student Karin Hosking many years ago. We needed a technique that could be used in places like factories, shops and offices where a long questionnaire or test was not suitable. At that time, she was investigating the extent to which people worked in jobs that matched their interests and whether this was related to job satisfaction.

Figure 4.4. O*NET interest profiler results

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Surprise, surprise – interests were not vital. For instance, there were many graduates or other highly qualified persons in unskilled jobs. Sometimes things like working conditions (hours of work, location) were far more important.

It became obvious that a practical card sort was acceptable to a wide variety of users. It was cheap and re-usable. It gave the same results as a more complicated interest questionnaire. Of course, I am biased in these comments.

The Career Interest Card Sort is available freely and is constructed by the user. You laminate the 10 cards and that is all that is needed. The original version contained seven career interest categories but this has been increased recently to ten categories based on recommendations from users: Outdoor, Practical, Scientific, Creative, Business, People Contact, Health, Community and Computing.25

These are convertible into the Holland categories, as follows: Outdoor (Realistic), Practical (Realistic), Scientific (Investigative), Creative (Artistic), Business (Enterprising), People Contact (Social), Health (Investigative), Community (Social) and Computing (Conventional).

Figure 4.5. Career interest card sort categories

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It is very quick to administer and acceptable to adults. It is built on the theory that people are relative good at estimating things like their interests, especially when there is no reason for distortion.26

I would not use it with everyone. In some instances, a person’s interests are obvious from their work and educational history. In other cases, interest is not a consideration (e.g., if a person is already working and happy with their job). I tend to use an interest questionnaire for adolescent patients as their experience of work is limited. When I do use a card sort with adults, it is a means of career and educational exploration.

Summary

Holland’s formulations achieved prominence because of their ready application to careers guidance and counselling. Both people and environments were classified in the same manner using six types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and Conventional. This allowed users to search a variety of potentially suitable occupations within a coherent and meaningful framework. Holland’s theory was essentially a matching theory. For the purposes of the practitioner and the theorist, Holland’s model encompassed three key assumptions: (a) a simple circular arrangement of six key interests, (b) the hexagonal ordering along two dimensions that gave the field of vocational interests some structure and (c) the calculus or consistency arrangements between the categories which assist in the provision of guidance. It complements the vocational guidance approach of Parsons and provides a rational basis for my professional work in disabilities.

Let me close with the quote from Parsons that was written originally for young men. It has become extremely, widely and almost universally cited in texts on vocational development:

In the wise choice of a vocation there are three broad factors: (1) a clear understanding of yourself, your aptitudes, abilities, interests, ambitions, resources, limitations, and their causes; (2) a knowledge of the requirements and conditions of success, advantages and disadvantages, compensation, opportunities, and prospects in different lines of work; (3) true reasoning on the relations of these two groups of facts.

Every young person needs help on all three of these points. He needs all the information and assistance he can get. He needs counsel. He needs a vocational counselor. He needs careful and systematic help by experienced minds in making this greatest decision of his life.27

I believe that these three factors are also essential in providing assistance to adults in the field of injury and disability. The person-environment fit approach of John Holland is compatible with these ideas. It need not be a static or a once-only event; it is not about psychological testing. It can be adaptive to a complex, diverse

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and evolving (but not always for the better) world of work. There is much in this approach to commend it for use in vocational rehabilitation.

In the last chapter we focused on the abilities that are required for an occupation. In this chapter we added interest to the equation. Once we know what type of work activities our patient can undertake (i.e., trait-factor) we can then search for work that he or she might like (i.e., vocational interests). In our next chapter I will build upon the trait-factor approach and the work of Holland to explore some aspects of the Theory of Work Adjustment. In conclusion, the advice given to me from Lenore Harmon in 1998 still seems valid today.

Exercise

1. Undertake the Vocational Preference Inventory or the Self-Directed Search or the O*NET Interest Explorer or some other interest questionnaire that is readily available to you. If the assessment uses different categories, then translate these to the Holland classification. Now answer these questions:• What is your three-letter Holland code?• Is your pattern of interests differentiated, consistent?• Is your pattern of interests congruent with work as a rehabilitation counsellor?

2. An unemployed male school-leaver was injured in a motor vehicle accident. This young man suffered upper limb musculoskeletal injuries which limit his capacity to undertake heavy manual work. He has not completed his schooling. He does not have formal post-school qualifications. There have been problems of personal and social adjustment.

His best subject at school was Technology & Design. He has undertaken school work experience in an office. There is no special vocational aspiration. He is around average IQ. On the Career Interest Card Sort he displayed a major preference for Scientific, Office and Business interests.

His occupational interests were assessed using the Vocational Preference Inventory. This questionnaire contains 160 occupational titles to which one indicates those that interest or appeal. In doing so it is both a personality assessment as well as a career measure. The reason for this is that in making a choice a person projects themselves and the answers are sorted into six major vocational types plus four temperament-type categories.

The pattern of responses is highlighted in the figure below (for ease of reference these are the raw scores but the percentile rankings were also considered). Note that it is not unusual to have zero scores across some interest types.

Comment on the vocational interest results in terms of the interest type, the consistency, the congruence and the differentiation.

What occupational options might be explored in this case?3. Examine the following work history from a 35-year old male. Determine the

major Holland vocational type at each stage. You can use only the first letter of the three-letter code.

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Time Job/Duties Holland type

6 months Screen printer1 ½ years Storeman6 months Loading and unloading trucks8 months Bar work3 months Unemployed1 ½ years Lawnmowing2 years Stores work1 year Trade assistant6 years Boilermaker1 year Fitter1 year Welder

4. A 24-year old make suffered a traumatic brain injury. There is tinnitus and right upper limb weakness. There are problems of balance, fatigue and some disorientation. His schooling was completed to Year 9 level. The work history includes construction work and a prison term. He is working part-time as a process worker.

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His rank ordering of interests on the Career Interest Card Sort are:

1. Outdoor2. Practical3. Business4. Health5. People Contact6. Community7. Computing8. Office9. Creative

10. Scientific

What is his Holland type?Is his pattern of interests consistent?Is his pattern of interests congruent with his part-time job as a process worker?

5. A 21-year old physiotherapist was injured in a work-related accident. Her disabilities included chronic pain, cauda equina28 syndrome, sciatica, weakness in the legs, incontinence and anxiety. She has completed tertiary studies. Her major preferences on the Career Interest Card Sort are for Health and Science activities.

She completed the Vocational Preference Inventory. The pattern of responses is highlighted in the figure below (for ease of reference these are the raw scores but the percentile rankings were also considered).

Comment on the vocational interest results in terms of the interest type, the consistency, the congruence and the differentiation.

What occupational options might be explored in this case?

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NOTES

1 Athanasou, J. A. (2008). Vocational psychology: Realising its true potential. Australian Journal of Career Development, 17(3), 3–5.

2 Athanasou, J. A. (2009). Obituary: John L Holland 1919–2008. Australian Journal of Career Development, 18(1), 56–57.

3 Kuder, F. (1977). Activity interests and occupational choice (pp. 7–8). Chicago, IL: Science Research Associates.

4 Holland, J. L. (1997). Making vocational choices. A theory of vocational personalities and work environments (3rd ed., pp. 7–11). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

5 Athanasou, J. A. (2009). The intersection of vocational interests with employment and course enrolments. Australian Journal of Career Development, 18(1), 8–16.

6 Holland, J. L., Powell, A., & Fritzsche, B. (1994). SDS professional user’s guide. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.

7 Holland (1997). op. cit., pp. 2–4.8 Holland, J. L. (1992). Making vocational choices. A theory of vocational personalities and work

environments (2nd ed., p. 187). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.9 Holland, J. L. (1997). op. cit., p. 270.10 Holland, J. L. (1997). op. cit., p. 38.11 Holland, J. L. (1997). op. cit., pp. 36–39.12 Hansen, J. C., & Campbell, D. P. (1985). Manual for the strong interest inventory: Form T325 of the

strong vocational interest blanks (4th ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.13 Rounds, J. B., & Day, S. X. (1999). Describing, evaluating, and creating vocational interest structures.

In M. L. Savickas & A. R. Spokane (Eds.), Vocational interests: Meaning, measurement, and counselling use (pp. 103–133). Palo Alto, CA: Davies-Black.

14 Brown, S. D., & Gore. P. A. Jr. (1994). An evaluation of interest congruence indices: Distribution characteristics and measurement properties. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45, 10–327.

15 Holland (1997). op. cit., p. 33.16 Holland, J. L., Daiger, D. C., & Power, P. G. (1980). Some diagnostic scales for research in decision-

making and personality: Identity, information and barriers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 1191–1200.

17 Retrieved September 2016, from http://www.chroniclecareerlibrary.com/CGP/CGP/LISTSHOC/CES.HTML

18 Holland, J. L. (1997). op. cit., p. 194.19 Holland, J. L. (1997). op. cit., p. 196.

http://www.chroniclecareerlibrary.com/CGP/CGP/LISTSHOC/CES.HTML

http://www.chroniclecareerlibrary.com/CGP/CGP/LISTSHOC/CES.HTML

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20 Athanasou, J. A. (2011). Advantages and disadvantages of the different inventoried approaches to assessing career interests. Australian Journal of Career Development, 20(1), 53–62.

21 Australian Council for Educational Research. Retrieved March 2016, from https://shop.acer.edu.au22 O*NET Resource Center, Computerized Interest Profiler. Retrieved March 2016,

http://www.onetcenter.org/CIP.html?p=323 Athanasou, J. A., & Hosking, K. (2015). Career interest card sort for vocational assessment and

counselling. In M. McMahon & W. Patton (Eds.), Ideas for career practitioners: Celebrating excellence in career practice. Brisbane, Australia: Australian Academic Press; Athanasou, J. A., & Hosking, K. (1998). Using a career interest card sort for vocational assessment and counselling. Australian Journal of Career Development, 7, 12–15.

24 Athanasou, J. A. (1980). The Kuder interest card sort – An interest survey procedure. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 8, 87–91.

25 Athanasou, J. A. (2014). A revised career interest card sort for vocational assessment and counselling (James Psychological Consultants Occasional Paper 5). Maroubra: James Psychological Consultants.

26 Athanasou, J. A., & Cooksey, R. W. (1991). Convergent and discriminant validity of self-estimates of vocational interests: A multitrait-multimethod approach. Psychological Test Bulletin, 4, 79–91; Athanasou, J. A., & Cooksey, R. W. (1992). Using self-estimates of interests in counselling: A review of idiographic studies. Australian Counselling Psychologist, 2, 34–43; Athanasou, J. A., & Cooksey, R. W. (1993). Self-estimates of vocational interests. Australian Psychologist, 28, 118–127.

27 Parsons, F. (1909). Choosing a vocation (p. 5). London: Gay & Hancock.28 Cauda equina is a disorder that affects the nerve root at the lower end of the spinal cord; it involves

pinching or extreme pressure and swelling of nerves.

https://shop.acer.edu.au

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CHAPTER 5

WORK VALUES

Ihope you do not mind if I backtrack and review just a little of what we have covered in the earlier chapters. So far we have considered the nature of disability and classified it as profound, severe, moderate or mild. We saw that levels of

disability may impose educational or employment disadvantage. It was obvious that disabilities as a whole have an effect on labour force participation, full-time employment and work-life expectancy. As I pointed out earlier, our raison d’etre is to overcome this disadvantage and a rough guide to the potential for rehabilitation was described in the form of the Vocational Rehabilitation Index.

The pattern for the form of career assistance that I provide was more or less set out by Frank Parsons in what I described to you as the trait-factor approach to occupational choice. He adopted a very logical approach to career choice – know yourself, know occupations and adopt true reasoning. We used a variation of this trait-factor approach in the analysis of work activity limitations using the O*NET classification.

We looked at aptitudes briefly. They can be used for job matching but so can strength, physical demands, education and other characteristics. I did not deal with these aspects adequately and I would refer you to the O*NET or Job Outlook for

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specific details for an occupation. I focused on work activities because they are a starting point. The four main categories of work activities were: information input, interacting with others, mental processes and work output.

Parsons assumed as many still do that you select one career and that it will last for a long time if not for all your working life. This assumption is challenged in a rapidly changing world where many jobs and occupations form part of a career. Nevertheless, people still need to take that first step following an injury or disability and a trait factor approach is as good as any, provided it is revisited frequently and evaluated in the light of medical, personal, social and financial circumstances.

This philosophy of looking for suitable work underlies much of vocational rehabilitation today. It would be a brave vocational counsellor indeed who set out deliberately to explore or recommend occupations for which a person was not suited!

The trait-factor approach was consolidated into a fairly uniform series of steps that involved: analysis (collection of information about someone); synthesis (organisation of the data); diagnosis (identifying the strengths and weakness of the person, identifying the person’s difficulty and searching for causes); prognosis (predicting the likely chances of success); counselling (advice and guidance); and follow-up. The idea was to help people make a career choice using an experienced adviser but in practice it did not always turn out as intended.

The person-environment approach evolved from trait-factor theory. It took a broader view of the person and of the working environment. Matching now took place on the basis of characteristics such as vocational personality types. This is where we came across the framework and theory of John Holland in the last chapter. You were exposed to a theory of six vocational types and their hexagonal arrangements. It still involves matching.

This approach is used widely in career exploration and within rehabilitation in Australia. The scaffold of this framework is worth retaining.

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In this chapter I want to extend our discussion of person-environment theories and bring in the Theory of Work Adjustment. This is also within the tradition of trait-factor theory and a person-environment approach. As you will see it is one of the longstanding theories of career development. It is worth discussing if for no other reason that it actually came out of an employment and rehabilitation context. It is also linked to O*NET and Australian information resources. It ties in with occupational and industrial psychology.

Enough of this revision – let us begin this chapter also with a case study. Once you have read it, I would like to ask you some questions, always bearing in mind that you will not have all the necessary information. The questions are familiar to you:

• Does the person in the case study have a disability?• What are his likely work restrictions?• What type of disability?• What is the level of restriction in employment?• What is his likely Holland type?• Taking into account his education and type can we make any occupational

recommendations for him?• What service recommendations based on the Vocational Rehabilitation Index

might we make in this case?

Case Study L

Mr L is a 27-year-old male who was injured in a motor vehicle accident. He underwent a microdiscectomy1 and a fusion2 operation. The length of treatment has been over two years.

He obtained the School Certificate. His reading standard was around junior high school level.

On the Career Interest Card Sort he indicated a major preference for Outdoor and Creative activities and dislike for People Contact and Office work activities.

He worked as a glazier for commercial buildings.He indicated that he could not sit or stand comfortably for more than 5 minutes.

Walking, using stairs, kneeling, lifting or carrying, climbing and pushing or pulling were said to be problems for him. He can bend at the waist. He said that he does limp. He has an antalgic gait.3 He said that he is not steady on his feet.

There have been some problems of personal and social adjustment. He lives in an area of high unemployment.

Here are my answers to the questions for Case Study L:

• Does the person in the case study have a disability? Mr L does have a disability. There is a limitation in mobility that has lasted for at least six months and that restricts his everyday activities.

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• What are his likely work restrictions? The likely restrictions are listed above. They included inability to sit or stand comfortably, problems with walking, lifting or carrying, climbing and pushing or pulling.

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• What type of disability? There could be more than one answer to this question but I have opted for a restriction in physical activities or in doing physical work

• What is the level of restriction in employment? The official classification did not provide a clear answer for me. The restriction could range from moderate to severe. At the very least (moderate level) he is restricted in the type of job or the number of hours he can work. He needs assistance from a disability job placement program (severe level).

• What is his likely Holland type? The Outdoor interest is clearly a Realistic type. The next ranked interest was Creative, which is the Artistic type and an alternate on the hexagon. Creative is a personal preference that is quite common. It is not as consistent as say Outdoor and Practical, but we are dealing with people and their complexities.

• Taking into account his education and type can we make any occupational recommendations for him? I am reluctant to make any recommendations at this stage. Without substantial retraining, he is doomed to unskilled work and more likely prolonged unemployment or social security benefits. He has few transferable skills for a competitive labour market. There would be significant negative employer perceptions of his ability.

• What service recommendations based on the Vocational Rehabilitation Index might we make in this case? The Vocational Rehabilitation Index was around 20 (see below). He merits specialised medical, social and individual attention in terms of rehabilitation. In terms of vocational objectives, he might eventually be directed to part-time or casual employment, non-vocational activities or subsidised employment.

The Vocational Rehabilitation Index for Mr L

Age = 27 1Sex =male 1Occupation = un-skilled manual 5Length of treatment = over two years 4Labour market = high unemployment 3Spinal injury = spinal cord injury (microdiscectomy, fusion)

3

Psychological problems = major 3

TOTAL VRI = 20

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Now there are two new questions that relate to this chapter.

• From what you can make out concerning the person in our case study, what was Mr L’s most important work value or need? In other words in an ideal job what would Mr L have been seeking?

• Now rank the following list of six work needs (or values) from 1 to 6 for him. It does not matter if you are not absolutely clear as to their meaning. Interpret the title of each value in the ordinary sense of the word.

Rank (1 to 6) Values___ Achievement___ Independence___ Recognition___ Relationships___ Support___ Working conditions

Incidentally, here are my answers to these last two questions about Mr L.

• What was Mr L’s most important work value or need? His highest work value related to Independence. He wanted to be free from supervision and control. This was able to be achieved by working outdoors and on different sites.

• Now rank the following list of six work needs (or values) from 1 to 6 for him.From the interview, his estimated rankings of importance were:

Rank (1 to 6) Values5 Achievement1 Independence6 Recognition4 Relationships2 Support3 Working conditions

The Theory of Work Adjustment embodies such values. It describes the relationship of the individual to his or her work environment. It considers both the needs and values of the worker as well as the demands on the worker. For this reason, it is very useful for rehabilitation thinking.

Theory of Work Adjustment

The theory grew out of the trait-factor approach and the psychology of individual differences. At the University of Minnesota there was a tradition of research into differential psychology, industrial psychology and vocational guidance. They had established the Employment Stabilization Research Institute at the time of the Great Depression.

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In 1936, Men, Women, and Jobs4 was published and this dealt with the use of vocational guidance in reducing unemployment. It was the outcome of a five-year study that:

…interviewed thousands of persons, and endeavoured to discover why some were employed and others were not, and to devise means for the retraining and improved adjustment of those who were unemployed. This non-technical report [Men, Women, and Jobs] includes scores of case histories and describes the tests used to determine whether persons had been doing the kind of work for which they were fitted by nature and training.5

The Work Adjustment Project was part of this program and was carried out under the direction of Lloyd Lofquist and Rene Dawis. Their contribution is documented in a series of research monographs, The Minnesota Studies in Vocational Rehabilitation. The pdf versions of some 30 of their monographs are still freely available.6

Their studies led to the development of a number of assessment inventories including the Minnesota Importance Questionnaire and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. As their titles imply, they are indicators of psychological needs and job satisfaction.

The Minnesota Importance Questionnaire was developed in 1964 and comes in various forms. People indicate the relative importance or ranking of 21 reinforcers for their ideal job.

The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire involves rating 20 items from Very Dissatisfied to Very Satisfied for questions such as “On my present job, this is how I feel about… Being able to keep busy all the time…”.

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The abilities and reinforcers in the work environment were assessed using the Minnesota Job Description Questionnaire.7 This describes the work environment in need/value terms.

Main Points

The following statements briefly summarise the main points of the Theory of Work Adjustment as presented in A Psychological Theory of Work Adjustment: An Individual-Differences Model and Its Applications, by René Dawis and Lloyd Lofquist.

• Work is conceptualised as an interaction between an individual and a work environment.

• The work environment requires that certain tasks be performed, and the individual brings skills to perform the tasks.

• In exchange, the individual requires compensation for work performance and certain preferred conditions, such as a safe and comfortable place to work.

• The environment and the individual must continue to meet each other’s requirements for the interaction to be maintained. The degree to which the requirements of both are met may be called correspondence.

• Work adjustment is the process of achieving and maintaining correspondence. Work adjustment is indicated by the satisfaction of the individual with the work environment, and by the satisfaction of the work environment with the individual – by the individual’s satisfactoriness.

• Satisfaction and satisfactoriness result in tenure, the principal indicator of work adjustment. Tenure can be predicted from the correspondence of an individual’s work personality with the work environment.

• Work personalities and work environments can be described in terms of structure and style variables that are measured on the same dimensions.8

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The Theory of Work Adjustment is a psychological model. It seeks to explain how and why people stay employed in a particular job.

In order to do this, it focuses on job satisfaction and job satisfactoriness (i.e., performance). It considers both the internal needs of a worker and the external demands on the worker. At first glance it may not seem so relevant to rehabilitation but there are implications for our field. A good place to show these links is with the worker.

The Worker

The work personality according to the Theory of Work Adjustment comprises vocational abilities and vocational needs.9 The needs about which Dawis and Lofquist are writing are quintessentially personal. They are the specific aspects of work that an individual requires to be satisfied. Examples of needs include: security, variety, social status, recognition, responsibility or creativity.

Each worker expects or needs certain rewards from the job he or she does. These may be intrinsic (enjoyment of job, pleasant conditions) or extrinsic (money, prestige, power). If a job meets the expectations of the worker, the worker is satisfied with the work.

How are these values different from interests? According to this theory interests refer to what a person prefers or dislikes whereas values emphasise what a person finds to be important or unimportant. This means that values focus on the reasons for working and interests focus on the content of work. Some research on educational interests would challenge this view and would see interests and values as having some aspects in common.10

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Meanwhile an individual’s needs are identified as work values in the application of the theory. A simple rank ordering of an individual’s needs (just as you did for me in case study L) provides some information necessary to determine the person’s most important work values.

It is the fit between the work values of an individual and the reinforcers provided by the work environment that affects how satisfied the individual is with work. If work gives individuals what they value, then they tend to be satisfied with their jobs See Figure 5.1a for a schematic representation of satisfaction.

The worker is the first of the two fundamental elements of vocational adjustment. The next is that of the work environment.

Figure 5.1a. Elements of job satisfaction

Figure 5.1b. Elements of job satisfactoriness

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The Work Environment

The special aspects of the work environment for the Theory of Work Adjustment are the reinforcers (e.g., pay, working conditions) and the ability requirements.11 The reinforcers for the individual are provided through the work environment. This same environment makes demands on each person.

In a sense it does this in exchange for the reinforcers. The demand of each work environment will vary but might include on-the-job competence, quality of output, an adequate quantity of work, as well as appropriate attitudes or behaviour.

In general, a person’s work is technically satisfactory if it meets the basic criteria. See Figure 5.1 (b) for a schematic representation of satisfactoriness. The model is dynamic because it considers that this is an ongoing process (e.g., the idea that you are only as good as your last mistake).

In this same model, correspondence is important as it reflects the extent to which the needs of the worker and the requirements of the job are being satisfied. This is also dynamic and ongoing. It is subject to change for a whole host of factors.

Work adjustment is not merely the one-way process of a person adapting to a job but the two-way process of achieving and maintaining correspondence. There are two sides to the model – the first of these is satisfactoriness.

Satisfactoriness

If the abilities of an individual and the ability requirements of a job are in correspondence then in theory satisfactoriness prevails. Satisfactoriness leads to tenure in the job.

If satisfactoriness does not prevail then the person may be promoted to another job, transferred or fired. All of these processes result in a new job.

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Job Satisfaction

If the person’s values and reinforcer patterns from the job are aligned, then there is correspondence. The worker is satisfied with the job and remains. Lack of satisfaction leads to quitting and a new job.

This outline of the model may seem complex at first glance but in essence it is quite straightforward if one thinks in terms of satisfaction and satisfactoriness. The job satisfaction aspect has been well-researched.

Job satisfaction is related to age. People now tend to change jobs many times in a lifetime. As they mature, their needs crystallise if circumstances permit and they are more satisfied than younger workers who are still finding their way in life.

The general finding is that across different occupations, job satisfaction and education are positively correlated. The picture within an occupational group is more complex.

Salary influences and is influenced by job satisfaction. Generally, there is a positive relationship between salary and job satisfaction but it is not a simple one-to-one relation as many factors are involved.

The same applies to job performance. There is a positive relationship but it is interwoven with other workplace factors.

Length of service is a practical indicator of job satisfaction but it is constrained by the stage of career development of a person. Some people are still at the beginning, middle or end of their career. Satisfaction will vary with these stages. Overall, when asked most people will say that they are satisfied with their job.

Implications

I mentioned that the Theory of Work Adjustment had some links with vocational rehabilitation and, if for no other reason at all, this warrants consideration. Very few

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of our career development theories have been developed with rehabilitation as an application, let alone making much reference to persons with injuries or disabilities.

The Theory of Work Adjustment was first used in a trial with the Minnesota Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. The initial focus was on providing assessment services. From all accounts I gather that this started around the late 1960s. The tests used were: General Aptitude Test Battery, Minnesota Importance Questionnaire, Minnesota Vocational Interest inventory, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Strong Vocational Interest blank and the Gates Reading Survey. This over-reliance on testing has given rise to the description of guidance as “test-and-tell”.

At least it was an honest attempt to apply the technology of psychometric testing to a social problem. Mind you, the assessment instruments that were used are amongst the best in the field but it would have imposed an arduous task for many clients. At the very least it would have been time consuming and taken the best part of a day to produce the results that were subsequently used in a counselling interview.

There is, however, one comment in the report on the theory and its application in rehabilitation that took my attention. This is the distinction between the “active vs reactive” work adjustment of a person:

The “active mode” of work adjustment is that of an individual who “acts on” (manipulates or operates on) the environment to change it to become more correspondent (suited) to him. The “reactive mode” of work adjustment is exhibited when the individual prefers to change himself to correspond to (conform to) the environment. In other words he “reacts to” rather than “acts on” the environment.12

This is consistent with my clinical observations that some people see disability as a challenge to be overcome whereas others see it as a sentence to be endured.

Moving on from this observation was the description of an evaluation of the work adjustment counselling and assessment project. In 1968, a follow-up study of just under 4,000 former vocational rehabilitation clients was undertaken. Excerpts from the conclusions are instructive and summarised below. They highlight some effective aspects of the person-environment approach:

• 81% of the rehabilitated former clients were employed, an increase of 53% over their employment rate at acceptance;

• At acceptance, employed Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) clients held mainly manual and service jobs. At closure 40% (vs. 26% at acceptance) of the rehabilitated DVR clients were employed in professional, technical, managerial, clerical and sales occupations;

• Over 91% of employed former DVR rehabilitants worked full time;• A sample of employed former DVR clients was found to be just as satisfied with

their jobs as their co-workers;• The sample of employed former DVR clients was generally rated by their

supervisors as slightly less satisfactory (on the average) than their co-workers;

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• At acceptance, one-fourth of the total group of rehabilitated DVR clients were on public assistance. At follow-up, only one in seven was receiving public assistance.13

Having said all of this, what are the implications for you as a rehabilitation counsellor?

Vocational Counselling According to the Theory of Work Adjustment

According to the Theory of Work Adjustment our task is to ensure that there is correspondence in abilities, values and interests of the individual and the environment in which they work.

The person looks at a job through their values, interest and abilities while the workplace looks at a person through his/her abilities and the ability requirements of the position.

The Theory of Work Adjustment can be applied to career counselling for occupational choice, job adjustment counselling, vocational rehabilitation counselling or unemployment counselling. This approach is outlined in Chapter 7 of the text by Dawis and Lofquist14 and I have taken the liberty of summarising their ideas for you insofar as they relate to rehabilitation.

The Theory of Work Adjustment is proposed as a way of thinking about disability in terms of the interaction between a person and the world of work. It is seen as a complement to the medical aspects of chronic illness and disability. Ten steps are outlined:

1. Background information related to the disability is obtained, together with expectations and referral details;

2. A climate of acceptance is developed and the client participates in gathering the background data that are relevant to the work personality;

3. A model of the pre-trauma work personality is developed in terms of abilities and needs/values. This is used as a basis for comparison with the present situation;

4. Consultation with treating doctors on treatment goals, plans or workplace limitations;

5. Psychometric assessment of abilities, needs, values;6. Comparison of pre-trauma and post-trauma levels of abilities, needs and values;7. Helping the client to acknowledge and appreciate the post-trauma work

personality;8. Search for jobs that correspond to the client’s ability and need-value pattern;9. Evaluate the predicted jobs in the light of the medical limitations of the client;

10. Help the client to select jobs that match abilities and need-value priorities.

All this is easier said than done!Certainly some aspects of this approach are dated. There is, of course, a heavy

reliance on psychometric assessment and a belief in its validity. This is part of the Minnesota tradition but there are worse things in life.

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There is an argument that it is overly directive for modern use since it is based on the authority of the counsellor. Diagnosis and prediction (i.e., test-and-tell) represent a type of medical model rather than being non-directive and counselling oriented. It is considered by some as static or a point-in-time approach to guidance that does not really take into account a changing world with its many unplanned influences.

Notwithstanding these limitations, it is not static when it is repeated as required. Neither is it overly directive when used in a caring fashion to provide information that the client does not have. It is not insensitive when it invites the client’s participation. To my mind the amount and reliance on paper-and-pencil psychometric assessment of aptitudes is excessive especially for adult clients with a clear educational and employment history. I am a great believer in this person-environment approach but with some modifications. At the very least it has some effectiveness and is supported by research.

It is telling that it has stood the test of time. It is a successor to the original trait-factor model dating from 1909 and it continues to underlie rehabilitation practice to the present day, even if this heritage is not acknowledged directly.

In summary, one might say that in the trait-factor approach we tended to match mainly in terms of abilities (i.e., education, health, skills, aptitudes); in Holland we explored the world of work through one’s vocational type (i.e., interests, personality); but in the Theory of Work Adjustment we look at the correspondence between the person and his/her job especially in terms of values and needs.

Values and Needs

The Theory of Work Adjustment starts with the idea that work adjustment involves an interaction and you saw that in this model one quickly moves to the importance of abilities and values. Remember that these make up the work personality.

We have dealt in passing fashion with the aptitudes and abilities (including health and physical ability) in the earlier chapters. Interests were dealt with in the last chapter in Holland’s model and will also be mentioned again. But what about values?

Values or needs are a key aspect of the Theory of Work Adjustment. As you have seen these are expressed as the needs of the worker. The Minnesota Importance Questionnaire15 was developed to assess these requirements. This was replaced by the Work Importance Locator in O*NET and in the final stages of this chapter I want to outline some aspects of the Work Importance Locator for you.

Work Importance Locator (and Work Importance Profiler)

The Work Importance Locator and the Work Importance Profiler help people identify what is important to them in a job. The Work Importance Profiler is computer-based while the Work Importance Locator or WIL for short is a paper-and-pencil

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assessment. In this section I will focus on the Work Importance Locator and I will summarise some details from the User Guide for you.

In this approach people rank 20 cards that have an aspect of work on them. This is a statement of “need”. Each card satisfies one of the six broad work values in the Theory of Work Adjustment. These work values share a common DNA with the Minnesota Importance Questionnaire via the Theory of Work Adjustment. They are listed in Table 5.2.

Before commencing it is relevant to indicate that the Work Importance Locator is intended for career exploration and vocational counselling. It should not be used for hiring decisions or employment purposes. The aim is to acquire awareness of occupations that are linked with one’s needs or values.

The Work Importance Locator can be self-administered. It takes around 15 to 45 minutes to complete. A person ranks the cards in terms of their ideal job. This is described as “the kind of job you would most like to have”.

The Work Importance Locator is designed at a junior high school reading level. It is also designed for those who are 16 years of age or over and whose work values have stabilised.

• Step 1. People read the 20 cards• Step 2. They sort the cards and put four and only four cards into each column from

Most Important (5) to Least Important (1)• Step 3. They figure out the work values scores• Step 4. They find their two highest work values

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• Step 5. They go to the O*NET Work Importance Locator Score Report and find careers that match. This provides occupational titles divided into five Job Zones. The zones are based on the education and training required.

Accuracy of Scoring

Accuracy is a component of validity and it was noted that the task of sorting the cards requires supervision. As the error rate in using the card-sort in one investigation was 16 people out of 48.16

Reliability of the WIL

The reliability of this assessment has been evaluated. The Work Importance Locator has a low to moderate reliability.

230 community college students were retested after two months and their top work value was the same in 62% of cases. Correlation of work value scores ranged from .35 for Achievement to .58 for Support.17

Figure 5.2 contains a chart to assist you to interpret the value of correlation coefficients if you are unfamiliar with this statistic.

Reliability may not be sufficient for high stakes assessment as in rehabilitation counselling, where we are dealing with people’s future work outcomes. I would not agree with the conclusion stated on page 44 that, “Overall, the WIL demonstrated moderate reliability across the majority of reliability analyses…”.

Table 5.2. Work-related values and their psychological needs in the Work Importance Locator

Value Needs

Achievement – work where there is a sense of accomplishment and where outcomes are obvious

Ability utilisation; Achievement

Independence – work where one is able to use initiative or be resourceful

Creativity; Responsibility; Autonomy

Recognition – work that brings promotion or status

Advancement; Recognition; Authority

Relationships – work that is of social benefit and where there are good personal relations

Co-workers; Social service; Moral values

Support – work where the company is supportive and supervisors are fair

Company policies and practices; Supervision, human relations; Supervision, technical

Working conditions – work with good pay, hours and conditions

Activity; Independence, Variety; Compensation; Security; Working conditions

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Validity of the WIL

The validity of the assessment has also been considered. The correlation between the Work Importance Locator and the Minnesota Importance Questionnaire for a sample of 550 (insurance clients, displaced workers and students) was .30 to .49 for the six work values. The top value was the same in 57 per cent of cases.

Nor would I agree with the conclusion on page 45 of the User Guide that “The ability for the WIL to provide clients with a valid indication of their highest work value was supported…”. The median correlation with the Work Importance Profiler was .77.18

What we can do, however, is to use the six values as a framework but not necessarily rely exclusively upon the Work Importance Locator. We could for

Figure 5.2. How to interpret a correlation coefficient

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instance engage in a detailed conversation with someone to determine their work needs. This could be explored systematically through questioning and counselling to derive their highest value. This relies upon their work, personal and social history plus also an examination of their plans, aspirations, hopes and desires. This has been my strategy.

I would consider that a focused interview will be more satisfactory for a population that includes many with low reading levels (Year 7 average in Australia) and whose meaning in life has been disturbed – often dramatically – by a personal injury.

Nevertheless, I also considered it relevant that you are familiar with the Work Importance Locator or its parallel version the Work Importance Profiler and this is dealt with in the Exercise for this chapter.

Summary

The Theory of Work Adjustment is a model of satisfaction from work and adjustment to work. It proposes that satisfaction arises when people have the necessary skills and abilities to perform the job well, and when the job meets important needs and values of the worker. Vocational adjustment arises when there is correspondence between a person and his/her job. The theory is based on abilities and needs as the foundation of a work personality. The worker requirements and the reinforcers in the workplace are important parts of the job. When skills and abilities match the requirements of a job there is satisfactoriness. When a job meets the worker’s needs then there is satisfaction.

The original Theory of Work Adjustment used the General Aptitude Test Battery to assess abilities and the Minnesota Importance Questionnaire to determine needs and values. Now we may use the Work Importance Locator for values. It is not clear

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immediately how one would integrate the Holland theory of vocational types into the Theory of Work Adjustment but they may operate in parallel.

Exercise

1. Now I have some work for you to do. Undertake the Work Importance Locator for yourself. Go to O*NET and download http://www.onetcenter.org/WIL.html?p=3 Score it and complete the Work Value Worksheet (Figure 5.3). On the reverse list: Your highest score ………….. Name of Work Value ………………………..

Figure 5.3. Work-values worksheet. Source: O*TEN

http://www.onetcenter.org/WIL.html?p=3

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Select a Job Zone for yourself: Job Zone 1 – occupations that need little or no preparation; Job Zone 2 – occupations that need some preparation; Job Zone 3 – occupations that need medium preparation; Job Zone 4 – occupations that need considerable preparation; Job Zone 5 – occupations that need extreme preparation. You will probably be Job Zone 4.

To use the Job Zones –Step 1 Go to http://www.onetonline.org/Step 2 Select Advanced Search and the category Work ValuesStep 3 Select the highest work value.Step 4 Indicate your job zoneStep 5 If you wish select a second highest value and then a third highest value

2. Here are the 20 cards from a patient (Figure 5.4). These cards are his responses to the Work Importance Locator. Complete the Work Value Worksheet and the details on the reverse. List some suitable occupations for Job Zone 1.

Figure 5.4. Work-values cards from the work importance locator. Source: O*TEN

http://www.onetonline.org/

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NOTES

1 Microdiscectomy is the removal of a piece of herniated or protruding disc that is compressing a nerve root.

2 A fusion is the spinal surgery that permanently joins together the vertebrae or bones in the spine.3 An antalgic gait involves putting the weight on one leg so that when walking the swing phase of the

gait is lengthened.4 Paterson, D. G., & Darley, J. G. (1936). Men, women and jobs. A study in human engineering.

Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.5 Men, women and jobs at. Retrieved March 2015, from http://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/

books/men-women-and-jobs6 http://www.psych.umn.edu/psylabs/vpr/monograph.htm7 Borgen, F. H., Weiss, D. J., Tinsley, H. E. A., Dawis, R. V., & Lofquist, L. H. (1968). The measurement

of occupational reinforcer patterns. Minnesota Studies in Vocational Rehabilitation, 25.8 Dawis, R. V., & Lofquist, L. H. (1984). A psychological theory of work adjustment. An individual

differences model and its applications (pp. 9–10). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.9 Lofquist, L. H., Dawism R. V., & Hendel, D. D. (1972). Application of the theory of work adjustment

to rehabilitation and counselling. Minnesota Studies in Vocational Rehabilitation: XXX (p. 1). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota.

10 Renninger, K. A., Hidi, S., & Krapp, A. (1992). The role of interest in learning and development. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

11 Lofquist, Dawis, & Hendel (1972), ibid.12 Lofquist, L. H., Dawis, R. V., & Hendel, D. D. (1972), op. cit., p. 3.13 Lofquist, L. H., Dawis, R. V., & Hendel, D. D. (1972), op. cit., p. 19.14 Dawis, R. V., & Lofquist, L. H. (1984). A psychological theory of work adjustment. An individual

differences model and its applications (pp. 104–110). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

15 Rounds, J. B., Henly, G. A., Dawis, R. V., Lofquist, L. H., & Weiss, D. J. (1981). Manual for the Minnesota Importance Questionnaire: A measure of needs and values. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, Department of Psychology

16 US Department of Labour, Employment and Training Administration. (2000). Work importance locator, p. 40.

17 US Department of Labour, Employment and Training Administration. (2000), op. cit., p. 42.18 US Department of Labour, Employment and Training Administration. (2000), op. cit., p. 44.

http://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/men-women-and-jobs

http://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/men-women-and-jobs

http://www.psych.umn.edu/psylabs/vpr/monograph.htm

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CHAPTER 6

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

So far we have focused on the trait-factor and person environment approaches. We started with the work of Frank Parsons and added Holland’s theory of vocational types as well as the Theory of Work Adjustment. These build on

each other and combine values, interests and abilities in the search for suitable occupations. But a person is more than just a collection of values, interests and abilities.

In this chapter our attention moves to consider how careers might unfold. This is because a career is a dynamic process. Psychological characteristics can vary over time. They need to be situated in a culture, within a context and across a person’s stage of life.

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By way of background I outline the developmental approach of Donald Super and the Circumscription-Compromise Theory of Linda Gottfredson. I spend some time on the Systems Theory Framework as this has an Australian origin. Where possible I shall support these approaches with labour market information.

I realise that there are other popular models of career development. My aim is to show you that we need to consider many factors other than individual differences when helping people explore career options.

I would encourage the reader who has a counselling orientation to consider some of the newer narrative approaches. For the reader who is interested in the process of career development, then the chaos theory of careers1 deals with the complexity and uncertainty of human life.

One view of career development and to a large extent the one that prevails in the thinking of many people is that of a linear model. It starts from birth then primary and secondary education with a provisional job or course choice followed by further education or training; then comes an initial career choice and many years of employment culminating in retirement. A newer paradigm involves variations on that theme with changes of job and careers through a working life, retraining and possibly disruptions in employment. When all is said and done it is still reasonably linear just a bit more zig-zag in nature.

Developmental Approaches

Around the late 1950s there was a reaction from career theorists to a changing world of work. The sociology of occupations became a field in its own right and offered many contributions. High levels of unemployment challenged traditional career counselling approaches. It was noted that the concept of one occupation for life was disappearing with rapid industrialisation, commercial development and increasing retrenchments and redundancies.

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Ginzberg and associates2 were amongst the first to view career as a developmental process that takes place over the life span. It was argued that career development activities should be designed to meet the needs of individuals at all stages of life.

In 1951, they wrote in terms of a fantasy stage, a tentative stage (11–17 years) and a realistic stage (17+ years). Later there was a reformulation of these stages but the central idea was that people went through certain fixed periods of career development.3

This is why it is often a good idea to ask people what they wanted to do when they left school? Some will have no answer but many will provide some clue as to their early aspirations. Often it is quite different from how their career has unfolded.

Last week I interviewed a middle-aged woman who had been injured in a fall. I asked her what she wanted to do when she left school and she said she wanted to become a teacher. She had left school in Year 9 but said that she was “academically all right”. Her subsequent career included short stints in hairdressing, completion of a secretarial course and working in legal offices for several years followed by work as a word processing trainer. Her career changed direction and she moved in to sales for a short period of 1–2 years then into massage work for a number of years. She married and had her first child. There was relocation to the city. She commenced a teacher education course at university. It would seem at this stage that the aspiration had been fulfilled but this was not the case.

She discontinued half-way through the course and turned to work as a disabled and aged carer. Several qualifications at Certificate III and IV level were obtained in this field. At the time the accident occurred she was working in three part-time jobs and had developed what is called a portfolio career made up of several casual and part-time jobs in the field of disability. The included community support worker as well as an instructor for training in this field.

So in a sense she had come full circle and was involved in training and instruction but in a way that might not have been envisaged or scarcely predicted in the past. She continues to work along the same lines but in a less physical capacity. There is more to this account than I have relayed and it does not take into consideration family background, personal stresses and social adjustment.

The key issue is that here is a career that has unfolded from wanting to be a teacher through hairdressing right through to aged and disability care. It is not straightforward. It is complex and convoluted. In another context and under different personal circumstances this career path might have been much more linear and orderly but that is not the way of the world. So it is vital that an excellent educational and work history is taken to see how the patient has arrived vocationally at this point in time.

Donald Super is the next name that we will encounter in discussing career development. He was a student of Ginzberg and became a leading career theorist in his own right. His influence on the field was pervasive. Indeed, the first book that I ever read on vocational guidance was that of Super and Crites “Appraising

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Vocational Fitness”. I regret giving away my copy when I retired, thinking that I would never be referring to it again.

Meanwhile, Super extended Ginzberg’s life and career development stages from three to five, and included different sub-stages (Growth (birth-14 years); Exploration (15–24 years); Establishment (25–44 years); Maintenance (45–54 years) and Decline (55+ years). They are illustrated in Figure 6.1.

He expanded the stages into a full-blown theory of career development. These stages are not invariant. Nevertheless, I still find them useful in characterising a person’s general period of development. On thinking about them, I know that the horizontal axis is age but the vertical axis for Super’s developmental sequence is not clear. It cannot be career maturity although earnings might be a candidate. In any event I do not believe that Donald Super specified it.

Super also wrote in terms of the roles that we perform in our lives: Child, Student, Leisurite, Citizen. Worker, Homemaker or parent. The theory was very much a product of its time. It was seen subsequently as somewhat white, masculine and middle class oriented in its perspective.

Super’s theory, however, also contained a number of useful propositions about a career to which one might refer:4

1. Individual differences exist2. We fit a number of occupations3. Each occupations calls for a specific ability and personality type4. Our vocational preferences change

Figure 6.1. Stages in the career development theory of Donald Super

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5. The process of change is divided into stages6. Career patterns are influenced by external factors7. Readiness to deal with the demands of an occupation influences the types of job

we will occupy8. Career maturity is a psychosocial construct9. Development is guided by many factors

10. Career development is the implementation of occupational self-concepts11. We experiment with occupations to find one that fits12. Work satisfaction is dependent on numerous variables13. The greater the implementation of self-concepts, the greater job satisfaction14. Work provides a place for personality expression.5

These statements are confirmed in my clinical experience. One might express them a little differently or provide a few caveats here and there but they are quite a neat summary. There is enough in these 14 propositions to keep me happy. Mind you, there is no reference to broader forces in society or to unplanned events in life but by and large it is a reasonable set of propositions.

Super argued that occupational preferences and competencies, along with an individual’s life situations, all change with time and experience. He developed the concept of vocational maturity, which may not always correspond to chronological age: people cycle through each of these stages when they go through career transitions.

I will not deal with other aspects of his theory, such as the self-concept or the counselling approach except to say that it was highly respected and comprehensive. The idea that career development is lifelong gained widespread acceptance.

Sometimes personal development can be depicted in a life timeline. I show two examples of a life timeline from a male technician and a female research assistant in Figure 6.2 These can be constructed for patients in a counselling context to depict the significant events in a person’s life.

Age and Employment

There is one aspect of Super’s approach that may be worth some further consideration. It relates to age and employment. Age, of course, has developmental referents so we can link it with the work of Donald Super.

What am I trying to say? Merely that overall participation in the labour market is developmental. The proportion of people employed at each age level varies systematically. One can see this clearly in Figure 6.3 which depicts the proportion of males or females employed at each age level. The data is taken from the 2011 census. It mimics the stages in Super’s theory. In the younger age groups relatively few are employed and it increases then stabilises from ages 25–54 years after which employment declines steadily thereafter.

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Figure 6.2. Examples of two life timelines from patients

Figure 6.3. The proportion of males and females employed at each age group

While Figure 6.3 depicts the general situation à la Super, it hides some of the details for specific occupational groups. I have shown this for males and females using the 2011 census figures in Figure 6.4.

The situation for managers parallels that of the overall labour market but not perfectly as it stabilises from ages 35–54; professionals and technicians have a distribution that peaks far earlier than managers; community and personal service employees (as

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do clerical and administrative occupations and labouring occupations) show quite markedly different distributions for males and females; sales workers have an entirely different distribution from the remainder of the occupational groups; and machinery operators and drivers appear to peak at a later age for both males and females.

These charts compare males and females and it is a starting point. The comparisons become even more instructive as one analyses each sex within its own group. There are distinctive patterns of which a vocational and rehabilitation counsellor should be aware. An even finer level of analysis is possible at the occupational level and this indicates that each occupation has its own age profile. It would be too lengthy to display this for the entire range of occupations.

Figure 6.4. The proportion of males and females employed at each age level in the major occupational groups

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Figure 6.4. (Continued)

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Figure 6.4. (Continued)

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Gender Differences

Linda Gottfredson is the next name that we shall encounter. Gottfredson looked at career choice from a broader sociological perspective. She tried to explain why people often follow careers that do not match their interests and looked at the external barriers that restrict our goals and opportunities.

According to Gottfredson, when people have to compromise their aspirations in life they make sacrifices. The sacrifices that they make are firstly in terms of their interests – they might take a job that is not exactly to their liking but has some other benefits.

Next the prestige level of a job is sacrificed. Under some circumstances they might take a lower status job than what they might have preferred. Finally, accommodation is made for the sex-typing of the occupation. That is, one considers entering an occupation that is not dominated by one’s own sex. So, the sex-typing of an occupation is largely (but not exclusively) the last to go. Of course, this process is a generalisation and simplification. Increasingly there are exceptions.

Career development is seen as a way of becoming a social self and Gottfredson emphasised the public aspects such as sex, social class and intelligence. The personal elements such as values are important but their influence is circumscribed as a person seeks to forge a social identity.

For Gottfredson each individual develops a zone of acceptable alternatives. This is a zone or an area of the world of work in which they are prepared to look for an occupation. In Figure 6.5, this zone of acceptable alternatives is depicted for a female patient who is seeking an above average prestige occupation that tends to be stereotypically female. Three occupations that fell within this zone were secondary school teacher, registered nurse or human resources professional.

Figure 6.5. A zone of acceptable alternatives for a patient

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Gottfredson treated occupational choices as a process of eliminating options and narrowing one’s choices, that is, circumscription and compromise. She saw that process beginning in childhood. As people come to terms with reality, they start to compromise their goals and their ideas. Gottfredson would argue that individuals identify the occupations that they most prefer by assessing the compatibility or congruence of different occupations with their images of themselves.

Figure 6.6. Female and male representation of the major occupational group as a proportion of each sex6

How does it work out in the Australian labour market? Let me start with the masculinity and femininity side of the equation. In Figure 6.6, I have shown each of the eight major occupational groups in terms of their female or male domination compared to the entire group of males or females.

As you might expect, technicians and trades are dominated employment amongst males and with a low proportion of all females. Office workers in clerical-administrative occupations are highly female dominated and have low male representation. Professionals, on the other hand, have both high male and female representation. Clearly there is some order in the gender-representation of occupations – it is not random.

We have not quite finished with this analysis. The ratio of males to females in the workforce is 1.17:1 and the ratio for females to males it is 0.85:1. As one would expect statistically about half of all occupations for men or women are above or below these ratios. Table 6.1 lists the most heavily gender dominated occupations.

An inspection of Table 6.1 indicates the huge amount of gender domination in some occupations. Finally, without labouring the point too much, it is relevant to consider the most popular male and female occupations. This is set out in Table 6.2. Not all of the most popular occupations are the most gender-dominated. Nevertheless, Gottfredson’s general point that gender stereotypes and barriers prevail

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in occupational choices seems to be supported and remains a relevant consideration in vocational guidance.

Prestige level and the socio-economic status of an occupation also figure in the approach outlined by Gottfredson. A ranking of Australian occupations in terms of prestige is provided in the Appendix to this chapter. This is based on the ANU4 scale8 and indicates a clear hierarchy of occupational perceptions in our community.

To summarise our discussion thus far – career development and of course one’s occupational choices appear to be limited by age, sex and prestige level of an occupation. The extent of the limitation may vary from person to person but it is certainly manifested in the overall labour market. The developmental perspective of Super was reflected in the data on age and occupational membership; the approach of Gottfredson was reflected in the data on the gender balance in occupations and the prestige level of occupations. We can take this analysis a step further and this was done by two Australians.

Table 6.1. Female and male dominated occupations7

Occupation Ratio of females to males

Midwives 96.12Dental Assistants 72.59Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teachers 58.44Personal Assistants 51.73Secretaries 50.73Beauty Therapists 47.19Veterinary Nurses 28.51Receptionists 24.20Child Carers 23.68

Occupation Ratio of males to females

Metal Fitters and Machinists 147.85Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers 135.46Bricklayers, and Carpenters and Joiners, nfd 134.62Carpenters and Joiners 127.94Electrical Distribution Trades Workers 126.71Structural Steel Construction Workers 125.64Air conditioning and Refrigeration Mechanics 123.03Sheetmetal Trades Workers 113.97Automotive Electricians 108.16Motor Mechanics 95.98

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Systems Theory Framework

In 1995, two Australian career development researchers, McMahon and Patton noted: “The traditional base for individual career development theories was narrow and did not take into account broader contextual influences”.9 They promoted a systems theory perspective of career development that is described as meta-theoretical. That is, they tried to consider all the potential influences on career development over the lifespan and to organise these influences into a comprehensive framework. This approach will complete our survey of career development aspects.

The Systems Theory Framework is a descriptive approach. It tries to visualise the content of a career and process as a whole. This is illustrated in Figure 6.7.

It shows the various influences on a career. These are the smaller ellipses in the diagram. “Influences” in this case is not used in the everyday sense of the word but referred to “components of career theory”.10

Table 6.2. Most popular female and male occupations

Occupation Females

Sales Assistants (General) 311,410General Clerks 175,149Registered Nurses 156,562Receptionists 124,361Primary School Teachers 106,588Secretaries 92,579Retail Managers 86,736Child Carers 81,802Office Managers 79,829Checkout Operators and Office Cashiers 74,483

Occupation Males

Sales Assistants (General) 131,484Truck Drivers 126,775Retail Managers 101,996Electricians 89,169Carpenters and Joiners 86,357Storepersons 81,355Metal Fitters and Machinists 80,283Motor Mechanics 80,050Sales Representatives 66,887

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Figure 6.7. The systems theory framework (Reproduced with permission – Patton & McMahon, 1999)11

Let us look a little closer at this diagram. The individual is the most central component in the systems theory framework.

Then comes the inner circle (or more accurately ellipse). This contains the individual and intrapersonal influences such as abilities.

Intrapersonal influences are shown as ellipses in the inner area. These include personality, gender, abilities and age. Fortunately for us, it also includes disabilities and McMahon and Patton noted “…it is timely to include disability in the framework as an influence in its own right rather than as an adjunct to ability”.12

Context variables are located within the white area. The individual is seen as relating to others (social context). The social context includes the family, the school, peers. It also includes the influence of media.

Individuals also interact with the environment and society in this white area. It includes geographic isolation or political decisions. The employment market and the workplace are listed as context variables.

The theory proposes reciprocal interaction between these influences. Another influence is that of chance. These are the random lightning flashes in the diagram.

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McMahon, Patton and Watson proposed that “at a given point in time individuals are able to represent visually the constellation of influences connecting with their career situation.”13 The time dimension is highlighted by the green surrounding area.

Within this system theory framework, they emphasised a qualitative approach to career assessment. Before proceeding I will present a case study to which we might apply the Systems Theory Framework.

Case Study M

Read this case study and try to map out some (but not all) of the influences. Use this chart:

Mr M is a 24-year-old male and former labourer. He was injured in a work-related accident four years ago. The major injuries were to his knee and he required hospitalisation.

He completed his schooling to Year 10 level and obtained the School Certificate. He was low average in ability and had repeated a primary grade. His standard of reading was assessed as around junior high school level. He has computing skills and is able to use office equipment.

He holds a forklift ticket. He has an occupational health and safety white card.On the Career Interest Card Sort he displayed a major preference for Outdoor and

People Contact activities and a dislike of Business and Computing activities. There were no plans for any further education or training.

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His occupational aspiration on leaving school was to enter hospitality. He worked while at school at a local retail store on a part-time basis. His subsequent pre-career involves short stints as a landscaping labourer, in sawmilling and process work.

At the time of the accident he was employed as a production process worker for an industrial metal manufacturer. He said that he was satisfied with the job and with the pay.

He was off work for some seven months after the accident but eventually resigned. He tried some sales and service jobs but was not able to continue. He has been unemployed for around two years and received a social security benefit.

He is married and lives in rented accommodation in the city with his wife and child aged two years. He had a nervous breakdown following this accident and had seen a psychiatrist. He was prescribed medication. He never made a suicide attempt and has never been in a psychiatric ward. He does smoke and said that he drinks. He has never been a heavy drinker. He has never taken hard drugs or been in trouble with the law. He manages his own finances.

There were no special hobbies or interests that were relevant to work. He occupies himself with going fishing daily.

His special plans for the future were to obtain work. He was seeking a job with regular hours and the type of work did not bother him as long as he was able to cope.

Given what little you know about this person, how many of the career influences in the diagram of the systems theory framework can be completed? Refer to Figure 6.7 to complete the diagram above.

My answer, for what it is worth is that the known intra-personal influences are those of gender, disability, age and skills (e.g., education and post-school qualifications). The contextual influences that are available to me are his current location (i.e., city). Despite the wealth of information that is provided there is still much more to be known.

What the systems theory framework does is that it offers you a chance to visualise the individual within the forces that operate in the labour market. It summarises quite

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neatly some of the key variables that relate to labour force participation, employment and unemployment. It embodies the values, interests and abilities that we discussed in earlier chapters but locates them within a larger and dynamic context. Whereas the earlier chapters on trait factor and person-environment approaches encouraged you to think linearly there is now the potential to think across multiple dimensions.

I cannot document all the labour market implications of the influences shown in Figure 6.7 but some are readily available in the national labour force statistics. I have summarised the implications of the Systems Theory Framework in terms of the effects of some influences (gender, location, age, skills, disability) on labour force participation as well as unemployment. They show complex but somewhat expected relationships even with these rather crude indicators.

Table 6.3. Labour market influences within the systems theory framework

Influences Participation rate Unemployment rate

Gender14

MalesFemales

71.6%58.9%

6.3%6.6%

Marital status15

MarriedNot married

69.0%59.6%

3.9%9.8%

Location16

New South WalesVictoriaQueenslandSouth AustraliaWestern AustraliaTasmaniaNorthern TerritoryAustralian Capital Territory

63.6%65.4%65.5%62.0%69.4%61.1%76.0%71.1%

6.2%6.6%7.2%6.6%6.1%6.6%4.5%4.9%

Sydney17

Balance of New South Wales65.8%59.7%

5.1%8.3%

Age18

15–19 years 55.9% 20.1%Skills/Education19

Bachelor degree or aboveAdvanced diploma/diplomaCertificate III/IVYear 12Year 11 or below

82.4%78.4%79.8%70.6%51.2%

2.7%3.9%3.9%5.0%5.0%

Disability20

All with reported disabilityNo reported disability

52.8%82.5%

9.4%4.9%

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Concluding Comments

What can we summarise from the various approaches that have been outlined? Bear in mind that there are some 15 or more theories that we did not mention. The descriptive theories focus on the process of career development over the lifespan. They describe how careers unfold either in terms of stages or social forces. The most recent approaches such as the Systems Theory Framework advocate a greater role for the individual’s construction or view of the world and the interaction between various influences. These different approaches complement the earlier emphasis on abilities, interests and values. They are reflected in many aspects of the Australian labour market. A developmental perspective has implications for the type of assessment and counselling offered in vocational rehabilitation services.

Appendix: Occupations and Indicative Ranks Based on ANU4 Scale

Occupational title and rank Occupational title and rank

1 Medical practitioners 21 General managers 2 Legal Professionals 22 Social welfare professionals 3 University teachers 23 Resource managers 4 Other health professionals (higher) 24 Engineering and process managers 5 Secondary school teachers 25 Finance associate professionals 6 Natural science professionals 26 Sales & marketing managers 7 Primary school teachers 27 Other professionals (lower) 8 Other education professionals

(higher) 28 Human resource professionals

9 Engineers 29 Sales & related professionals 10 Architects and related professionals 30 Other business associate professionals 11 Other science & engineering

professionals 31 Building associate professionals

12 Accountants & related professionals 32 Medical & science technical officers 13 Other health professionals (lower) 33 Managers n.e.c. 14 Other specialist managers 34 Computing support technicians 15 Other business professionals 35 Health & welfare associate

professionals 16 Computing professionals 36 Other generalist managers 17 Business & organisation analysts Occupational title and rank18 Nursing professionals 37 Other associate professionals 19 Other professionals (higher) 38 Real estate associate professionals 20 Other education professionals (lower) 39 Police officers

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40 Other sales & service managing supervisors

68 Children’s care workers

41 Other advanced clerical workers 69 Printing tradespersons 42 Other intermediate clerical workers 70 Secretaries & personal assistants 43 Office managers 71 Elementary clerks 44 Farmers & farm managers 72 Other elementary sales workers 45 Other intermediate service workers

(higher) 73 Motor mechanics

46 Other mechanical engineering tradespersons

74 Hairdressers

47 Electricians 75 Keyboard operators 48 Accounting clerks 76 Car & delivery drivers 49 Other tradespersons (higher) 77 Chefs 50 Sales representatives 78 Other intermediate service workers

(lower) 51 Inquiry & admission clerks 79 Stock & purchasing clerks 52 Shop managers 80 Other automotive tradespersons 53 Other electrical tradespersons 81 Education aides 54 Other hospitality managers 82 Wood tradespersons 55 Plumbers 83 Fabrication engineering tradespersons 56 Metal fitters & machinists 84 Receptionists 57 Restaurant & catering managers 85 Other tradespersons (lower) 58 Carpenters & joiners 86 Skilled agricultural workers (higher) 59 Bookkeepers 87 Other horticultural workers (lower) 60 Other numerical clerks 88 Guards & security officers 61 Painters & decorators 89 Sales assistants 62 Waiters 90 Other intermediate production &

transport workers 63 General clerks 91 Transport assistants 64 Other construction tradespersons 92 Bar attendants

65 Bank workers 93 Intermediate stationary plant operators 66 Other recording & dispatching clerks 94 Personal care & nursing assistants 67 Special care workers 95 Other intermediate sales workers

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96 Other elementary service workers 107 Mining, construction & related labourers (higher)

97 Checkout operators & cashiers 108 Mobile construction plant operators 98 Other food tradespersons 109 Other intermediate plant operators 99 Miscellaneous labourers 110 Truck drivers 100 Miscellaneous intermediate machine

operators 111 Factory labourers

101 Intermediate machine operators n.e.c. 112 Product packagers 102 Kitchenhands 113 Intermediate textile machine operators 103 Storepersons 114 Mining, construction and related

labourers (lower) 104 Cleaners 115 Forklift drivers 105 Other transport drivers 116 Labourers n.e.c. 106 Cooks 117 Agricultural & related labourers

Exercise

Read the details of the following sample case and complete as many of the systems theory influences as you can from this description. Be aware that at this stage you do not have all the necessary or sufficient information. Use the blank systems theory chart in Case Study M as a guide. Include only the influences of which you are aware.

Injuries

24-year old male injured in a motor vehicle accident when aged 20 yearsTraumatic brain injury

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Internal carotid artery dissectionLeft temporal subdural haemorrhageLeft mandibular and left maxillary fracturesTinnitusRight upper limb weakness

Difficulties in Working

a. “can’t hold this hand still… no balance”;b. “can’t walk up hills… ramp…”;c. “[can’t] work the hours… even the four-hour shift… just getting fatigued…”; d. confidence, motivation”;e. “fatigue… like get tired… after the traffic course… disorientated….”

Education

Year 9 schoolingReading – junior high school level

Work History

Construction workerBuilder’s labourerPrison

Career Interests

Outdoor, Practical were the highest; Creative and Scientific were the lowest

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NOTES

1 Pryor, R. G. L., & Bright, J. E. H. (2003). The chaos theory of careers. Australian Journal of Career Development, 12(2), 12–20.

2 Ginzberg, E., Ginsburg, S. W., Axelrad, S., & Herma, J. L. (1951). Occupational choice: An approach to a general theory. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.

3 Ginzberg, E. (1972). Toward a theory of occupational choice: A restatement. Vocational Guidance Quarterly, 20(3), 2–9.

4 Brown, D. (2003). Career information, career counselling, and career development (8th ed., pp. 33–39). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

5 Brown, D. (2003). Career information, career counselling, and career development (8th ed., pp. 33–39). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

6 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2012). Labour force, Australia, detailed, quarterly, 2012 (Catalogue No. 6291.0.55.003). Canberra: Author.

7 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2012). Labour force, Australia, detailed, quarterly, 2012 (Catalogue No. 6291.0.55.003). Canberra: Author.

8 Jones, F. L., & McMillan, J. (2001). Scoring occupational categories for social research: A review of current practice, with Australian examples, Work, Employment & Society, 15(3), 539–563.

9 McMahon, M., & Patton, W. (1995). Development of a systems theory of career development. Australian Journal of Career Development, 4, 15–20.

10 McMahon, M., Patton, W., & Watson, M. (2004). Creating career stories through reflection: An application of the systems theory framework of career development. Australian Journal of Career Development, 13(3), 13–17.

11 Patton, W., & McMahon, M. (1999). Career development and systems theory: A new relationship. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

12 McMahon, M., & Patton, W. (1995). op. cit., p. 17.13 McMahon, M., Patton, W., & Watson, M. (2004). op. cit., p. 14.14 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2015, March). Labour force Australia (Catalogue No. 6202.0, original

figures, Table 3, p. 15). Canberra: Author.15 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2015). Labour force status by social marital status, age and sex (Table

01, Catalogue No. 6291.0.55.001). Canberra: Author.16 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2015), op. cit., original figures, Table 12, p. 24.17 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2015). Labour force Australia (Detailed Table 02, Catalogue No.

6291.0.55.001). Canberra: Author.18 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2015), op. cit., original figures, Table 15, p. 27.19 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2014, May). Education and work, Australia (Catalogue No.

6227D)001_201405, Table 21). Canberra: Author.20 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2012). Disability, ageing and carers, Australia: Summary of findings,

2012 (Catalogue No. 4430DO001_2012, Table 9).

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CHAPTER 7

A CLINICAL VOCATIONAL ASSESSMENT

Ishall begin this chapter with a case study and will ask you to pay attention to the assessments that were used. No claim is made that this is a perfect example of a vocational assessment regimen but it illustrates how assessments (rightly or

wrongly) were used in this instance.

Case Study N

This case is a 27-year-old male machine operator who was struck on the left shoulder by a roller rotating at some 800 rpm. The roller weighed around 700 kg.

The roller had to be balanced and this could only be done whilst it was moving. A part of the roller caught the right sleeve of his shirt and dragged him towards it. He was struck by a part of the rotating machinery. His entire shirt bar one sleeve was pulled off.

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He suffered lacerations over the anterior and superior1 aspects of the left shoulder). He was bleeding profusely.

He sustained an injury to the axillary nerve2 of his left shoulder and weakness of the deltoid muscle.3 There were deep lacerations but no fractures were seen on x-rays. He was hospitalised for 3–4 days.

He was certified fit for modified duties with a 7–10 kg lifting limit. He was considered to have 17% whole person impairment. The above details are basically a summary from a specialist medical report.

It is important at the outset to determine the purpose or objective of the assessment. The vocational assessment in this case was for the purpose of evaluating the effects of this accident on his work potential and earnings capacity. It was not designed for career exploration or general vocational counselling.

An educational history was taken. This outlined his schooling to Year 10 level and his trade background.

His employment history (pre-accident, at the time of the accident and post-accident) was summarised. This encompassed elementary sales and service work followed by an adult apprenticeship. The special difficulties in working now were limited mainly to lifting and bi-manual tasks. He returned to work but could not continue with the same employer and found lighter process work in an unrelated field.

His personal and social adjustment was reviewed. These were normal and adequate for work. Personal and social adjustment encompasses family background, activities and personal interests. There were no special plans for the future.

The medical and health background were reviewed. There were no previous accidents, illnesses or injuries. So far, this process is consistent with the Systems Theory Framework in considering the various personal and social influences acting on the individual across time.


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The examination or assessment is part of the interview. This comprised the following components:

• A pre-interview medical questionnaire4 – this was a list of any problems in personal care (e.g., feeding, dressing, toileting); difficulties with the activities of daily living (e.g., cooking, cleaning, shopping, travel); any problems in functional ability (e.g., walking, lifting or carrying, pushing or pulling, gripping); other medical conditions (e.g., vision, hearing, memory, medications, illnesses); and questions relating to personal or social adjustment (e.g., psychiatric treatment, alcohol, drugs, criminal record).

• Grip strength – right and left grip strength were assessed using a dynamometer.• Weights – the lifting of small weights up to 2kg was assessed.• Manual dexterity – the ability to place small components parts using either hand

was assessed with a pegboard task.• Literacy – a graded list of words is used to assess reading grade level and

educational potential.• Malingering – this is presented as a test of memory.• Mental status – an informal evaluation of competence was undertaken. This

includes orientation, general awareness, mental control, comprehension, basic computation, reasoning with similarities, a sample of spelling and writing, simple visual memory, word knowledge and basic visual-spatial competence.

• Career interests – vocational preferences were assessed using the Career Interest Card Sort. This is an assessment in which adults rank their preference for 10 work areas.

• There are also some other standard assessments that I tend to undertake. They were not used in this instance.

• Back-leg pull strength – this was not assessed as a precaution against further strain or injury.

• Get-up and go – this is a short evaluation of mobility. Speed in ambulation was not an issue.

• Quality of Life – this is an orally administered survey of eight dimensions of quality of life (health, energy, ability to undertake activities, self-esteem, personal relationships, financial and living arrangements). This was not necessary as the personal and social background were described adequately.

These 11 assessments supplement the information gained in the interview and together formed the foundation for my evaluation. In some instances, they may be complemented by some additional assessments where there are special requirements.

For instance, if there is no useful record of educational achievement then a brief intellectual assessment of scholastic potential is warranted. The purpose would be to determine learning potential rather than to impose limitations.

Speed of mental processing might be assessed in head injury cases. This involves the rapid pronunciation of letters that entail 100 bits of information.5 Hearing

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frequency, eyesight or colour vision might need to be assessed. Formal assessment of spelling, comprehension, numeracy and reading might be undertaken where required.

The program of assessment will also vary, depending upon the additional information that is supplied prior to the interview. In some instances, the reports of doctors, psychologists or occupational therapists will provide sufficient details.

The information from these assessments together with the medical reports is combined to form a holistic view of the vocational competence of the person. It enables the evaluator to see the person in action across a range of standard tasks. The typical pattern of responses to these tasks is known beforehand and any variation is therefore relevant.

In essence this is a clinical rather than psychometric form of vocational assessment. I want to labour this distinction. The information from the assessments contributed to the evaluation of whether the accident or injury had affected his work potential and earnings capacity. In this case, the answer was “yes”.

Rationale Underlying Clinical Vocational Assessment

This clinical approach contrasts with the methods of assessment used in other contexts:

1. There is less reliance on commercially available, paper-and-pencil tests of aptitudes, personality, values and interests.

2. The assessments in this case supplemented the interview. Assessment was not undertaken merely for the sake of assessment. It was used to provide information that found its way into the final vocational report. Ideally each bit of information is a component of the final judgement.


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3. Note that in the assessment described above there is little need for the person to complete tests or personality questionnaires. Most of the assessments involve “saying” or “doing” rather than written responses. An exception is the demographic and disability details of the pre-interview medical questionnaire.

4. There are inherent advantages in the practical tasks that are encountered. They have acceptability or what is erroneously called “face validity”. The tasks maintain interest especially for the patient population typically encountered in vocational rehabilitation settings. Many patients become disillusioned by long testing and assessment sessions from psychologists, physiotherapists, rehabilitation consultants or occupational therapists. They can be discouraged by repetition of personal details and the indiscriminate use of forms, tests or questionnaires.

5. The process is entirely voluntary. The rationale for each component is explained briefly. Individuals are informed that they will be assessed across a range of tasks and are free to decline participation at any point. This has never been an issue. Motivation is maintained by ensuring that some success is encountered on each task and that responding is within the patient’s range of proximal achievement.6 Where it is considered beneficial, results are provided instantaneously.

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Some Problems of Traditional Vocational Assessment Processes

Various approaches to career were outlined in the earlier chapters of this book. Trait-factor theory emphasised abilities; Holland emphasised interests; and the Theory of Work Adjustment emphasised values. It was a short step from these perspectives to adopt psychometric testing to these concepts. The results were used to eliminate occupations or to suggest areas for career exploration. It was assumed – as Howard Figler noted7 – that abilities, interests and values were the key factors. He was critical of career assessment and the limited predictive validity of career testing. There are a number of problems with traditional approaches to vocational assessment using tests and questionnaires.

Lack of Authoritative Measures

Many different aptitude tests have been developed and thousands of questionnaires have been designed. The Nineteenth Mental Measurements Yearbook8 in 2014 reviewed 183 new tests including 46 in the area of vocations, followed by 33 in the area of personality.

Regrettably, there is no standard assessment for constructs like intelligence as there is for a standard length like a metre. Instead there are many different tests and their results are not comparable. Over time, a few measures have achieved prominence and three that come to mind are the various Wechsler scales of intelligence such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale,9 the Minnesota Multi-Phasic Personality Inventory10 and the Strong Interest Inventory.11

My area of research has been mainly in the field of career interests and in 2006, I was preparing a series of lectures on the topic of vocational interest at the Vrije


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Universiteit in Brussels. I was curious as to the number of interest questionnaires available in Australia. I counted the main vocational interest assessments available for purchase from three test distributors in Australia – there were 16 different career interest measures – and if I am correct – few, if any, had matching interest classifications. The general point is this – there is no universal, standard assessment in vocational psychology. This is totally embarrassing. It does not lead to an accumulation of knowledge.

If you wish to use psychometric assessments, then that is fine but please recognise that it is now a commercially driven enterprise. For this reason and for the present moment I tend to recommend the set of O*NET measures as these are available freely and are of reasonable quality. I provide some details of these in the Appendix to this chapter.

In summary, if you are going to adopt a psychometric approach to vocational assessment that takes into account values, interests and aptitudes then there are only a handful of top quality and well-researched measures. But there are other limitations.

Poor Norm-Referenced Samples

Moreover, many psychometric assessments rely upon norm-referenced comparisons – as you may know, the intelligence quotient is determined by comparison to a person’s standing in one’s age grouping.

Ideally, a nationwide representative sample should be used but this is the exception. Most commercial assessments in vocational rehabilitation rely upon convenience

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samples. Some well-designed assessments use specific occupations as comparisons and this is a practical approach.

To make matters worse, for many years Australia has relied upon US normative samples. For example, I use the Wide-Range Achievement Test12 but the results I obtain rely on comparisons with US samples or against US grade levels. The situation is starting to change but the economics of sampling make this process prohibitive in Australia.

There is another subtle problem that was highlighted in the area of interest assessment many years ago.13 In some instances one obtains a result that is in percentiles; these percentiles show a person’s performance compared to the norm group.

In the case where someone is at the 80th percentile on say Realistic interest and the 70th percentile for Investigative interest, one cannot say that the person’s interest in Realistic work is higher. All we can truly say is that relative to the norm group someone’s interest in Realistic was higher than someone’s interest in Investigative relative to the norm group. This reference “to the norm group” adds a layer of complexity.

Lack of True Quantification

There are technical problems associated with scores on most tests. For instance, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale14 (DASS21) is specified or recommended by government authorities for assessment of emotional distress. The responses to the 21 items in the DASS21 are scored 0 (never), 1 (sometimes), 2 (often) or 3 (almost always). One then adds the responses to questions, so that a 1 for a stress question “I found it hard to wind down” is added to say a 1 for another stress question “I tended to over-react to situations”.

The problem is that that there are no psychological units of stress as there are for centimetres, litres or kilograms. Are these two answers equivalent to a “2” for the stress question “I felt that I was using a lot of nervous energy? Hardly!

This is not measurement – it is the arbitrary allocation of numbers to questions and has been roundly criticised and shown to be false.15 One can add the numbers arithmetically but these do not represent quantities.

Reliability

It is important that the results of any assessment are stable and dependable. There are problems of reliability in our assessments.

Most reputable assessments will provide an index of reliability or the repeatability of the results. For this reason, test manuals will hopefully cite test-retest coefficients or coefficients for parallel forms or even split-half coefficients in which the two sections of an assessment are correlated.


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There is a fundamental attribution error in applying these indices to a patient’s responses. The fact that an assessment produced fairly reliable results for a group does not mean that it will be reliable for another group of people let alone for your patient. One cannot extrapolate with 100% accuracy from norm group findings in a test manual or user’s guide to an individual case.

Moreover, the reliability coefficients need to be extremely high before one can rely upon them for high stakes decisions. In some cases, our vocational assessments report reasonable but not perfect levels of reliability.

For instance, the Strong Campbell Interest Inventory reported test-retest reliabilities of .85 to .93 over a two-week period for a sample of 183 women and men. This drops to .78 to .87 for a sample of 140 women and men over a three-year period.16

If our rulers were this reliable, then many of our buildings would not have been built or fallen down and some of our planes would hardly land at the right airport let alone fly in the first place!

In other instances, test manuals will report a statistical index such as the coefficient alpha as a reliability measure. Coefficient alpha is a measure of homogeneity or consistency of responding. It can be calculated easily and does not require the test developer to go out and sample people twice. Cronbach was the developer of the

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coefficient alpha17 but in his last paper before he died, he indicated that the Cronbach alpha was not a measure of reliability.

It has to be recognised and accepted that there is considerable unreliability in human assessment. It is not the assessment method (i.e., the test or the questionnaire) that is unreliable. The test does not change at all. The major source of unreliability is the individual, that is, us. Most other factors (e.g., method of administration) can be controlled.

Figure 7.1. Predictive validity of selection methods – proportion accounting for the variance in job performance18

Validity

The next limitation in psychometric assessment relates to validity. The real utility of an assessment is that it should be capable of predicting what is not known or could not reasonably be expected to be known. This relates to what is called the predictive validity of assessment results.

The predictive validity of different assessments for job performance was studied by Schmidt and Hunter in a landmark study summarising 85 years of research.19 Work sample tests, general mental ability and structured employment interviews


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were by far the best predictors but they accounted for only a small proportion of the overall variation in job performance. The results are summarised in Figure 7.1. Even though the percentage of variance is small it is still sufficiently high for assessments to have economic benefit for large-scale selection but not for individual vocational prediction.

The preceding comments are technical and a little tedious. They are only some of the considerations relating to limitations of standardised testing. These observations were outlined in order to dispel some myths about the objectivity of psychological assessments.

These comments are not meant to dissuade the reader from using vocational assessments but merely to draw our attention to potential limitations. One must not place blind faith in the validity of the results. There is a role, however, for vocational assessment.

A Role for Vocational Assessment in Rehabilitation

In this section I outline two objectives of vocational assessment and three decision-making approaches to these objectives. Ideally each vocational assessment should contribute information that is not known or could not reasonably be expected to be known.

In addition, we can use the information from a vocational assessment to (a) confirm a diagnosis of a deficiency that needs to be overcome through rehabilitation services; or (b) to infer likely success or failure in an occupation. These two objectives are linked with the process clinical reasoning, judgement and decision-making.

They are tied in with the idea that the results from a vocational assessment may be used to verify or disprove an idea that is held by a clinician. This means that

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assessment results can be used in three very useful ways, (a) to dispel an idea, (b) to prove an idea or (c) to gather evidence for an idea:

1. We can use our assessments to dispel a clinical hunch. For example, it may be assumed that someone has the grip strength in his or her left hand that is sufficient to work as a fitter-machinist. The results of our assessment on the Jamar dynamometer then indicate a maximum grip strength of 32 kg in the right hand but only 2kg in the left hand. Accordingly, this hypothesis is disproven. This is consistent with good science. In practice one starts with an idea and then checks to see whether this is wrong. Often it is far easier to disprove something than to provide the correct answer to a problem.

2. In some instances it may be possible to gather definite evidence that proves a clinical suspicion. This is easier said than done in vocational rehabilitation. For example, a perfect result on the Lezak 15-item test does indicate that a patient is giving their best performance. It does not prove that they are absolutely honest because they may be feigning in some other way. Another example is that of a patient with agility problems but who can still rise from her chair and cover a distance of some six metres in around four seconds (i.e., faster than the average of six seconds). This does not prove mobility because in a subsequent test the same result may not be verified, the result may not hold for walking on uneven ground, the result may be valid for a single assessment but not be valid for continuous walking over several hours. One cannot infer with 100% accuracy from a single instance. It is almost impossible to prove with absolute certainty that someone can work as this requires a generalisation from the clinic to the real world.

3. We can, however, accumulate different pieces of evidence that are consistent with a hypothesis. Note that this is not the same as proof. After some time, the weight of the evidence might be considered to be sufficient to provide a reasonable basis for an inference that someone might or might not be able to work. In one sense this requires the weighing of evidence for or against an idea. I believe that this strategy is the most practical in a clinical setting.

This discussion may also seem protracted and even unnecessary but it implies that assessments become data gathering instruments with a purpose. They are used in the same sense as pathology results in medicine to confirm, disprove or support a diagnosis.

Using Questions to Guide Our Vocational Assessment

It is really helpful if we can structure our vocational assessment to answer a specific question(s). These questions are linked to our objectives. When they are first stated they may look something like this:

• What occupations suit someone’s values, interests and abilities?


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• What type of work can this person with a disability undertake?

These are reasonable questions but they could be re-worked into a different format. Ideally we should still phrase them as questions but in a form that can be answered “yes” or “no”. They could then look something like this:

• Does the occupation of truck driver suit the patient’s values, interests and abilities?• Is this patient able to undertake the tasks associated with the occupations of truck

driver?

These questions are merely examples. In this way, the vocational assessment becomes a practical exercise in hypothesis-testing, just as I described above. The questions become focused rather than general. They can become capable of disproof, proof or tentative support by balancing the evidence.

Here are some questions that you can address through your vocational assessments. They have been grouped into headings.

Education

Does this person have the educational background to work in a specific job?Does this person have the educational background to learn (i.e., complete a required course)?Does this person have the educational background to cope with the literacy or numeracy requirements of the occupation?

Intellectual Aptitude

Does this person have the scholastic aptitude to cope with further education or training?

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Interest

Is this type of work disliked?

Social

Has the injury or disability caused personal or social grief that is likely to affect work capacity?Has the injury or disability reduced the quality of life that is likely to affect work capacity?Has the injury resulted in poor social adjustment that is likely to affect work capacity?

Health

Has the capacity for personal care been reduced?Has the capacity for communication been reduced?Has the capacity for mobility been reduced?Has the injury or disability reduced aspects of functional ability (e.g., sitting, standing, walking, running, using stairs, kneeling, climbing, lifting or carrying, grip, dexterity, strength and pushing or pulling) that is likely to affect work capacity?

Mental Status

Is mental status adequate for work (in terms of being oriented, aware, controlled, able to solve problems, speak, comprehend)?

Presentation

Is presentation (dress, appearance) adequate for work?Is behaviour appropriate for work?

Vocational Potential

Is there potential for vocational rehabilitation?Is the patient able to undertake his/her pre-accident occupation?Is the patient at a disadvantage in the labour market (in terms of employment opportunities, restrictions in the labour market, age, transferable skills, employer perceptions)?

Qualitative Career Assessment

It would be remiss of me not to say something about qualitative assessment approaches as these are consistent with a clinical vocational assessment.


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Qualitative assessment is a less formal and less standardised approach to assessment. It does not seek to produce a score or quantification as occurs in many of the assessment we have considered so far. You saw an example of this in the timeline that I introduced earlier as well as through the structured interview.

Those who advocate qualitative assessment say that it has advantages over traditional vocational assessment approaches.

The patient’s role changes. The person becomes an active participant and not just a passive recipient of the testing process. I am not sure that this is entirely accurate since the patient does not choose the qualitative assessments.

The counsellor’s role changes from being an expert and being directive to becoming more supportive, more of a facilitator and a biographer. Again this will depend upon the context and the ways in which assessment is conducted.

Finally advocates of qualitative assessment argue that the counselling relationship changes and becomes collaborative, subjective, interpretive and involves story telling. I think this last comment accurately describes a qualitative approach.

McMahon, Patton and Watson20 have worked towards developing an experience in which the counsellor and the client collaborate. The emphasis is on a holistic assessment of the person and a process in which there is active involvement by the client.

They construct a narrative or story that is relevant to career. The emphasis is on assessment of the personal rather than the strictly vocational aspects that I have mentioned in previous chapters (e.g., interests, values). This qualitative approach is typified in the instrument called My System of Career Influence.

The My System of Career Influences

The My System of Career Influence is produced as a booklet or workbook. It is available originally through the Australian Council for Educational Research but now through Australian Academic Press.

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My System of Career Influence is based on a constructivist or phenomenological approach to the world. It accepts the reality of the person’s perceptions and there is something to be said for that.

How far it might take one is another matter. There may be some scientific difficulties in accepting a phenomenological view of behaviour but we can leave that for the epistemologists to worry about.

In the My System of Career Influence the individual gives meaning to his/her experiences. The My System of Career Influences follows broadly the content of the Systems Theory Framework. People reflect on the meaning of the various influences to create personal career stories. The counsellor assists in this process.

It comprises different opportunities to reflect and respond. There are instructions and examples. The section titled “My present career situation” has open-ended questions” such as vocational aspirations, work experiences.

Other sections are “Thinking about who I am”, “Thinking about the people around me”, “Thinking about society and environment”. These lead the client through aspect of the systems theory framework.

There are other sections entitled: “Thinking about my past, present and future”. Clients are invited to illustrate these influences and the final section is called “Reflecting on my system of career influences”.

It may be completed in around 30 minutes in one attempt but other approaches (e.g., group work) are also possible.


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Summary

The point of view that has been emphasised in this chapter is that vocational assessment is not merely a matter of assessing aptitudes, interests, personality and values and somehow gluing all this information together to provide some magic answer. Vocational assessment is seen as an integral part of the interview and addressing the purpose of the vocational evaluation.

It is a clinical process that aids judgement and decision, through the gathering of information to answer specific questions or test hypotheses that are framed as questions.

Use those vocational assessments for which there is no specialised restriction such as the requirement to be a registered psychologist. Some useful assessments are freely available and will not require exorbitant expenditure. They are also brief assessments that are able to be accommodated within a single session.

There are also some medical and rehabilitation assessments specified by governmental and workers’ compensation authorities. I remind the reader that the assessments described are not intended for counselling purposes. As I mentioned, I have provided some details of the O*NET assessments as an appendix to this chapter.

Appendix: What Is O*NET?

You have encountered O*NET already in passing. The O*NET program is the US source of occupational information. It is a database, containing information on hundreds of occupation-specific descriptors.

The database is available to the public at no cost. Information from this database is the core of O*NET OnLine, an interactive application for exploring and searching occupations. The database also provides the basis for the Career Exploration Tools,

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a set of assessment instruments for workers and students looking to find or change careers.

Let me say that not every aspect of the O*NET assessment system is recommended as it is time consuming. In some instances, a full assessment is unnecessary as you may have an educational and employment history.

My specific aim it to make you aware of the O*NET assessment tools. They are well-developed and related to work. Moreover, they are economical for a service or an agency. In the next section I wish to go through the range of these assessment tools.

Career Exploration Tools

O*NET has a set of self-directed career exploration/assessment tools to help students/workers consider career options. These help people identify their work-related interests, what they consider important on the job, and their abilities. They provide a framework to help you connect people to appropriate occupations – results are linked to 800+ occupations on the O*NET database

The O*NET assessment instruments include:

• O*NET Ability Profiler• O*NET Interest Profiler• O*NET Computerized Interest Profiler• O*NET Interest Profiler Short Form• O*NET Work Importance Locator• O*NET Work Importance Profiler

Electronic copies are available from the website.


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Ability Profiler

The Ability Profiler21 has psychomotor (i.e., manual) and non-psychomotor sections. It is time consuming. It takes approximately 2 to 3 hours to complete. The Ability Profiler needs a trained assessment administrator. The Ability Profiler assesses nine job-relevant abilities:

• Verbal ability• Arithmetic reasoning• Computation• Spatial ability• Form perception• Clerical perception• Motor coordination• Finger dexterity• Manual dexterity

To administer the Ability Profiler you will need both the O*NET Ability Profiler Instrument Materials and the O*NET Ability Profiler Administration Materials. You can download these materials as PDF files. The Dexterity Boards are needed for psychomotor tasks such as motor coordination, finger dexterity, manual dexterity.22

To score the O*NET you will need the O*NET Ability Profiler Scoring Materials. This includes the Scoring Program Software (a Windows executable file) and the Scoring Program User’s Guide. Optional materials include a Data Entry program for entering responses without an optical scanner, non-scannable answer sheets. By now you will have realised that it is a considerable investment in time and effort.

The O*NET Ability Profiler Scoring Program Software is a matching program. It uses Occupational Ability Profiles to relate the abilities of users with abilities important to performance in occupations and the first step is data entry to create a file then use the scoring program.

My view is that the Ability Profiler is a great resource but it might be more trouble than it is worth. There is the problem of ensuring it is acceptable to patients, user-friendly, ensuring it is economical in terms of time for your agency and then problems of how to interpret it. There are other alternatives but they are far more expensive.

Interest Profiler

The Interest Profiler comes in a paper and pencil version, a computer version and a shorter web-based version. You could use this as a substitute for the Self-Directed Search. The Interest Profiler assesses preferences for different work environments based on the Holland typology. My recommendation is to use the web-based version and you may wish to link this with the Work Importance Locator results.

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Work Importance Locator

The Work Importance Locator has been dealt with in an earlier chapter. Work values are global aspects of work. These are the specific needs that are relevant to satisfaction. In the O*NET they are based on the Theory of Work Adjustment, viz.: Independence, Relationships, Working Conditions, Achievements, Recognition, Support.

Conclusions about the O*NET Assessments

The O*NET assessments are helpful but a great deal depends on how they are used and interpreted. Overall, there are some limitations but these may relate more to the potential patients whom we typically see. Most are adults with substantial educational and employment history. Formal aptitude testing may not be required. I wish to make four recommendations for vocational assessment:

1. By all means use the O*NET database – it is invaluable to explore occupations;2. Consider the ability requirements of jobs but probably avoid the Ability Profiler;3. If you wish to use the Interest Profiler and the Work Importance Locator – think

about the online versions;4. Individualise the assessment to meet the needs of each case.

Whatever you do there is certainly a considerable amount of information here in O*NET and it is a substantial resource.

Exercise

Read the following case study and answer these six questions as best you can. It is satisfactory to make some assumptions if details are not provided but indicate


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them. For this exercise indicate which assessments (if any) you might use. List them under the following headings: (a) educational achievement, (b) vocational interests, (c) work values, (d) quality of life, (e) personality or temperament, (f) functional ability, (g) physical capacities, (h) malingering, (i) mental status, (j) aptitudes. Which O*NET assessments (if any) would you include?

Case O

Mrs O is aged 45 years and is married with three teenage children who are students.She suffered a misdiagnosis at an emergency department in a hospital. She had a

preventable cerebrovascular accident (i.e., stroke). This has paralysed the right side of her body. She has virtually no right hand grip strength.

It is almost 15 months since this incident. In the opinion of a rehabilitation specialist, she has reached maximum medical improvement.

She requires assistance with some items of personal care and daily activities. She can drive under supervision for short distances.

Her education is to Year 12 level and she has a Certificate III in Child Care.Mrs O was a self-employed female child care operator. She cared for five children

in her home. She had operated this business for more than 10 years. Mrs O has not worked since this accident.

NOTES

1 Anterior refers to the front of the body; superior means upwards and located towards the head.2 The axillary nerve is a major nerve of the upper limb.3 a triangle-shaped muscle over the shoulder joint. It raises the arm away from the body.4 Athanasou, J. A. (2015). Using the interview for medico-legal evaluation of vocational potential

following a personal injury (Occasional Paper 9). Sydney: James Psychological Consultants.5 Lehrl, A., & Fischer, B. (1990). A basic information psychological parameter (BIP) for the

reconstruction of concepts of intelligence. European Journal of Personality, 4, 259–286.

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6 Chaiklin, S. (2003). The zone of proximal development in Vygotsky’s analysis of learning and instruction. In A. Kozulin, B. Gindis, V. Ageyev, & S. Miller (Eds.), Vygotsky’s educational theory and practice in cultural context (pp. 39–64). Cambridge: Cambridge University.

7 Figler, H. (2007). How to use career assessment tools. In H. Figler & R. N. Bolles (Eds.), The career counselor’s handbook (2nd ed., pp. 112—121). Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press.

8 Carlson, J. F., Geisinger, K. F., & Jonson, J. L. (Eds.). (2014). The nineteenth mental measurements yearbook (p. xii). Lincoln, Nebraska: The Buros Center for Testing.

9 Wecshler, D. (2008). Wechsler adult intelligence scale (4th ed.). San Antonio, TX: Pearson.10 Ben-Porath, Y. S., & Tellegen, A. (2008/2011). MMPI-2-RF (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality

Inventory-2 Restructured Form): Manual for administration, scoring, and interpretation. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

11 Donnay, D. A. C., Morris, M. L., Schaubhut, N. A., & Thompson, R. C. (2005). Strong interest inventory manual: Research, development, and strategies for interpretation. Mountain View, CA: CPP Inc.

12 Wilkinson, G., & Robertson, G. (2006). Wide-range achievement test (4th ed.). Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

13 Kuder, F. (1977). Activity interests and occupational choice. Chicago, IL: Science Research Associates.

14 Lovibond, S. H., & Lovibond, P. F. (1995). Manual for the depression anxiety stress scales (2nd ed.). Sydney: Psychology Foundation.

15 Michell, J. (1990). An introduction to the logic of psychological measurement. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; Michell, J. (2000). Normal science, pathological science and psychometrics. Theory & Psychology, 10, 639–667; Michell, J. (2007a). Measurement. In S. P. Turner & M. W. Risjord (Eds.), Handbook of the philosophy of science: Philosophy of anthropology and sociology (pp. 71–119). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier.

16 Hansen, J. C., & Campbell, D. P. (1985). Manual for the Strong Interest Inventory. Form T325 of the strong vocational interest blanks (4th ed., p. 30). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

17 Cronbach, L. J., & Shavelson, R. J. (2004). my current thoughts on coefficient alpha and successor procedures. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 64(3), 391–418.

18 Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (1998). The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology: Practical and theoretical implications of 85 years of research findings. Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 262–274.

19 Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (1998), op. cit.20 McMahon, M., Watson, M., & Patton, W. (2013). My system of career influences MSCI (Adult).

A qualitative career assessment and reflection process. Facilitator’s guide. Samford, Queensland: Australian Academic Press.

21 Access details for this at http://www.onetcenter.org/AP.html?p=322 These may be ordered at http://www.onetcenter.org/AP.html?p=2

http://www.onetcenter.org/AP.html?p=3

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CHAPTER 8

ADULT VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE

The vocational development of adults has been our constant focus. From the start we have looked at the vocational impact of disability. We then went on to consider some approaches to describing career choice (e.g., trait-factor,

personality type, work adjustment theory, developmental approaches). We also investigated various aspects of the process of a vocational assessment or evaluation following an injury. For the sake of instruction, I have divided this whole field into different areas. These are shown in Figure 8.1. Note that there is some overlap.

It is now time to turn our attention to helping people make career choices following an injury or disability. This involves vocational guidance and vocational counselling.

By now you would realise that vocational development is related to rehabilitation counselling. In fact, rehabilitation counselling is listed as one of the career development specialties or type of career practices covered by the Career Industry Council of Australia. This is a peak industry body for the various career specialties. The Rehabilitation Counselling Association of Australia and the Australian Society of Rehabilitation Counsellors are members of that industry council.

What Is a Career Development Practitioner?

The Career Industry Council of Australia answered the question, ‘What is a career development practitioner?’ in this way:

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Career development practitioners provide services that help people manage their careers, make occupational and study decisions, plan career transitions and find career information. They may be called: Career counsellors or advisors; Employment counsellors; Career management consultants; Career practitioners; Career coaches; Rehabilitation counsellors; Guidance officers; Work development officers; Employment support workers; Work experience coordinators; Job developers; Placement coordinators; Vocational rehabilitation workers.1

Figure 8.1. Components of the field of vocational development following an accident or injury

So rehabilitation counsellors fall under the heading of career development practitioners. To paraphrase Dick Bolles in The Career Counselor’s Handbook: they dispense information; they impart knowledge; and they share wisdom.2 Not a bad trifecta!

We can add to this outline by including what the Australian Society of Rehabilitation Counsellors has indicated for rehabilitation counsellor, namely:

Rehabilitation Counsellors are Allied Health Professionals who work within a counselling and case management framework to assist people


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who are experiencing disability, a health condition or social disadvantage to participate in employment or education, or to live independently and access services in the community. Rehabilitation Counsellors are specialist counsellors that understand the impact of disability, health conditions and disadvantage on people’s lives, and especially the importance that work and education plays in achieving a sense of inclusion, independence, optimism and self-esteem.

What skills do Rehabilitation Counsellors possess? Rehabilitation Counsellors have advanced professional skills in personal counselling, vocational assessment, vocational counselling, vocational training and job placement, case management and co-ordination of services, injury prevention and management, and independent living planning.3

Clearly career is one of the key areas (along with education or independent living) for rehabilitation counselling. This employment assistance falls under the heading of various titles (e.g., vocational counselling, career counselling, vocational guidance) but mainly career counselling.

Others have commented on the multiple definitions related to the term “career counselling”.4 I will not go down that path except to say that the rehabilitation counsellor practises inter alia in the specialised area of disabilities.

This vocational focus for rehabilitation implies knowledge about occupations, education, training, jobs and employment. At the same time, we are familiar with disabilities and their rehabilitation. These are our areas of expertise.

The vocational emphasis comes about because return to work is considered a meaningful or practical indicator of someone’s rehabilitation. It is widely accepted as a criterion of the success or otherwise of rehabilitation. So this gives our work a practical imprimatur or stamp of authority.

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So How Does One Go about Vocational Guidance?

As we have mentioned on numerous occasions Frank Parsons outlined a normative approach to careers guidance that we can use. I say normative because there was an implied standard of correctness. This standard was founded on suitability or matching the person and the world of work. The Theory of Work Adjustment defined suitability for us in terms of stability of employment, job satisfaction and the satisfactoriness of someone’s work.

Newer career theories focus on the discontinuities in someone’s life or the many influences in a career or the narrative of his/her life or the cognitive/emotional/social process involved. These have been mentioned in passing and are not disregarded but at the end of the day they do not reject some form of matching. This matching need not be ultra-specific or microscopic.

It may be general or wide-ranging in scope. That is, you do not have to match a person to a specific job but you might match them to a career plan with many pathways or options.

Furthermore, the matching need not be a one-time event – once and for all. We do not say: “Here is the prescription for your vocational future!” We allow some room for variation and future review but in the final analysis it is still some form of matching. People have to carve out a life that suits them. And by “them” we mean, the totality of a person – his or her personal, educational, vocational, financial, cultural, family, religious, socio-economic or medical influences. These preliminary comments are important because they relate to how one guides a patient. I find no compelling reason to deviate from a matching approach.

All this is fine in theory but it is harder to implement in practice as it is not you that has to do the matching but someone else. It is not merely a question of simply telling someone what he or she should do but permitting them to change of their own free will. You may be familiar with the saying “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink”!

Having supported a matching approach, there is no single model of vocational guidance that is applicable to persons with disabilities. This is due, firstly, to large scale individual differences even within a single disability or chronic condition. Not all spinal cord injuries are alike; not all traumatic brain injuries are alike; not all psychiatric impairments or post-traumatic stress cases are alike and so on.

Secondly, disabilities vary in their content and type of restriction. For instance, a burns injury has vastly different implications than an amputation and so forth. This is not a remarkable statement but it means that there is no generic disability. It is fundamentally an oversimplification to consider all disabilities as requiring the same type of vocational guidance.

Moreover, disabilities vary in their onset; there are pre-career onset disabilities and disabilities that occur mid-career. It makes a big difference whether someone has considerable employment background prior to an accident or injury compared with someone who has little or no employment history.


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Finally, disabilities also vary in their frequency, intensity and duration – some are constant in their effects, others intermittent, some are progressive and others are increasing in their degeneration.

As I mentioned, each patient brings with them a whole host of other personal, medical, economic and social issues that are occurring at the same time as their vocational counselling. Life does not come in separate, neat boxes such as: work, family, leisure, education. For this reasons I say that we need to approach a person holistically.

Vocational guidance can occur in concert with or following assistance from the other professionals who deal with specialised medical, personal or social issues. Sometimes it may be better to leave the vocational guidance until other matters have been settled. It takes time to recover and often this is much longer than anyone anticipated. Return to work is important but sometimes it should wait its turn. Sometimes a hasty return to work causes more problems than it solves. In other instances, obtaining a job may be the solution to many problems.

Foundation of Guidance for Vocational Rehabilitation

At the risk of repeating what we said earlier and what was introduced in previous chapters (I agree that I am insistent and I blame this entirely on my mother), the foundation for vocational counselling in rehabilitation is the original statement of Parsons:

In the wise choice of a vocation there are three broad factors: (1) a clear understanding of yourself, your aptitudes, abilities, interests, ambitions, resources, limitations, and their causes; (2) a knowledge of the requirements and conditions of success, advantages and disadvantages, compensation, opportunities, and prospects in different lines of work; (3) true reasoning on the relations of these two groups of facts.5

All that the man said was “three broad factors”, nothing more and nothing less. In my opinion, there is no need to change this framework. He emphasised a clear understanding of oneself, a knowledge of work and what he called “true reasoning” about these two factors. This continues as a practical basis on which I provide my guidance, advice and assistance to others. This is the framework that I communicate to patients.

Six Steps as a Foundation for Vocational Guidance

All this is very well but what does one actually do? There are six preliminary steps necessary prior to vocational counselling:

• Inform patients what can be achieved through vocational guidance;• Indicate the areas of expertise in the context of disabilities;

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• Outline the process to be followed in vocational guidance;• Outline the resources that you have available to assist• Indicate how progress will be determined; and• Specify what is required of the patient.

We shall consider each of these headings separately.

Inform Patients What Can Be Achieved through Vocational Guidance

Emphasise to your patients that the purpose of vocational guidance is quite straightforward. It is to determine what vocational options (if any) are available to a person with a disability and then to support them to achieve their vocational goals. The aim is to achieve the most satisfactory placement in work or other activities of life. Sometimes work is not feasible or the most optimal solution but people can still play an active role in the community.

Indicate the Areas of Expertise in the Context of Disabilities

Hopefully we would know more than most people about the following: occupations; career development; different educational and training pathways; job-seeking and job-finding in Australia; the nature of a disability; personal adjustment to a disability; the likely impact of a disability in terms of restrictions; workplace adjustments and


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reasonable accommodation; employment for people with disabilities; and some aspects of compensation and social security.

We offer advice, information, guidance or support that is founded on sound principles or is evidence-based. Moreover, this guidance and support respects the rights of the individual and is independent of any vested interest.

Outline the Typical Process in Vocational Guidance

In order to provide vocational guidance, we indicate that we may need to obtain background information through interview and discussion with the patient. This enables some understanding of the personal, social, educational and vocational situation of a person.

Emphasise the privacy and confidentiality of this process. As a professional, the information that is provided to me is privileged. Information is only revealed to those for whom permission has been given.

I see the rehabilitation counsellor as a facilitator and guide. We encourage questions and the opportunity to contribute to this process.

We might offer some choice if available in the vocational assessments, such as values, interests or abilities. Indicate that the vocational assessments are used to provide information that is not otherwise available.

There will be the formulation of a rehabilitation plan and assistance with execution of the plan, follow up and revision until a decision is made or a goal achieved.

In my opinion, vocational counselling is not completed until a reasonable educational, vocational or social placement is made. Put simply my job is not over until someone gets a job (i.e., an educational, social or vocational placement). I have tried this approach and it works.6

This approach is not an interview, some testing and a cloud of dust. In this approach we get out of our armchairs and from behind our desks to assist people in the real world. For instance, we cannot expect them to look for work unaided.

Vocational counselling is not merely a talk-fest with regular appointments scheduled like psychotherapy or medical treatment. Brief, multi-contact interventions for adult patients are viable and potentially highly efficient components of an overall vocational rehabilitation service. Please read this last sentence again.

All the empathy and rapport building that you have learnt about in other areas of counselling are vital skills for vocational guidance. The ability to listen, to be non-directive and non-judgemental, to reflect, to alter perceptions and create mindfulness are part of the arsenal of techniques that you will bring to your guidance. But they are not the be-all and end-all of vocational guidance.

Outline the Resources That You Have Available to Assist

Career exploration, job-finding and job-seeking are time and resource demanding activities for an individual who is already disadvantaged.

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The facilities and services of your agency will be described so that the individual is aware of what practical assistance is available. Ideally you or your agency will have:Interest inventories and accompanying planning resources (e.g., O*NET Interest Explorer, Self-Directed Search)Career planning books (e.g., What Color is your Parachute?)Ability assessments (e.g., O*NET Ability Explorer)Occupational information resources (e.g., Job Guide, Job Outlook).

Generally, a range of career information, vocational assessment materials and office resources for job-seeking will be required.

Indicate How Progress Will Be Determined

It is important to establish a practical goal. The objective is a client-centred placement in education, work or some community activity. Otherwise vocational guidance is too vague and indeterminate.

Specify What Is Required of the Patient

The patient also has responsibilities. They have to want to work or be prepared to work (or its educational or social equivalent). There has to be a commitment on their part.

This process requires the total commitment of the patient to their goal. For instance, job-seeking and job-finding is a time consuming and draining process. It becomes a full-time, daily activity for the person.

The following conditions are considered to predispose an individual to positive outcomes from vocational guidance:

1. The patient wants to succeed for clear, personal reasons2. The patient faces minimum employment barriers3. The patient has the ability to succeed4. The patient is optimistic and believes in the value of the vocational counselling5. The patient considers vocational counselling is consistent with his/her community

or social environment6. The patient is prepared to accept reminders, encouragement, and support to

change at appropriate times and places from the rehabilitation counsellor.


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Having established this preliminary background to vocational guidance then comes the process itself. I have used the health program Five As as a model or framework. This is indicated as a sequence in Figure 8.2.

Figure 8.2. The Five As as an organisational framework for vocational counselling

An Organisational Framework for Vocational Counselling

This Five As counselling framework is adapted from the field of preventive medicine.7 It describes a minimal contact intervention strategy. It can be provided by a variety of staff in a rehabilitation agency.

• Assess: Ask about/assess employment risk(s) and factors affecting choice of occupation or job search.

• Advise: Give clear, specific, and personalized advice, including information about occupations, training and job-finding.

• Agree: Collaboratively select appropriate methods based on the patient’s interest in and willingness to change.

• Assist: Using self-help and/or counselling, aid the patient in achieving agreed-upon goals by acquiring the skills, confidence, and social/environmental supports for behaviour change

• Arrange: Schedule follow-up contacts (in person or by telephone) to provide ongoing assistance/support and to the plan as needed.8

A Purpose-In-Life Approach

Underlying all of vocational guidance – for adults who experience a disability mid-career – is a fundamental re-orientation of the person. It may involve facing existential questions as well as developing a new purpose in life.

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Most people that I encounter have what I call an instrumental view of life rather than an existential view.

The focus of an instrumental view is on the day-to-day matters in life (i.e., love, home, holidays, family, income, job). This is understandable. It is natural and helps one get by. Furthermore, it is fine when things are going well but it is shaken badly by a disability or injury. This is when an existential view or purpose in life is extremely helpful.

An existential view is about having a purpose in life. It is about giving meaning to one’s life. It is a philosophical attitude. It emphasises the individual as being in charge of his or her choices even in an unclear, dangerous or disordered world. Remember that an injury or disability disrupts every aspect of one’s life. It is never a pretty picture.

The following statements emphasise what I call a purpose in life approach to guidance:

• being primarily concerned with developing a meaningful life;• addressing the why of choices or indecisiveness;• overcoming biological, psychological and sociological conditions;• bridging the gap between what one is and what one thinks s/he should be;• ensuring that each life is unique and irreplaceable;• responding to the chain of questions in life with responses;• actualising values; and• ensuring that people have free will.9

For some patients an accident is seen as a life sentence while others view it as a challenge to be overcome or an opportunity. It becomes incredibly difficult for a rehabilitation counsellor to work on occupations when there is a negative outlook on life. In general, there is a need for personal counselling then career counselling before the vocational guidance and placement can occur. This process should not be rushed and in some instances (e.g., severe depression, anxiety) psychiatric referral may be needed.

Typically, an accident or disability for an adult or adolescent requires a major personal adjustment. The presumptions and assumptions that one held about his or her life are thrown out the window in an instant. Any implicit plans or dreams are overturned. Consequently, the meaningfulness of life can be lost in the maelstrom of coping with a new existence.

Often the future is seen in comparison to the past when things were going well. The sudden change in fortune is too much for some.

In other instances, an accident or injury is a trigger for all sorts of underlying problems to surface. It is never clear whether these problems might have occurred anyway and the accident is merely a catalyst.

Whatever the situation, the relevance of some form of mental or cognitive re-interpretation of life is helpful. This is important even as part of mundane career counselling. It seems pointless to attempt job placement when there are unresolved


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questions about the direction of life. Career and vocation are more than work – they form part of the identity of a person.

Logotherapy

This purpose-in-life approach is not my idea. It forms part of the technique called logotherapy.

Logotherapy was devised by Viktor Frankl, who focused on the struggle to see a higher meaning to existence. His work made a deep impression on me some 30 years ago and I revisited it in an editorial for the Australian Journal of Career Development. At that time, I wrote:

…the late Viktor Frankl (1905–1997) was the Austrian physician who formulated the psychotherapeutic approach of logotherapy… Frankl described an existential psychotherapy that emphasises human freedom, the desire for meaning, personal responsibility to our conscience and the world around us and above all the primary need of people to find meaning in their life. Frankl was in a Nazi concentration camp from 1942 to 1945 and through the confrontation with these horrors came to recognise the value of a purpose in life: “Life can be meaningful in a threefold way: first what we give to life (in terms of our creative works); second by what we take from the world (in terms of our experiencing values); and third, through the stand we take towards a fate we no longer can change (an incurable disease, an inoperable cancer or the like).10

…he also emphasised the positive ability to overcome the existential vacuum or inner world the existential vacuum or inner void that plagues many lives: “the meaning of life must be perceived in terms of the specific meaning of a personal life in a given situation. Each man is unique and each man’s life is singular; no one is replaceable nor is his life repeatable. This twofold uniqueness adds to man’s responsibleness. Ultimately this responsibleness derives from the fact that life is a chain of responses which man has to answer by answering for life… (p. 27).

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Logotherapy ought to be viewed as a fundamental aspect within vocational guidance. Around 1984 I had written about the role of logotherapy in vocational guidance in these terms:

The focus of logotherapy is on the future, the assignments to be fulfilled by the individual in his/her future, and re-orienting the individual toward their own purpose-in-life. The search is not for an abstract meaning; rather experience, through actions or deeds, emotions or feelings, and misfortunes serve to assist in the discovery of personal meaning (Frankl, 1962, p. 96). Thus, logotherapy seeks to make people conscious of their responsibility.

This existential analysis tries to bring together three factors to avoid a vacuum in life. These are (a) work (the actual job) (b) vocation (the unique personal tasks in life) and (c) the three values (creative, experiential, attitudinal).

The individual is perceived as responsible for actualising these values and for fulfilling a unique task in life.11

In some persons, this quest to instil some direction or purpose or meaningfulness will succeed. It brings about a total cognitive restructuring as life is seen in a new light.

In other instances, purpose-in-life is like water on a duck’s back – of no impact whatsoever. If there is no willingness on the part of a patient to review the direction of life all that we can do is to provide as much vocational support as possible. We leave it to time or experience to become their counsellor.

There is one other proviso for consideration, like the fine print at the bottom of an agreement you might sign. In order to use a purpose in life approach, I have noted that it also has some implications for me. It means that I need to be satisfied with myself and the direction of my life, especially with my career choice to be a vocational rehabilitation counsellor.

Concluding Comments

In this section we have viewed vocational guidance as a component of the assistance that we provide to a person with an injury or disability. The approach that we provide has to be tailored to the needs and circumstances of each person. Adult vocational guidance follows personal counselling and may be accompanied by vocational counselling. A practical criterion of educational, vocational or social placement is recommended for vocational guidance. In particular, it was stressed that we have an obligation to provide assistance with making life meaningful and purposeful following an injury or disability. Of course, all this is easier said than done. In the


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next section, we consider some approaches to career or vocational counselling where a person is entirely undecided.

Exercise

Read the following case study and outline a potential strategy for adult vocational guidance in this case.

Case P

Mr P is aged 25 and was injured in a serious work accident. He required a C5-7 fusion. His main disability is reduced agility and mobility. His whole person impairment is rated around 25%.

He had a troubled youth and was expelled from school but completed his schooling to Year 10 level. He obtained the School Certificate. He does not have formal qualifications but impressed as someone who is highly intelligent. His reading was assessed as someone beyond Year 12 level and adequate for university courses. His cognitive processing speed placed him in the top 25th percentile.

His career interests centred on Outdoor, Community and Practical interests.His work history is limited to that of a manual and unskilled nature. The longest

time that he has spent with any one employer is 6 months. His employment has been intermittent and he has been unemployed for long periods. At the time of the accident he was a delivery driver.

He has not worked since the accident. He says that he cannot remain in one position for long periods. He cannot lift. He does want to return to work.

He is married with one dependent child. His wife does not work. They live in rented accommodation and receive a social security benefit. His childhood has been disturbed with multiple foster parents. He is a heavy drinker. He has been in trouble with the law for substance abuse and faced a period of weekend detention.

On the Lezak 15 item test, which is designed to reveal whether a person is giving their best performance, he recalled 15 out of the 15 items. Grip strength in the right hand was within normal limits but was reduced in the left hand. Back-leg pull strength (92 kg) was reasonable. Manual dexterity on the Purdue Pegboard was a touch above average. The timed up-and-go test was completed in 5.8 seconds (i.e., faster than average).

He presents as an agreeable and friendly person. His behaviour was appropriate to the situation. The general impression is that this young man presents with considerable untapped potential and that with maturity has overcome some of his earlier difficulties.

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NOTES

1 Career Industry Council of Australia. Retrieved May 2014, from http://www.cica.org.au2 Figler, H., & Bolles, R. N. (2007). The career counselor’s handbook (2nd ed., p. 3). Berkeley, CA: Ten

Speed Press.3 Australian Society of Rehabilitation Counsellors. Retrieved May 2014, from www.asorc.org.au4 Hershenson, D. B. (2010). Career counselling with diverse populations. Models, interventions and

applications. In E. M. Szymanski & R. M. Parker (Eds.), Work and disability: Contexts, issues and strategies for enhancing employment outcomes for people with disabilities (pp. 163–201). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed; Prelovsky, I. (undated). Concept, definition and activities of career guidance and counselling Retrieved May 2014, from http://www.ies.stuba.sk

5 Parsons, F. (1909). Choosing a vocation (p. 5). London: Gay & Hancock.6 Athanasou, J. A. (1980). Placement counselling in vocational guidance: Client-centred job placement.

Sydney: Division of Vocational Guidance Services, N.S.W. Dept. of Labour and Industry.7 Whitlock, E. P., Orleans, C. T., Pender, N., & Allan, J. (2002). Evaluating primary care behavioural

counselling interventions. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 22(4), 267–284.8 Whitlock et al., op. cit., p. 277.9 Adapted from Foxwell, M. (1987). Salience of logotherapy among students of career counselling

(ERIC Document CG 023 592).10 Frankl, V. E. (1962). Man’s search for meaning (p. 25). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.11 Athanasou, J. A. (1984). A paradoxical intention: A brief description of a cognitive behaviour therapy

approach and its potential for counselling (ERIC Document Reproduction Service CG 019 728. p. 1). Darlinghurst, NSW: NSW Department of Industrial Relations.

http://www.cica.org.au

http://www.asorc.org.au

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CHAPTER 9

CAREER COUNSELLING FOR THE UNDECIDED

The ultimate goal of adult career counselling is some form of vocational placement. This assumes that the patient is willing, ready and able to work. It assumes that the patient has made definite choices or has some tentative

career plans. In some instances, however, the patients that we encounter are quite undecided about career choices. Some initial counselling is required before the remaining guidance and job placement process can begin.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide readers with some guidelines for their career counselling. The views expressed in this chapter reflect those of Howard Figler and Richard Nelson Bolles in their Career Counsellor’s Handbook (2nd edition). They offer a unique and practical perspective that is highly recommended for vocational rehabilitation practitioners. I cannot improve upon their experience and wisdom.

Resolving Dilemmas

After an accident or injury, people are often perplexed by what direction to follow in life. This is because their plans in life have been disturbed. They are encountering an entirely new and unexpected set of circumstances.

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Secondly, when it is time to consider a return to work they may only have experience of a few jobs. The multitude of occupations, however, can be sorted in some fairly neat ways.

It is recommended that the counsellor guides the process of career decision-making. We aim to make patients self-sufficient and to teach them methods that they can use in the future. This seems preferable to simply providing an answer.

Certainly, we can sort through the world of work based on a person’s education then narrow this down through interests and finally take into account their values and needs. This is a logical and valid approach. It could be done by a technician or even a computer but it may not reflect the person or his/her life circumstances or their pattern of thinking. Look at the following case and think about where one might start to provide some counselling for an undecided client.

Exercise: Case Study Q

Mr Q is a 57-year-old male who was injured in a motor vehicle accident, when he was aged around 55 years. He was hospitalised for a week with a fractured tibia and fibula.

His background is a language other than English. He said that his English was not adequate for watching television or for completing forms.

He completed his schooling to year 12 level. This included technical training in building studies. He does not have any formal post-school qualifications or training.

He does not have computing skills; he is not familiar with office equipment such as a photocopier or fax. He has trouble interpreting a bank statement. His level of literacy is adequate only for unskilled occupations.

His employment history has centred on formwork and construction. At the time of the accident, he was engaged as a formworker in constructing a residential apartment block (Figure 9.1).

Figure 9.1. Concrete formworkers1


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He has not worked since the accident. At the present time he receives an insurance benefit. He has not looked for work elsewhere, saying “… what employer will take me…”.

He is married and lives in his own home with his wife and their three adult children. His social adjustment appeared normal but there have been problems of personal adjustment. There were no special plans for the future.

Functional Ability. He indicated that he could sit comfortably for 15–20 minutes and could stand comfortably for about 15 minutes. He said that he can walk for around 10–15 minutes. From a seated position, he covered a distance of 6 metres or some 12 steps for me in 36 seconds. This is well below normal limits. Using stairs, climbing, pushing or pulling and lifting or carrying were said to be problems for him. He said that he does limp and is not steady on his feet. He can bend at the waist. He said that he can grip. He is right handed and writing was a problem for him. He said that he cannot use hand tools easily and cannot move, twist or turn things by hand.

On tests of manual skills, he indicated greatly reduced grip strength. On the Jaymar dynamometer he exerted 10kg force with the right hand and 16kg force with the left hand. Both values are well below normal limits. On the Purdue Pegboard which is a timed test of manual dexterity requiring the rapid placement of small component parts, he placed 7 components with the right hand and 8 components with the left hand compared with around 15 placements for a sample of males.

Systems Check. For work purposes his speech was noticeably slurred. He did not display any significant memory difficulties and was able to describe most events pertaining to his education and work. His capacity to deal with the affairs of the examination was within normal limits.

On brief office testing of mental status, he was oriented in time, date, day, place and season. He was familiar with some everyday political personalities. He was not able to recall a current news item. He was able to recall the months of the year in reverse order. Mental arithmetic multiplication calculation was accurate. On the Lezak 15-item test, which is designed to reveal whether a person is giving their best performance, he recalled only 3 out of the 15 items. Even persons with severe brain injuries are able to recall nine items.

Presentation. He presented as a man of stated age and normal build. He was dressed in a casual fashion and was wearing thongs. He used a single Canadian crutch. He was dour, downcast and inattentive to some questions.

Mr Q is uncertain of his ability to work and wants assistance with deciding what career options might be available to him. He has come to you for help as his case manager. How would you provide him with assistance?

Life Options

This is a case where some deeper counselling and advice is required. In the last chapter I stressed that throughout our guidance and counselling we have an obligation

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to help people recover and establish an orientation in their life. This will assist their recovery. For want of a better term this was called a purpose-in-life approach.

In the case of Mr Q above, I prefer to start with the big questions in life rather than focus directly on the career questions. I call these the life options. Here is the first of two key questions you may wish to consider.

What am I being asked to do with my life?Life is a gift and it has many strange twists and turns. Some parts of life are

beautiful and other parts are quite challenging. We can ask the person beside us – “What are you being asked to do with your life?”

Note the emphasis – “what are you being asked…?” This is deliberate. It leads on from that earlier discussion we had about purpose in life. This may seem a little philosophical for many but I believe that it is a key issue.

Note also that we have not started with skills, interests or values or job opportunities. There is nothing wrong with these factors. They can come later. We want to make sure that we have the right overall framework before we start to explore the finer details.

This question is about the direction of life. It is about the importance of family, faith, work, learning, ideals and the goals of one’s life. It is a difficult question for anyone to resolve in his/her own life. Answer this question and the remaining bits become easy.

Of course, for some people this question is unimaginable. Their view of the world is one in which it contributes to their happiness and pleasure. We are trying to uncover the internal goods2 that are relevant to the person. These are the factors that speak directly to the heart of the individual and that are personally relevant to his or her thinking.3


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All one can do is to pose the question. Outline its importance. Indicate that work and careers are only a small proportion of one’s being and not the determinant of every bit of happiness.

How Will I Define Success in My Life?

This second question is also somewhat abstract but it is annoyingly practical. It is asking about the milestones or achievements that one might use to mark out progress in one’s life.

Forget about the fact that life is unpredictable; we can still plan but we should reserve the right to change our plans every morning. Forget about the fact that the milestones or achievements or success will fade with the passage of time.

Some will measure success in terms of wealth or health. Others will focus on family and personal relationships. Still others will consider influence, power or prestige. It is helpful to have some milestones along the way but it is not for me to say what criteria are correct.

In all this and combined with the first question, there will be some ranking and some natural indicators. Maybe you might try and list them with your patient. Maybe try to put them into some sort of order, like faith, family, health, work or wealth, health, enjoyment… or any one of a million other patterns, who knows! Everyone is different.

Then think about the milestones or the markers of achievement. Note these but there is no need for me to write all this down like I do with my interview notes when

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I am doing an evaluation. Maybe make a note afterwards as a reminder. Our focus should now be on interacting with the person not recording.

These are the big questions in life. They cannot be resolved in a short interview – some may take an entire life. Others will be solved with the passage of time as some alternatives evaporate or disappear.

In this counselling process, we start to resolve the position of a career in one’s life. If a career is not the main ingredient of success, then this is an important discovery for the person.

Maybe someone is not prepared to sacrifice their family happiness for a job – that is an important parameter. Maybe a job is just a means of earning some money to survive or do other things in life – that is a relevant consideration. Maybe some people have been brainwashed into thinking that a career is the most important thing in life. Well, it’s not.

The real question we are trying to answer is “for what would you sacrifice your life?” The first two questions or even this last one are the foundation then once we know where a career or work fits into someone’s life then and only then we can start to ask (or really get them to ask themselves) some specific career questions.

Career Questions

There are many career questions that follow on from the life options. It is difficult to list them as not all will be relevant. I shall list two that are pertinent. The first has to do with the problems encountered.

What Problems Are You Facing in Making a Decision about Work?

Many patients want you to provide an answer to their problems but this is not possible. We do not know the person well enough to provide an answer. There are also many possible answers to questions about work. There is no single correct career.

Our job is like that of a tour guide. We show and explain. We can clarify through our questioning. We can raise pertinent issues for reflection or consideration by the patient. We might provide some key details.

A listing of the problems will pinpoint items that need to be resolved. It may provide the background against which any career choices are evaluated.

It is pointless to identify careers without placing them into the context of the many influences that are relevant in life. For instance, career choices may be constrained by family circumstances. Financial commitments may be a consideration. In other cases, it is simply not possible for some people to pursue their dreams and aspirations in their locality without moving.

As Figler and Bolles indicated,4 we need to ask not only: “What do you want to do?” but “What is stopping you from doing it?” And then we need to ask politely and patiently, “What are you doing about it?”


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What Are You Good at Doing?

Ask people to explore work in terms of their abilities. It is pointless to select occupations where one cannot ever earn a living. Do not exclude any that are within potential range – we are here to increase opportunities not restrict them.

Nevertheless, it is difficult to probe work in terms of skills and abilities because there are so many permutations and combinations. O*NET lists 52 abilities (21 cognitive, 9 physical, 10 psychomotor and 12 sensory) plus 35 skills (10 basic skills, 1 complex problem solving, 4 resource management skills, 6 social skills, 3 systems skills and 11 technical skills).

May I recommend that you explore abilities in terms of some general interest categories and the types of industries. There is a reason for using interest as a starting point.

Both interests and abilities relate to a common mental resource. They share a cognitive platform within the person. I have prepared a world of work map for you in Figure 9.2. In this map I have set out some interests and the major Australian industry groups for you in a triangular arrangement.

The career interest categories are from the Career Interest Card Sort (Revised) and the industries come from the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification. It is not a perfect arrangement but it is a shortcut way of identifying

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work regions that may be suitable. Feel free to use any interest arrangement or industrial categories that suit your purpose.

In any event, trust the intuition of the patient. Allow their intuition to lead the career choice process even if it results in some dead-ends. We can always retrace our steps and start over again.

Once you have pinpointed some areas then you might help the patient begin the intensive process of searching occupations that fall within these categories. This is a task for your patient. For instance, they need to learn how to explore the education and training required, the earnings and the available job opportunities.

There is a case for asking someone to provide samples of their skills. Samples of skills or work can be used to construct a portfolio for presentation. For instance, I encouraged a young Australian investment marketer based in the US to include a commercial in which he was featured. This advertised the firm’s hedge fund promotion. It was an ideal sample of his presentation skills. A middle level manager was encouraged to include photographs from a national award with his cv. He had won an award in the credit union industry in Australia. I considered these were obvious portfolio ingredients. There are many practical samples and examples of skills.

What If Someone’s Choice Is Not Realistic?

It is often the case that some ideas that a patient may have about work seem to be far-fetched.

The solution to an unrealistic choice is simple. It is not up to me to pass judgement on others. Let them try and let them explore. If they are wrong, then life has a way of bringing us down to earth.

Sure, their ideas may seem unrealistic but who knows. Who am I to stand in their way? They may turn out to be spectacularly successful. Everyone has a right to try and to succeed. If they fail, then we can help them with an exit strategy.

Moreover, I am not in a position to know everything about a person. Self-estimates of ability can be surprisingly accurate.

Exercise: Case Study R – An Unrealistic Client

Mr R is a 21-year-old male and former construction labourer. He was injured in a work-related accident when he was aged around 21 years. His present problems and disabilities included, amongst others, reduced leg length, misalignment of leg, suffering from PTSD and depression and pain.

He obtained the Higher School Certificate with an aggregate of 40. He described himself as a pupil who was average in ability.

Literacy and Numeracy. His reading for work purposes was assessed briefly using a graded word reading list. Results indicated an educational standard around middle high school level.

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Post-school Education. He does not have any post-school qualifications or training. He has attempted some training since the accident. He commenced an Advanced Diploma in Building at a private college. He managed to complete around one-quarter of the course.

Education and Training Potential. On the Career Interest Card Sort which contains ten work areas, he displayed a major preference for Creative, Health or Practical activities. The pattern of his work preferences is not yet consistent or coherent. In part, this is expected as he is still working through the vocational implications of his injury.

His plans or interest for any further education or training were stated to me as: “I’ve had a good think about it… thought about engineering design… civil or mechanical… or design… [at one time] I had hopes to get my commercial helicopter licence… law…”.

This uncertainty contrasted with his pre-accident plans: “I was going to be a plant operator. I was going to have a MC [multi-combination] truck driver’s licence… I had intentions to become a property developer”.

Work. His pre-accident employment history is characterised by short-term jobs in construction and building. At the time of the accident he was employed as a construction labourer. He has not worked since the accident.

At the present time he receives a workers’ compensation benefit. He has not looked for work elsewhere but wants to retrain. There was no specific vocational aspiration.

Social. He is single. He indicated that he has seen a psychologist since the accident. He said that he had a nervous breakdown and had seen a doctor for nerves.

Functional Ability. He is independent in his personal care. He has problems with daily activities, such as washing dishes, sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, tidying, changing/making beds, hanging out washing, gardening, cleaning a car and shopping. He is able to use public transport.

He indicated that he cannot sit or stand comfortably. Walking, using stairs, kneeling, lifting or carrying, climbing and pushing or pulling were all said to be problems for him. He said that he can bend at the waist. He said that he does limp and is not steady on his feet. At my request he rose from his chair and covered a distance of some six metres in 8.5 seconds, which is a touch slower than average.

He is left-handed and can grip. Writing was not a problem for him. He cannot use all hand tools easily but can move, twist or turn things by hand. On tests of manual skills, he indicated satisfactory grip strength. On the back-leg pull strength dynamometer, he exerted 30 kg force, which is below average.

Systems Check. The history was coherent, internally consistent and spontaneous. On brief office testing of mental status, he was oriented in time, date, day, season and place. He recalled a current event and was familiar political personalities. Mental arithmetic calculation was accurate. Reasoning with similarities was


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limited to concrete rather than abstract analogies. He had trouble reproducing two diagrams from memory. On the Lezak 15-item test, which is designed to reveal whether a person is giving their best performance, he recalled 15 out of the 15 items.

Presentation. He presents as a young man of normal build. He was dressed in a casual and tidy fashion. He related to me in a pleasant manner and his behaviour was appropriate to the situation. He presents as someone who seems very affected.

Your task is to counsel this patient. His career plans are: engineering design, civil or mechanical but this is not realistic in the light of his school achievement.

How to Deal with Difficult Clients?

The most important characteristic in dealing with difficult people is to control their expectations. It helps to be clear about the services you provide. Nevertheless, there will be disappointments and difficulties.

Some useful guidelines include: (a) unlimited patience; (b) immense faith in the patient; (c) respect for them as a person; and (d) moving forward in small manageable steps by using tasks with defined outcomes.

Some patients might be referrals from an agency or insurer. They may not want to work and may not wish to be assisted. It is enough to thank them for coming, to outline the services that you provide and offer to make the services available when the patient is prepared to proceed.

Exercise: Case Study S – An Unmotivated Client

I interviewed Mr S. At the outset he was uncooperative. He indicated that he was disillusioned with the compensation process and everyone associated with it. He had refused the receptionist’s request to complete a pre-interview medical questionnaire but this was completed later during the interview. As the interview progressed, he became obliging, helpful and a good rapport was established. The purpose of the interview was explained to him.

Mr R is a 57-year-old male construction worker, who indicated that he was injured in a work-related accident for which he underwent a C5-C7 fusion more than six years ago.

He completed his schooling to Year 10 level. There were no special learning difficulties in school.

Literacy and numeracy. His standard of reading and spelling were described as satisfactory; his level of arithmetic was said to be “adequate”. He has limited computing skills. His reading for work purposes was assessed briefly using the oral word reading list from the Wide Range Achievement Test. Results indicated an

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educational standard around senior high school level. This is adequate for a range of skilled positions.

Post-school education. He had completed the Bricklaying trade course as an adult.

Education and training potential. There were no plans or interest for any further education and he added: “…no way…I’m 57 doc… I’ve done enough… I’ve worked my guts out…”.

Employment. He has worked in construction all his life. At the time of the accident he was working both as a bricklayer and labourer. He was employed as subcontractor. He worked from Monday to Friday from 7am to 2 or 3pm. There were only two of them working on this job and he said that he did all the heavy work. He suffered neck pain and was unable to continue working.

Job after the accident. He did not return to work after the injury. He underwent a fusion and was off work for around 8–9 months. He returned to self-employment and within 18 months had increased to 40 hours per week but discontinued eventually due to pain.

At the present time he is dependent upon social security. He lives by himself. His special plan for the future was that he would like to visit the birthplace of his parents one day.

He never had a nervous breakdown and had never seen a doctor for nerves. He never made a suicide attempt and has never been in a psychiatric ward. He does not smoke but said that he drinks. He said that he has been starting to drink more. He has never taken hard drugs or been in trouble with the law. He manages his own finances.

Functional ability. He indicated that he had some problems with personal care and with daily activities, such as washing dishes, sweeping, vacuuming, changing/making beds, gardening and shopping. He is able to use public transport.

He indicated that he can sit comfortably for around 15 minutes and can stand comfortably for 5 minutes. Walking, using stairs, kneeling, lifting or carrying, climbing and pushing or pulling were all said to be problems for him. He said that he cannot bend at the waist. He said that he does limp and is sometimes unsteady on his feet.

He is right-handed and can grip. Writing was not a problem for him. He can use hand tools easily and can move, twist or turn things by hand.

On tests of manual skills, he indicated very low levels of grip strength. On the Jamar dynamometer, his maximum grip on this occasion was 9kg in the right hand and 14kg in the left hand. The pattern and level of performance was not consistent with expected effort. On the Purdue Pegboard which is a timed test of manual dexterity requiring the rapid placement of small component parts, he placed 10


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components with the right hand and 12 components with the left (compared with around 15 placements for a small sample of males). At face value, his manual skills appeared restricted but it is not clear that maximum effort was exerted.

Systems check. The history was coherent, internally consistent and spontaneous. For work purposes his speech was clear and he did not display any word finding or comprehension difficulties. He did not display any significant memory difficulties and was able to describe events pertaining to his education and work. His capacity to deal with the affairs of the examination was within normal limits.

On brief office testing of mental status, he was not oriented in place. He was oriented in time, date and day. He recalled a local current event. He was familiar with some political personalities. He was not able to recall the months of the year in reverse order and made one error in the forward order. He was able to interpret a concrete but not abstract proverb. Mental arithmetic calculation was initially mistaken but he corrected his answer. Reasoning with similarities was accurate and he was able to make a correct practical judgement in an unfamiliar situation. He had trouble reproducing a diagram from memory. On the Lezak 15-item test, which is designed to reveal whether a person is giving their best performance, he recalled only 7 out of the 15 items. Even persons with severe brain injuries are able to recall nine items.

Presentation. He presents as a man of stated age, brown hair and quite thin build. He wore thongs. He had a travel suitcase for his x-rays. He had driven to the appointment. He related to me in a pleasant manner and his behaviour was generally appropriate to the situation. He presents as someone who now also seems personally affected.

Mr R has been recommended for work as a security officer, inquiry clerk, courier, product assembler or sales assistant by another vocational service. You have been asked to provide career counselling. How would you handle this case?

How to Provide Counselling in One Session?

Often there is only one session of vocational counselling available to you or maybe just an hour or so in total. Just to recap from a previous section, I would indicate in an abbreviated format:

• what can be achieved through vocational guidance;• the areas of expertise in the context of disabilities;• the process to be followed in vocational guidance;• the resources that you have available to assist; and• what is required of the patient.

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Because time is limited or restricted to a single session then I would think it appropriate to consider the life questions and if time permits the career questions raised above. I tend to follow the Five As (assess, advise, agree, assist and arrange) and in the process I would ask:

• What are you being asked to do with your life?• How will you define success in your life?• What problems are you facing in making a decision about work?• What are you good at doing?

That, plus a list of activities to complete is enough for one session. In particular, refer them official sources of information such as the Job Guide or Job Outlook on the web or to What color is your parachute? by R N Bolles. This is a minimal contact intervention strategy.

Concluding Comments

In this chapter we sought to help people resolve the problem of what type of career they might want to do. The task was described in terms of life options and career questions. The next chapter will outline the job-finding process, especially for those with a disability.

NOTES

1 Source: Wikimedia Commons, Wall-Ties and Forms, Inc. Retrieved May 2015, from www.wallties.com2 A precursor to this approach was set out as a perceptual-judgment-reinforcement mode in

Athanasou, J. A. (2004). A judgement-based framework for anaysisng adult job choices. Australian Journal of Career Development, 13(3), 42–46.

3 Athanasou. (2004), op. cit., p. 46.4 Figler, H., & Bolles, R. N. (2007). The career counselor’s handbook (2nd ed., p. 106). Berkeley, CA:

Ten Speed Press.

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Return to work has always been considered as a tangible indicator of the success of rehabilitation. After an injury or illness and there is often a need to look for work elsewhere. In seeking this work, not only does someone

have to contend with too many applicants for jobs but there is also the added burden of a disability.

Out of interest I reviewed the last 925 cases in my practice and around 34 per cent were working at the time I undertook a vocational assessment. This analysis is incomplete and does not take into account the time since injury.

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On this rough count only around 7% had returned to the same employer and the same job. Just on 11% returned to the same employer in a different job and the remaining 16% needed to find a different employer and a different job. Accordingly, it is very likely that our professional work will encompass some assistance with job finding and placement in two-thirds or more of cases. It is not enough merely to provide the career counselling or vocational guidance that was mentioned in the last chapter – there needs to be some concrete outcome.

I enjoy working in the area of job-seeking and placement because the results are tangible. It puts one in touch with the reality of the job market. It provides a basis for ongoing guidance and informal counselling. It is an area in which rehabilitation practitioners can be effective. This chapter focuses on the job placement component (i.e., helping people obtain employment). This is not to undermine the role of job development (i.e., partnering with employers to help them recruit and hire people with disabilities).

Job Placement

Job placement is a recognized component of rehabilitation counselling. For instance, the former Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service had stated:

A job is more than just employment: it provides hope, belonging, confidence and independence… Job seeking and placement is critical to achieving the overall goal of getting a job or returning to work. This includes assistance with job search techniques, resume and application writing skills, interview techniques, and other assistance required by the job seeker.1

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This national service has now been disbanded but in 2011–2012 it assisted around 50,100 job-seekers and placed in excess of 14,000 jobseekers in employment. Such practical help in finding work is supported in the literature.2

The way in which placement is conducted, however, will vary from organization to organization. A key issue for many professionals within an agency has been how much emphasis there should be on placement. Four delivery systems have been outlined:

a. general rehabilitation counsellor – US research indicated that just over half of all placement services are provided by rehabilitation counsellors;

b. specialised placement professional –to provide training in job-seeking skills, job clubs, employer development;

c. contracted service – using agencies to provide placement services often through federally funded programs; and

d. supported employment – “postplacement training, integration and ongoing support [place and train rather than train and place]”3

The first step in the job placement process is clarifying the situation of the job-seeker. It began with our career assessment and adult vocational guidance services. Hopefully some of our earlier chapters will have assisted in this regard.

This recognises that each job seeker with a disability has a different need. At one end of the spectrum are those needing only minimal support in organizing their job search through to those who need considerable help to create employment opportunities. The job search process needs to be tailored to the individual.4

The rehabilitation professional will build upon the pre-existing relationship with a patient and in my view becomes an advocate for the job-seeker. Securing placement goes beyond counselling and it may involve advocacy in organizing reasonable adjustments or workplace accommodations or arranging supported employment.

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Job-Seeking Skills Training

Typically, job-seeking skills training occurs after a vocational goal is developed. It involves all the procedures used to obtain job leads, marketing oneself, how to prepare resumes, how to contact employers and deal with interviews. In recent years, these skills have become common place as the job-seeking market has become more refined.

Bolles5 whose books I have praised in other contexts has identified 10 practical job-seeking tips:

• Treat the job hunt as a full-time job• Find a support group• Enlist contacts• Expand contacts• Seek employers of interest• Focus on smaller employers• Visit at least two employers each weekday, face to face• When all else fails, canvass by telephone• Be flexible about types of jobs• Don’t give up (this is what has been called ‘unrealistic optimism’).6

Some of these principles found application in the well-known Job Club approaches.

Job Clubs

Job Clubs are an intensive behavioural program to foster interpersonal and job-seeking skills. They were derived from the work of Nathan Azrin a behavioural psychologist who worked extensively on the token economy and other aspects of learning.7 In my opinion and from my first-hand experience in areas of high unemployment these are by far the most successful of all the job seeking group approaches.

Figure 10.1. Philip Absolon’s characterisation of Job Club8

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This is because the job club educates the members on using social informational networks. It provides reinforcement for job-seeking activities. The typical job club includes between 4–12 job seekers who meet for 2 ½ hours per day. Characteristic features of a job club include:

• Job-seekers are assigned a partner for direct support;• Professionals monitor and help to coach during telephone calls and in preparation

for interviews; and• Lessons are conducted each day on various aspects of the job-seeking process.

This approach dramatically increases the placement of people with disabilities, reduces the time to be placed and results in higher starting salaries.

Azrin and his colleagues9 reported originally on 1,000 social security recipients in five cities. Half of the group were assigned to a Job Club. After 12 months, 87% of the job club members had obtained work compared with 59% of the non-job club group. In particular it was reported that the job club was effective for “handicapped” participants. The typical number of sessions for obtaining a job was six and they concluded that: “The method appears to assure employment to virtually all participating welfare clients.”10

A recent formative evaluation stated that the emphasis was on:

(1) networking during the job search; (2) offering ongoing peer support and sharing of similar experiences among participants; and (3) providing instruction and guidance on the basics of the job search process (e.g., elevator pitches, resume development, job interview practice).11

The simple message from this evaluation is that these job finding methods are effective in a group context. If you are operating in a situation where a job club is not feasible then one can reasonably extrapolate from its approaches to a single case with the rehabilitation counsellor providing the “group” support.

Specialised Employment Assistance

The pathways for employment and social security assistance for people with a disability are complex. Job seekers with a disability can access employment assistance through:

a. The National Disability Insurance Scheme (available in limited local government areas);

b. Job Access;c. Job Services Australia (a national network of organisations to provide job

matching placements for people with a disability);d. Australian Disability Enterprises (20,000 people with disability working in more

than 600 Australian Disability Enterprises Australia-wide).

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At the time of writing, these services may require vocational assessment or the completion of: (a) the Job Seeker Classification Instrument (a tool used to determine what employment assistance eligibility for Employment Services); or (b) the Job Capacity Assessment (determines the impact of medical conditions and disabilities on the ability to work and helps determine people’s eligibility for the Disability Support Pension). This is a complex area and I make no claim again that my summary is complete or up-to-date as there are constant changes.

These are also transition programs in specialised areas like mental retardation, deafness, spinal cord injury, substance abuse. The club house model, for example, is a model of psychosocial rehabilitation for people with psychiatric impairments. It offers a transitional employment model as part of its community employment program. A number of jobs are developed by the agency. The patient can then try out these part-time jobs but the jobs belong to the club house. The purpose is to assist people to gain experience. There are several hundred clubhouses in existence and they operate internationally.

Support for an Employment Focus in Vocational Rehabilitation

I wanted to close this section with some reports of evidence-based support for vocational rehabilitation.

From a recent survey, most community rehabilitation providers offered pre-employment services, life skills classes, work orientation sessions and job search workshops. From a total of 2574 clients, 7% were placed in full-time job while 25% were placed in part-time jobs.12

Several studies using Rehabilitation Services Administration data in the USA have reported successful rehabilitation rates of 60%. From follow-up surveys of some 8,500 vocational rehabilitation clients it was indicated that 61% said that rehabilitation had helped them become employed. 13

A relevant finding in job tenure is the degree to which a job matches the interests, values and competencies of a person. Clients (N = 50) with severe mental illness were followed up over a two-year period. The total score on a Job Match Survey correlated positively with tenure (0.28). This was even higher for the extent to which a job was boring (reverse coded) (0.41), the extent to which a job held the person’s attention (0.34) and the meaningfulness or the helpfulness of a job to others (0.30).14

These findings should give rehabilitation counsellors comfort that what they are doing has an impact and that for the most part it is positive. The next section considers some aspects of the job-finding process.

Methods of Obtaining a Job

Job placement requires you to have some understanding of how a labour market operates. In this section I provide you with some general information by way of

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background. Most of this is obtained from the official Australian labour force statistics.

The main difficulties in finding work that are commonly reported are related to there being too much competition for jobs or a lack of jobs in a particular field. The nature of the difficulties varies across age groups, between males and females, whether they are looking for full-time or part-time work and also how long someone has been unemployed.

The job finding process and the methods of job attainment has been well-researched. The findings are instructive for anyone seeking work.

Duration of Job Finding

For a start, job-seekers can expect to spend around 9–10 months looking for work and possibly more in some instances. Just over 20% of unemployed persons have been unemployed for more than a year causing widespread hardship and disadvanatage. The distribution of the duration of current unemployment is shown in Figure 10.2.

The average duration of unemployment in 2013 was 38 weeks but the median is lower at some 17 weeks.15 The median is probably a better indicator as it is not affected by extreme durations of unemployment.

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Difficulties

Disabilities start to feature as a major difficulty when considering those who are long-term unemployed. As a reminder, long-term unemployment is longer than 12 months.

In this group illness and disability are reported as a difficulty by around 13% and in conjunctioon with this one can add being considered too old (also 13%).17 Table 10.1 lists the main difficulties encountered in finding work for unemployed persons.

Steps Taken to Find Work

It has been well known that the most comon step taken to find work is looking at job vacancy advertisements. This is undertaken by 84%. For older applicants (those aged 45 years and over) the main step was phoning or applying in person (86%).18 Table 10.2 summarises the frequency of steps taken.

There is also a generation gap in the steps taken to find work. The Internet (85%) is now most popular, followed closely by writing, phoning or applying in person (82%). For those aged 45 years and over, 86% wrote, phoned or applied in person and 79% looked at advertisements on the Internet.19

The success of the direct contact with an employer and the use of social networks is a phenomenon that has long been observed. From the Australian Bureau of Statistics survey in 2000 of Successful and Unsuccessful Job Search Experience, the majority of successful jobseekers approached their employer. Most of this group had

Figure 10.2. Duration of current unemployment16

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prior knowledge that the job was available. The main source of this knowledge was friends, relatives or company contacts.

Some 40% of successful jobseekers who approached their employer had no prior knowledge that the job was available. The first step taken by half of these jobseekers was to contact employers they thought likely to have available jobs. Of the 530,700 successful jobseekers who were out of work prior to starting their job and had prior knowledge that a job or work was available with their employer, 43% obtained that knowledge from friends, relatives and company contacts.

Table 10.1. Main difficulty in finding work20

Main difficulty %

Considered too young by employers <1Language difficulties 2Difficulties with finding child care/family responsibilities 3Unsuitable hours 4No feedback from employers 5Too far to travel/ transport problems 6Other difficulties 6Considered too old by employers 6Lacked necessary skills or education 8No vacancies at all 8Own ill health or disability 8Insufficient work experience 9No vacancies in line of work 9No difficulties at all 10Too many applicants for available jobs 17

Percentages rounded

Table 10.2. Steps taken to find work by unemployed persons21

Steps to find work/attain a job %Did not take steps to find work/attain a job 2Advertised or tendered for work 8Answered an advertisement for a job on noticeboards 14Other steps 15Registered with other employment agency 23Checked with other employment agency 24

(Continued)

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Steps to find work/attain a job %Looked at advertisements for jobs on noticeboards 30Checked with a Job Services Australia provider 37Answered an advertisement for a job in a newspaper 41Registered with a Job Services Australia provider 42Had an interview with an employer 44Registered with Centrelink as a job seeker 47Contacted friends or relatives 49Looked at advertisements for jobs in a newspaper 66Answered an advertisement for a job on the Internet 68Looked at advertisements for jobs on the Internet 84Wrote, phoned or applied in person to an employer for work 84

All percentages rounded

Concluding Comments

In this chapter I hope that I have encouraged you to consider your role as going beyond counselling or guidance. The task of helping people with an injury, who want to and are able to return to work, is not complete until there is a vocational placement. This service takes many forms from individual to group programs but it has been a proven intervention with some remarkable outcomes.


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NOTES

1 Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service. Retrieved May 2014, from http://www.crsaustralia.gov.au2 VanderGroot, D. (1987). Review of placement research literature: Implications for research and

practice. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 31, 243–272.3 Gilbride, D., & Stensrud, R. (2010) Job placement and employer consulting: Services and strategies.

In E. M. Szymanski & R. M. Parker (Eds.), Work and disability: Contexts, issues and strategies for enhancing employment outcomes for people with disabilities (pp. 325–362). Austin, TX: Pro-ed.

4 Gower, W. S., Rudstam, H. H., & Young, J. (2014). Elements of effective job placement environmental context, employer relationships and understanding the job seeker. In D. Strauser (Ed.), Career development, employment and disability: From theory to practice (pp. 297–324). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.

5 Bolles, R. (2015). What color is your parachute? 2015. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press.6 Salomone, P. (1971). A client-centred approach to job placement. Vocational Guidance Quarterly, 14,

266–270.7 Young, A. E., Murphy, G. C., & Athanasou, J. A. (1996). An application of Azrin’s Job Club

methodology to people who have sustained a spinal cord injury. Behaviour Change, 13(2), 91–97.8 Retrieved from [http://www.stuckism.com/GFDL/Absolon.html stuckism.com], 7 April 2008.

Licence: Job Club by Philip Absolon Copyright © Philip Absolon, stuckism.com. Released under GFDL.

9 Azrin, N. H., Flores, T., & Kaplan, S. J. (1975). Job-finding club: A group-assisted program for obtaining employment. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 13, 17–27; Azrin, N. H., Philip, R. A., Thienes-Hontos, P., & Besalel, V. A. (1980). Comparative evaluation of the job club program with welfare recipients. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 16(2), 133–145.

10 Azrin, N. H., Philip, R. A., Thienes-Hontos, P., Besalel, V. A. (1980), op. cit., p. 133.11 Trutko, J., O’Brien, C., & Wandner, S. (2014). Formative evaluation of job clubs operated by faith-

and community-based organizations: Findings from site visits and options for future evaluation. Final report (p. iii). Washington, DC: Capital Research Corporation George Washington University.

12 Suarez-Balcazar, Y., Ali, A., Lukyananova, V. V., Morton, D., Balcazar, F., & Alvarado, F. (2013). Employment outcomes of community rehabilitation providers. Journal of Rehabilitation, 79(1), 11–18.

13 Ditchman, N., Wu, M.-Y., Chan, F. Fitzgerald, S. Lin, C.-P, & Tu, W. (2014). Vocational rehabilitation (pp. 343–360). In E. M. Szymanski & R. M. Parker (Eds.). Work and disability: Contexts, issues and strategies for enhancing employment outcomes for people with disabilities (pp. 325–362). Austin, TX: Pro-ed.

14 Kukla, M., & Bond, G. (2012). Job match and job tenure in persons with severe mental illness. Journal of Rehabilitation, 78(1), 11–15.

15 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2013). op. cit., p. 11.16 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2013). Job Search Experience, Catalogue No. 6222.0, July 2013.

Canberra: Author, p. 11.17 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2013). op. cit., p. 4.18 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2013), op. cit., pp. 5–6.19 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2013). op. cit., p. 6.20 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2013), op. cit., p. 11.21 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2013). op. cit., p. 9.

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CHAPTER 11

REASONABLE ADJUSTMENT

Allow me to start with an actual case. This is the case of Woodhouse v Wood Coffill Funerals.1 In this case evidence was accepted that a pallbearer could not carry coffins or a stretcher containing a deceased person safely

or as smoothly as other employees because of his disability.It was clear that the pallbearer could not do so in a manner which was safe for other

employees. Mr Woodhouse was dismissed. My first question is was this justified?What if he could have altered his gait with appropriate training so that he could

have carried coffins without problem? Would dismissal still be justified?In fact, it was decided that it had been unlawfully discriminatory to dismiss him.

Why?It was stated that he would have been able to perform this requirement if he were

provided with a small amount of training. This would not have imposed unjustifiable hardship on the employer.

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The Human Rights Commissioner accepted medical evidence that you did not have available. The Commissioner concluded:

…The provision of such training would have constituted a minor expense to the respondent. It would have meant Mr Woodhouse taking time off to attend the necessary sessions, and relatively minor expenditure for the cost of such sessions. When weighed against the costs involved in losing a current employee (who was housed in the respondent’s premises) and recruiting and training another, such costs would be very small, and would certainly not constitute an unjustifiable hardship to the respondent in terms of the Act.2

The focus of this chapter is on the topic of such reasonable adjustments also called reasonable accommodation. This term is referred to in the Disability Discrimination Act.

This Act is quite comprehensive. It runs to some 90 pages and only some aspects are covered in this chapter. It is intended to eliminate, as far as possible, discrimination against people on the grounds of disability in a number of areas, including work.3

I believe that through our everyday work as rehabilitation counsellors we have the potential to alleviate social problems and to reduce this discrimination. Let me start by looking at some aspects of discrimination. I must warn you that there are many fine points in this topic and that it may not be everyone’s cup of tea so I apologise in advance if it is not of special interest.

Discrimination

Discrimination on the basis of disability is probably far greater than imagined. In 2009–10, disability discrimination accounted for the highest number of complaints received by the Australian Human Rights Commission.4


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The employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act are related to the International Labour Organisation’s Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention 1958.

The Disability Discrimination Act applies to all employers. An employer’s main obligations under the Act are (a) not to discriminate directly or indirectly by less favourable treatment (note the words directly or indirectly);5 (b) to make reasonable adjustments where required (the reasonable adjustment phrase is the link with this chapter); and (c) to avoid and prevent harassment.

The obligations in this Act apply in relation to (a) determining who should be offered employment; (b) the terms or conditions on which employment is offered

Applying for a Job

Discrimination can occur in relation to an application for a position. This can be related to: (a) the arrangements for the selection process; (b) selecting who should be offered a position; or (c) the terms on which a job is offered. Note that it is not discrimination under the Act to refuse to hire a person for a job if the person would be unable to perform the inherent requirements6 of that job and this inability cannot be remedied by making a reasonable adjustment.

Discrimination Against an Employee

This can occur (a) in the terms or conditions of employment; (b) by denying or limiting opportunities (e.g., promotion, transfer, training or benefits); (c) by dismissing an employee with a disability; or (d) by subjecting the employee to what is called ‘any other detriment’. Note that the issues can be complex and quite legal.

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Reasonable Adjustment

Reasonable adjustment is defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 2002. It is seen as: “an adjustment to be made by a person is a reasonable adjustment unless making the adjustment would impose an unjustifiable hardship on the person” (Section 4, p. 7).

Reasonable adjustment is a positive duty. It applies whether a person’s disability was pre-existing or was caused at work and whether it is temporary or permanent.

It requires employers to make reasonable adjustments for employees with a disability. Reasonable adjustments may be required to enable a person with disability to: (a) have equal opportunity in selection, appointment, promotion, transfer, training or other employment opportunity; (b) perform the requirements of the relevant job; (c) enjoy equal terms and conditions of employment with other employees; (d) participate in work related facilities, programs or benefits.

In various notifications it is considered “important to remember that most workers with a disability will not require significant adjustments”.7 It is also stated that “Some workers will not require any adjustments”8 but no evidence is provided for these assertions.

There is no list in the Act of the types of adjustments required to remove discrimination against people with a disability in employment. Each case needs to be considered in its own circumstances and on its own merits.

What types of adjustment may be required? I have broken them into four categories: adjustments, access, provision and permission.

• Adjustments (a) to work premises, equipment or facilities – including providing additional equipment or facilities; (b) to work related communications including making available information in an accessible form or format; (c) to work methods; (d) to work arrangements, including in relation to hours of work and use of leave entitlements; (e) to methods used for assessment or selection; (f) to


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work related rules or other adjustments to enable a person to comply with rules as they exist.

• Access to training, transfer, trial or higher duties positions or other forms of opportunity to demonstrate or develop capacity in a position.

• Provision (a) of interpreters, readers, attendants or other work related assistance; (b) training to co-workers or supervisors.

• Permission for a person to use equipment or assistance provided by the person with disability or by another person or group

What are some examples? They might include:

• synthetic speech output on a computer for someone with vision impairment• voice input on a computer for someone with restricted hand function• a ramp for someone using a wheelchair• access to work premises• access to washroom and lunch facilities• lighting for someone with low vision• a hand rail on a long corridor for someone with multiple sclerosis• some private space for injecting insulin, such as a sick room or empty office• a two-drawer filing cabinet for someone in a wheelchair to reach• plain language instructions for someone with an intellectual disability• written instructions for someone with an acquired brain injury• allowing a Job Support Worker to visit (see Appendix for a more detailed listing).

It is the responsibility of managers to ensure that reasonable adjustments are in place. Some practical steps for implementing reasonable adjustments include:

• Step 1 – Seek advice;• Step 2 – Have an initial discussion;• Step 3 – Arrange a workplace assessment (through JobAccess or its equivalent);9

• Step 4 – Implement the recommendations.

Funding reasonable adjustments. Funding is available through the Commonwealth Government’s Employee Assistance Fund (EAF). This fund is administered by JobAccess who will assist with funding on a cost-recovery or reimbursement basis. This funding is available for people who are about to start a job or who are currently working, as well as those who require assistance to find and prepare for work.

• Wage support schemes. These include a supported wage system and wage subsidies.

• Supported Wage System. This is a process that allows employers to pay less than the minimum wage by matching a person’s productivity with a fair wage. With the Supported Wage System, eligible people with disability can access a reliable process of productivity-based wage assessment to determine fair pay for fair work.

• Wage subsidies. These are payments made to the employer to assist with covering the cost of paying wages in the first few months of employment of

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a person with disability. They aim to increase the competitiveness of workers with disability.

What limits are there on obligations to make reasonable adjustment?

• Unjustifiable hardship/unreasonableness. Reasonable adjustment does not include adjustments which would impose an unjustifiable hardship on the employer (in the case of adjustments to enable a person to perform the inherent requirements of a job) or which would be unreasonable. The Commission’s view is that in this area the concepts of unreasonableness and unjustifiable hardship are often closely equivalent in effect.

• Inherent requirements of the job. Reasonable adjustment need not include (a) changing the inherent requirements of the job concerned, (b) maintaining a job which would otherwise be altered or abolished, (c) assigning performance of some inherent requirements to another employee, (d) creation of a different job or promotion or transfer to a different job.

This is confirmed, for example, by the decision of the Federal Court (May 2002) in Cosma v Qantas Airways.10 An employee unable to return to his pre-injury duties after a substantial rehabilitation period was found to be unable to perform the inherent requirements of the job, so no unlawful discrimination had occurred in terminating his employment.

Ability to perform inherent requirements was to be measured against the pre-injury job, not against work which had been given during the rehabilitation program: otherwise there would be a disincentive for employers to provide modified duties while attempting rehabilitation. The Court said:

The provision does not require the employer to alter the nature of the particular employment or its inherent requirements. Rather it is a question of overcoming an employee’s inability, by reason of disability, to perform such work. This is to be done by provision of assistance in the form of “services”, such as providing a person to read documents for a blind employee, or “facilities” such as physical adjustment like a wheel chair ramp.11


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In considering reasonable adjustments, employers should ensure that any medical advice they are relying on remains up to date and relevant to the current requirements of the job.

In deciding whether a person can meet inherent requirements, possible reasonable adjustment must be taken into account. If such an adjustment would be effective it must be made, unless it would impose unjustifiable hardship on the employer or other affected parties.

The concept of “unjustifiable hardship” is not restricted to financial hardship but includes consideration of any relevant detriment or benefit, including risks to health and safety.

In the occupational health and safety area, reasonable adjustment might involve changes to make work safer for all employees. For example, safer manual handling practices, or substitutes for manual handling, make work safer for all employees as well as removing some barriers to workers with pre-existing injuries or disabilities. Other adjustments might address more specifically the needs of workers with a disability.

It is incumbent on employers to ensure that their employees are appropriately skilled and qualified to carry out the work for which they are employed. This obligation not only involves general training for all employees. It involves specific training and support for an employee who is deficient in a particular area.

Return to Work

I wanted to end this chapter with some details about who does what in the professional area in the workplace. Let me start by defining some professionals in the area of return to work services.

I will use some definitions from the Nationally Consistent Approval Framework for Workplace Rehabilitation Providers.12 This refers to a workplace rehabilitation consultant and if my interpretation is correct this is an umbrella term for many different professionals.

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Workplace Rehabilitation Consultant – Suitably qualified health/behavioural science professional employed by a workplace rehabilitation provider to provide workplace rehabilitations services. (p. 36)

Workplace Rehabilitation Consultants will have a qualification recognised, accredited or registered by one of the following associations or Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency registration boards (however described).

Rehabilitation Counsellor – Australian Society of Rehabilitation Counsellors (recognised)13 or Rehabilitation Counselling Association of Australia (recognised) (p. 12) AND 12 months or more experience delivering workplace rehabilitation14 services.

The different professional services and the specific providers are also listed in the Workcover NSW ‘Supplement to Guide: Nationally approved consistent framework for workplace rehabilitation providers’ (undated). This is summarised in Table 11.1.

Having said all of this as a guide for you, it now seems clear that ‘Advice concerning job modification, aid and equipment’ or reasonable adjustment is officially the province of professionals other than rehabilitation counsellors. There may be a minimal or unofficial role for rehabilitation counsellors in terms of general vocational advice.

Concluding Comments

In this chapter we have covered quite a bit of territory. We started with the Disability Discrimination Act and the concepts of inherent requirements and reasonable adjustment. Just now I outlined some issues of professional jurisdiction and you may be starting to see that our experience or qualifications are definitely in the vocational area. Almost certainly (at least to me) vocational assessment is done only by rehabilitation counsellors. Thank you for your patience with all these details.

Appendix A: Examples of reasonable adjustments

For a person with a mobility impairment (including dexterity impairments)

• Ramps;• Scooter;• Stair lifts;• Automated doors;• Height adjustable work stations;• Vehicle modifications (work related);• Accessible bathroom;• Accessible lift;• Handrails;• Accessible computer keyboards, mouses;


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Table 11.1. Workcover framework for rehabilitation providers

Service Provider

Initial rehabilitation assessment

Rehabilitation consultant

Functional assessment

Occupational therapistPhysiotherapist

Workplace assessment

Occupational therapistPhysiotherapist

Advice concerning job modification, aid and equipment

Occupational therapistPhysiotherapistRegistered nurse with qualifications in safety science, occupational health or ergonomics

Vocational assessment and counselling

A person with a qualification recognised by one of the following associations or registered with relevant State registration boards:• Australian Society of Rehabilitation Counsellors• Rehabilitation Counselling Association of Australia• Psychologists Registration Board of NSW.(Must have at least six months’ experience in workplace rehabilitation or be under the supervision of an experienced counsellor.)

Rehabilitation counselling

A person with a qualification recognised by one of the following associations or registered with relevant State registration boards:• Australian Society of Rehabilitation Counsellors• Rehabilitation Counselling Association of Australia• Psychologists Registration Board of NSW (now AHPRA)• Australian Association of Social Workers.Or a rehabilitation consultant who has undertaken additional training in counselling.

Advice or assistance concerning job seeking

A person with a qualification recognised by one of the following associations or registered with relevant State registration boards:• Australian Society of Rehabilitation Counsellors• Rehabilitation Counselling Association of AustraliaOr• a person who has at least 12 months’ proven track record

in placing disadvantaged job seekers with a new employer (minimum of five placements in this period) and under the supervision of a qualified rehabilitation consultant

• a rehabilitation consultant who has received training in seeking and using labour market information, instructing job seekers in job-seeking skills, locating jobs, negotiating placements with employers, and using WorkCover programs and other incentive programs for employers.

Advice or assistance in arranging vocational retraining

As per rehabilitation consultant qualifications

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• Adapted office furniture or equipment;• Speech-recognition speech to text software.

For a person who is deaf or hard of hearing

• Hearing loops;• Vibrating or visual alarms;• TTY; SMS;• Live captioning;• Auslan Interpreters;• Video phones;• Subtitling.

For a person who is blind or has vision impairment

• Screen-magnification (e.g. Zoomtext) or screen-reading software (e.g. Jaws for Windows);


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• Magnification software for PDAs and mobile phones;• Braille machines and printers;• CCTV magnifiers for reading printed material;• Tactile ground surface indicators (TGSI’s);• Contrasting work surfaces or trays;• Braille or tactile maps.

For a person with a mental health condition, e.g. Depression, schizophrenia

• Flexible working arrangements, e.g. work from home, work part-time, change• start/finish times;• Longer or more frequent breaks;• Provide partitioned area or private office to reduce noise/distractions;• Divide large projects into smaller tasks;• ‘To-do’ lists or checklists;• Regular meetings with supervisors.

For a person with a learning disability, e.g. Dyslexia

• PDAs, to assist with memory and planning;• Task cards;• ‘To do’ lists or checklists;• Screen-reading software (e.g. Jaws);• Speech to text dictation software;• Provide verbal instructions.

For a person with a long term or chronic health condition, e.g. Diabetes, MS

• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome• Cooling collars;• Air-conditioning;• Height adjustable work stations;• Building modifications;• Changes to lighting, e.g. increase natural light, remove fluorescent lighting;• Flexible working arrangements, e.g. work from home, work part-time.

Some of the most common reasonable adjustments are:

• Allowing a person with disability to have some flexibility in their working hours, such as working part-time or starting and finishing later;

• Moving a person with disability to a different office, shop or site closer to their home or onto the ground floor, or allowing them to work from home;

• Moving furniture, widening a doorway or providing a ramp so that a person using a wheelchair or other mobility aid can get around comfortably and safely;

• Redistributing some minor duties (i.e. not inherent requirements of a job) that a person with disability finds difficult to do to another team member;

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• Allowing a person with disability time off during working hours for rehabilitation, assessment or treatment, e.g. physiotherapy or psychotherapy appointments;

• Providing additional training, mentoring, supervision and support;• Purchasing or modifying equipment like voice activated software for someone

with a vision impairment, an amplified phone for a person who is hard of hearing, or a digital recorder for someone who finds it difficult to take written notes;

• Making changes to tests and interviews so that a person with disability can demonstrate their ability to do the job;

• Providing Auslan Interpreters for a person who is Deaf or hard of hearing, or readers who will read out documents for someone with a vision impairment or learning disability;

• Modifying disciplinary or grievance procedures15

NOTES

1 Woodhouse v Wood Cofill Funeral Pty Ltd [1998] HREOCA 12 (20 April 1998).2 Op. cit., paragraph 9.3 Australian Human Rights Commission. (2015). Employment and the disability discrimination act.

Part 1. Retrieved from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/employment-and-disability-discrimination-act-part-1

4 Australian Human Rights Commission Annual Report 2009–2010. Table 9, p. 77.5 Discrimination can be both direct and indirect. Direct discrimination occurs if a person treats,

or proposes to treat, a person with an attribute unfavourably because of that attribute. Indirect discrimination occurs when a person imposes, or proposes to impose, a requirement, condition or practice that has, or is likely to have, the effect of disadvantaging persons with an attribute; and that is not reasonable (Source: Australian Human Rights Commission).

6 Inherent requirements is a term from Section 21A of the Disability Discrimination Act. I do not believe that it is defined.

7 Australian Human Rights Commission (2015), op. cit. 8 Australian Human Rights Commission (2015), op. cit.9 JobAccess Program is a Commonwealth Government initiative that provides information and advice

to assist with the employment of people with disability. The service is free and can assist with all

https://www.humanrights.gov.au/employment-and-disability-discrimination-act-part-1

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aspects of disability employment including workplace assessments to determine what changes need to be made, coordination of any work required and financial assistance.

10 Cosma v Qantas Airways Limited [2002] FCA 640 (21 May 2002).11 Op. cit., paragraph 68.12 Heads of Workers Compensation Authorities Australia and New Zealand. (2015). Guide: Nationally

consistent approval framework for workplace rehabilitation providers. Retrieved May 2016, from www.hwca.org.au/vision.php

13 ASORC’s Affiliate category of membership does not meet the minimum qualifications to work as a workplace rehabilitation consultant. However some jurisdictions recognise ASORC’s Affiliate category of membership as a pathway towards meeting the minimum qualifications and as such allow Affiliate members to work in the industry under the supervision of a workplace rehabilitation consultant. Workplace rehabilitation providers should check with the local workers compensation authority as to their position of ASORC Affiliate membership.

14 Where workplace rehabilitation consultants have less than 12 months’ experience delivering workplace rehabilitation services, a comprehensive induction program will be completed and professional supervision provided for at least 12 months.

15 Source: http://www.and.org.au/pages/examples.html

http://www.hwca.org.au/vision.php

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CHAPTER 12

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF WORK

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Although I do not agree with the above diagram (especially with the third level from the top) there is some truth in the hardship outlined and depicted. Work is not always a wonderful place. This chapter is about

some inadequacies in the world of work.1

Why is it necessary to cover this topic? Well, we are in the business of placing people in the world of work, so it seems reasonable to have an understanding of its dimensions. Naturally there are many positive aspects but there are also some quite grim features of work that are overlooked.

I have an abiding interest in the topic of work and over the years I regularly keep newspaper articles relevant to employment or the labour market. I thought it might also be relevant to share some with you. Nearly all of it comes from the New York Times and the Sydney Morning Herald.

Of course, no claim is made that these news items are comprehensive or representative. Definitely there is an inherent bias in my selection.

Moreover, at different moments I was too busy to glance at newspapers, or I may have missed some headlines or thought that something was not important. It all sounds a bit like the story of my life. Anyway, let us go and we can see what overwhelming questions these jottings have answered.

Most students come to the topic of vocational development with some ideal views of the workplace. I try to dispel some myths and textbook ideas about work. I start with a news report from Associated Press to show them that work can be dirty and dangerous.

Work Is Dangerous

Take the 203 miners who died after a gas explosion at a coal mine in northeast China in February 2005.2 Work is not always glamorous – it kills many people. The next story is also indicative of the realities of work.


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Not All Employers Are Nice

You might have missed the account in the Sydney Morning Herald in 2005 where two people were found guilty of murder in South Africa.3 Mark Scott-Crossley, a farmer, and one of his employees attacked a farm worker with machetes. If that was not bad enough they then threw him into a lion enclosure. I use this example to show that not all employers are nice people.

Work Exploits People

The phenomenon of day labourers has been around for a long time in Australia. It is an unregulated labour market with no controls over pay or working conditions. Such working arrangements are probably more common than realised and challenge our traditional or middle class notions of employment, career and occupation. Steven Greenhouse4 reported the results of a US study in which 117,600 people gathered at more than 500 hiring sites to look for work on a daily basis. More importantly, over half of the day labourers said they had been cheated. The third lesson about work is the exploitation of people in need.

Work Is a Contractual Arrangement

I have a view that vocational practitioners typically operate in oblivion to the influence of industrial relations or labour law. These have immediate ramifications for every person in Australia. The fourth lesson is that work is a contractual arrangement subject to changes in our labour laws.

Work Is Subject to Political Changes

In Australia there was an underlying egalitarianism or social contract that permeated the community’s thinking about work and careers. It was embodied in the basic wage, industrial awards and our social security system. This is fast disappearing due to deregulation of the labour market, international competitiveness, the privatisation of many government services as well as federal or state budget spending cuts. The fifth lesson is that work is subject to political changes that come at a social cost to people’s lives and careers.

Work Does Not Always Provide a Fair Day’s Pay

This is evident internationally. In Japan there is also a widening gap between rich and poor and it has been reported that nearly a quarter of all Japanese families had no savings.5

Both in Australia and the US there had been an expectation of a fair day’s pay as highlighted in an editorial.6 The sixth lesson is that there is now a sense of

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exploitation of labour. For instance, the US the federal minimum wage had been $5.15 an hour for more than eight years and had not even kept up with inflation over the past 25 years. Any concepts of fairness seem to have been eroded internationally, much to the detriment of future generations.

But this is not the case for all strata of society. John Garnaut, the economics correspondent7 described how the salaries of chief executives in 2002 were 100 times the average worker’s earnings. Moreover, while worker salaries struggle to keep up with inflation, corporate profits have improved substantially.8

Earnings hardly feature at all in most theories of career development and it is probably time for rehabilitation practitioners to have a clearer understanding of the impact of pay and earnings on work. Most people (not all) work for money; if you don’t believe me then see what would happen if someone stopped paying their staff and then tell me how many would show up at work after a few Mondays!

Wages Are Not Based on Skill

We expect that there will be differentials in pay based on personal preferences, organisational factors, skill requirements or the demand for labour but it is not always straightforward. For instance, at the Caterpillar company9 the union accepted a two-tier contract that provided for lower wages and benefits for the newly hired employees.

Neither is skill an indication of earnings. Semi-skilled workers can earn much more than highly skilled crafts such as musical instrument making. Based on the work of the economist, J. K. Galbraith, pay rates were determined by “both the market power of their employers and the high cost of mistakes on the job”.10 By “mistakes” he meant the potential cost to an employer of an error. The seventh lesson from this is that you may not always get paid for your skills.


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Work Is about Restricting Competition and Limiting Rights

Due to limitations in time I shall skip over many examples. One will suffice. This is the demonstrations of the French students11 against laws that were intended to lower unemployment particularly among disadvantaged young people (23% of people under the age of 26 are jobless) but which also made it easier to hire and fire workers under the age of 25.

Work Is about Overwork

Then there is the phenomenon of the declining attractiveness of demanding work for some women with young families where women faced limits on what can be done in a week;12 or the voluntary reduction in vacations in the US where workers already take fewer holidays than most other developed nations.13 All of these facts, phenomena and incidents have some reflections or echoes in our Australian labour market and implications for careers practice in Australia.

Work Is about Exploitation of Children

Finally I finish the semester with a moral message that is gut-wrenching. It deals with the United Nations’ estimates that some 49.3 million children in the Sub-Sahara who are aged 14 and under are working. And the numbers have increased in recent years. They work as “…prostitutes, miners, construction workers, pesticide sprayers, haulers, street vendors, full-time servants, and they are not necessarily even paid for their labor”.14

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The story on Mark Kwadwo, aged 6, was enough to make an 11-year old donate their birthday money to UNICEF.15 Anyway, Mark’s job is to work on a canoe about a mile out from the shore and to scoop water out of the canoe so that it will not be swamped. He cannot swim. He is indentured for something like $20US a year and lives in a fishing village which is a two-day trek from his home; he had not eaten for a day; and if he is slow at his work he gets beaten. Now tell me that the world of work is a lovely place!

Concluding Comments

Of course, not all of this applies to disabilities. It is a generalised picture and focused on extremes. But it does point out that the world of work is not a level playing field. There are traps for the unwary. It is not filled with those who are honest and reliable but reflects the very nature of our society. As counsellors we are called upon to work in this milieu. We try to maintain our idealism, to be altruistic, but one would also caution us to be as cunning as foxes in the employment advocacy for our patients. Thank you for your patience with these chapters. In the next chapter I provide a brief overview of where we have been and what we have done.

NOTES

1 Athanasou, J. A. (2009). Decent work and its implication for careers. Australian Journal of Career Development, 19(1), 36–43.

2 Australian Associated Press. Retrieved from http://au.news.yahoo.com/050215/2/t2ec.html3 Life for South African who fed man to lion. Sydney Morning Herald, October 2005.4 Broad survey of day laborers finds high level of injuries and pay violations, Steven Greenhouse, New

York Times, January 2006.5 Revival in Japan bring widening of economic gap, Norimitsu Onishi, New York Times, April 2006.6 A fair day’s pay, New York Times, January 2006.7 Boom time – especially if you’re a CEO, John Garnaut, Sydney Morning Herald, August 2006.8 Real wages fail to match a rise in productivity, Steven Greenhouse and David Leonhardt, New York

Times, August 2006.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/050215/2/t2ec.html


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9 Two Tiers, Slipping Into One, Louis Uchitelle, New York Times, February 2006.10 Skill alone is not key to good pay packet, John Legge, The Age, September 2005.11 French students step up protests against new job law, Elaine Sciolino, New York Times, March 2006.12 Stretched to limit, women stall march to work, Eduardo Porter, New York Times, March 2006.13 Please don’t make me go on vacation, Stephanie Rosenbloom, New York Times, August 2006.14 Africa adds to miserable ranks of child workers, Michael Wines, New York Times, August 2006.15 Africa’s World of Forced Labor, in a 6-Year-Old’s Eyes, Sharon LaFraniere, New York Times, October

2006.

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CHAPTER 13

OVERVIEW AND SUMMARY

In this final chapter there is a chance to bring together some different themes of this book, not in a theoretical sense, but in a practical way. In the first section I try to provide an overview and summary to enable you to proceed in your

professional work. In the second section I deal with the world of work into which we have stumbled via rehabilitation. In this section I want to answer some fundamental questions about our subject.

What Do I Need to Know about Vocational Development?

• Vocational development of people with disabilities – people with disabilities are a significant proportion of the potential workforce but less likely to be employed. It is well recognised that industry is not proactive in hiring people with a disability. Their higher rate of unemployment is detrimental to their well-being. Even when they work they are overrepresented in some occupations. On average, they earn less than those without a disability.

• Restrictions faced by particular disabilities – a disability you will recall is any limitation, restriction or impairment that has lasted for at least six months and

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that restricts everyday activities. Each type of disability has its own general limitations. Disabled people, however, are a heterogeneous group both within and across disabilities. We cannot be sure that group statistics or even generalisations apply to a single person. The restrictions faced could be in the type of job, the number of hours or even, requiring equipment or accommodations or even in the ability to change jobs. People with disabilities self-select themselves into suitable jobs. Few receive vocational rehabilitation. When they do work only a small proportion need some reasonable adjustment for their job. In some instances, the individual undertakes the workplace adjustment themselves.

• Using a theory for vocational development – other people may not agree but I find that a simple trait-factor approach is more than sufficient for positive vocational guidance. It may incorporate Holland’s six interest types and the values from the work-adjustment theory. It need not be static if it is applied recurrently. This does not mean that there are other influences on our career development.

What Skills Do I Need?

• Interviewing skills are vital – you need to refine an interview schedule and to carry it around in your head. Depart from it as needed but always come back to it. Prepare a sample interview schedule and insert it into your toolkit. Include a health questionnaire and authority form.

• Assessing vocational potential – show that you know how to assess. You need skills in assessing interests (O*NET Interest Profiler, Holland Self-Directed Search, Career Interest Card Sort or whatever other approach you wish), values (Work Importance Locator), aptitudes (O*NET Ability Profiler, clerical speed and accuracy), physical skills (hand grip strength, back-leg-pull strength, manual dexterity, Timed-up-and-go), achievements (literacy, numeracy, word reading tests, Wide-Range Achievement Test), transferable skills, malingering (Lezak 15-item test), mental status (mental state examination). Use these assessments to tell you things that you do not know or could not reasonably be expected to know. Build up a library of assessments to see you through your work.


217

• Making judgments of employment potential – it is fine to collect all this information from an interview but then you have to do something with it. You have to make a judgement or a decision about how to help the patient, what to do next, what jobs might be suitable and so forth. This is a complicated process. Education is the first and most important step. Physical and cognitive capacities are next and social factors are always relevant. As far as insurers and courts are concerned, the person’s interests are not paramount – the issue is whether they have residual capacity and the type of work they can do.

• Writing formal vocational reports (including an initial rehabilitation plan) – this is the bread-and-butter of your existence. Provide a sample of your work and insert it into your portfolio. Make up a boilerplate or blank copy of a report and keep it on file, then just insert the name and other details as needed. Keep many sections of the report on file intact and make whatever changes are needed. Do not vary the report format without serious reasons – in other words keep it fairly standard. If you are not good at report writing or English is your second language, then you need to make sure your reports are perfect in expression. Under no circumstance should reports be issued with many spelling errors, grammatical mistakes or poor expression of ideas. There is no room for me to compromise on this standard.

• Providing labour market information – it goes without saying that you need to be a labour market expert. Of course, this is easier said than done. You need to know all about occupations. Download a pdf copy of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations. Subscribe to the Australian Bureau of Statistics labour market data (labour force, education and training, employee earnings and hours). Refer to sites such as Job Outlook and Job Search for information. Keep up-to-date with educational pathways through purchasing the Universities Admissions Centre Guide each year, visiting career fairs and whatever else is available to you.

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What Should I Do to Enhance the Vocational Development of Persons with Disabilities?

• Counselling for vocational choice – it is important that our counselling results in an educational, vocational or social placement. I have made this clear from the outset. Again this is easier said than done. It is not enough to leave it to our patients to undertake this task. It requires some expertise or familiarity with education, training and the world of work.

You know already that I am in favour of a more active type of counselling, with fewer and brief contacts. It need not be office-based. It should have a clear, identifiable and mutually agreed upon outcome. A great deal will depend upon the agency in which you are working. Incidentally, I recommend that at the outset you accumulate several years’ experience with a reputable organisation. Ensure that you join a professional organisation if your finances permit.

• Job-seeking and job-placement – these are areas in which one needs to be quite active if your goal is vocational rehabilitation. I do not wish to say much more except that I advocate client-centred placement counselling or the job club approaches.

• Advocacy skills – people with disabilities need advocates. They need support (moral, personal, social). This can be draining.

The spirit of unrealistic optimism that we mentioned in Chapter 10 must prevail. Naturally, the clients or patients need to be motivated or be capable of becoming motivated if job-seeking and job-finding are to work.

As one becomes more active in this area and a reputation for success is developed then job development will also become a key function.

What Do I Need to Feel?

There needs to be a sense that the patient is not merely an object to be processed and just another file or claim to be handled. Some realistic empathy for the individual and understanding of the plight of their situation would not go astray.

In one sense we assume some responsibility for the rehabilitation of the patient. Their failure to find a job is our failure. Any success is merely sampling error!

Above all we need to provide some hope and optimism. The disability is not merely a challenge to be overcome; it is part of one’s life. This may entail changes and the formation of new schemas or patterns of thought about oneself and one’s situation. The meaningfulness of the changes that occur need to be considered.

People need to be helped to take one step at a time, to change one aspect of their life before moving on to others. It is not clear that most agencies are prepared for this type of long-term assistance. My imprecise observation is that it may take 3 or more years for the effects of an accident or injury to plateau and for a person to have some idea of what they can or cannot do.


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-oOo-

Well that’s it. As they say in the cartoon show: “That’s all folks”. I hope that some of it has been helpful and maybe even thought-provoking. Remember that I reserve the right to change my hypotheses before breakfast!

I wish you all the best in your remaining studies and with your future career. I remind you that this book has a lifetime warranty – yours or mine – whoever goes first. So please feel free to keep in touch on matters vocational.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James Athanasou was born in Perth in 1948 and came to the Maroubra area of Sydney in 1953 where he still lives in the same house and in the same street. He changed rooms once but never again! He completed his schooling at the Maroubra Junction Primary and Maroubra Bay High schools. The latter high school no longer exists – it became a housing development, so he cannot prove he completed secondary schooling. He went on to complete his undergraduate studies at the University of New South Wales majoring in History and Philosophy of Science as well as Psychology and then postgraduate studies in psychology at the University of Sydney followed by the University of New England, where he also obtained his PhD. James spent much of his career in the New South Wales Public Service, serving as Senior Counsellor in the Youth Counselling Service, Senior Research Officer in the Human Resources Division, Principal Executive Officer for the Commerce and Industry Training Council, Deputy Director of the Vocational Services Branch and Government Recruitment Agency, and finally Chief Project Officer in the former Department of Further Education Training and Employment. He came to the School of Adult and Vocational Education at the University of Technology, Sydney as a lecturer in measurement and evaluation in 1991 and retired as an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in 2008. He has been Visiting Fellow at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Universitat der Bundeswehr,

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

222

Muenchen, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. James is a registered psychologist and a 40-year member of the Australian Psychological Society. James also teaches on a pro bono basis at the University of the Congo ‘Agios Athanasios the Athonite’. He has been editor of the Australian Journal of Career Development and PHRONEMA – Annual Review of St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College. James continues to research and publish in psychology and rehabilitation. In 2014, he was appointed as Associate Professor (part-time) to the Discipline of Rehabilitation Counselling in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Sydney. He teaches Vocational Development and Counselling and the Applied Psychosocial and Medical Aspects of Rehabilitation. He has operated a specialised private practice in forensic vocational assessment for medico-legal cases since the 1980s. He does not have a dog!

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INDEX

AAbility Profiler, 148–150, 216Advocacy skills, 218Age and employment, 113–117Aptitudes, 40–43, 45, 46, 54, 75, 81, 87,

99, 101, 105, 134, 136, 137, 143, 147, 150, 151, 157, 216

Artistic, 58–60, 62–64, 66, 67, 70, 71, 75, 80, 81, 91

Assessing vocational potential, 216Australian and New Zealand Standard

Classification of Occupations, 217

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 3, 4, 15, 19, 22, 36n1, 64, 188, 217

Australian Society of Rehabilitation Counsellors, 153, 154, 200, 201

Azrin, N. H., 184, 185

BBack-leg pull strength, 48, 133, 165,

176, 216Bolles, Dick, 154Bolles, Nelson, 167, 172Bolles, Richard, 167, 172, 180, 184

CCareer, ix, x, 7–10, 13n4, 15, 17, 34,

37–56, 64–66, 69, 71, 72, 74, 76–78, 87–89, 98–100, 102, 103, 109–129, 132, 133, 136, 137, 144–148, 153–156, 158–165, 167–180, 182, 183, 191, 210, 211, 216, 217, 219

Career development practitioner, 153–155

Career Industry Council of Australia, 153

Career Interest Card Sort, 2, 13n4, 32, 53, 67, 79–82, 84, 86n23, 89, 123, 133, 173, 176, 216

Circumscription and compromise, 50, 51, 119

Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service, 35, 182

Congruence, 65, 71, 72, 76, 78, 82, 84, 119

Consistency, 65, 70–72, 78, 81, 82, 84, 139

Conventional, 58–60, 62, 64, 66, 67, 70, 71, 73, 80, 81

Cornes, P., 7, 13Correspondence, 94, 97, 98, 100,

101, 105Counselling for vocational choice, 218

DDawis, Rene, 50, 93–95, 100Depression Anxiety Stress Scale,

138Developmental approaches, 110–113,

153Dewey, John, 40, 54Dictionary of Occupational Titles, 41,

42, 48, 53, 54Differentiation, 65, 71, 72, 82, 84Difficulty in finding work, 188, 189Disability, ix, 1–13, 15–34, 36n2, 37,

38, 46, 51–53, 55, 64, 76, 81, 84, 87–89, 91, 99, 100, 111, 122, 124, 125, 135, 143, 144, 153, 155–159, 161, 162, 164, 165, 175, 179–183, 185, 186, 188, 189, 193–200, 203, 204, 212, 215, 216, 218

INDEX

224

Disability and employment, 29, 30, 36n6

Disability Discrimination Act, 194–196, 200, 204n6

Duration of unemployment, 187, 188

EEmployment, ix, 3–5, 7–12, 15, 16,

18, 20–25, 27, 29–35, 37, 38, 44, 45, 53, 67–69, 87, 89, 91, 92, 99, 101, 102, 110, 113–117, 119, 122, 125, 132, 140, 144, 148, 150, 154–156, 159–161, 165, 168, 176, 178, 182, 183, 185, 186, 189, 195–198, 204, 208, 209, 212, 217

Employment restriction, 4, 5, 10, 15, 16, 18, 25, 31, 32

Employment Stabilization Research Institute, 92

Enterprising, 58–60, 62–67, 70, 71, 73, 78, 80, 81

EUROHIS Quality of Life Scale, 3

FFive As, 161, 180Frank Parsons, 39–41, 52, 60, 87,

109, 156

GGender differences, 118–121Get-up and go, 133Ginzberg, 50, 111, 112Glasgow Coma Scale, 1, 12, 13n2Gottfredson, Linda, 50, 54n5, 110,

118–120Grip strength, 48, 133, 142, 151, 165,

169, 176, 178, 216

HHolland, John, 50, 55–57, 59–61,

63–71, 76–78, 80–84, 88, 89, 91, 101, 106, 109, 136, 149, 216

IIdentity, 51, 65, 72, 76, 118, 163Inherent requirements, 195, 198–200,

203, 204n6Interest Profiler, 78, 79, 148–150,

216Interviewing skills, 216Investigative, 58, 60, 62, 64, 66, 67,

70, 71, 75, 78, 80, 81, 138

JJob, ix, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 18, 25, 26, 32,

37, 38, 40, 43, 44, 46, 48, 57, 64, 65, 68, 70, 76, 79, 81, 83, 84, 87, 91–98, 100–103, 105, 107, 110, 113, 118, 124, 140, 141, 143, 148, 149, 154–162, 164, 167, 170, 172, 175, 178, 180, 195–201, 203, 204, 210, 212, 216–218

JobAccess, 197, 204n9Job Capacity Assessment, 186Job Clubs, 183–185Job Outlook, 56, 73, 74, 78, 87, 88,

160, 180, 217Job placement, ix, 4, 18, 91, 155, 162,

167, 181–190, 218Job satisfaction, 79, 93, 95, 96, 98,

113, 156Job search, 161, 182, 183, 185, 186,

188, 217Job Seeker Classification Instrument,

186Job-seeking and job-placement, ix, 4,

18, 91, 155, 162, 167, 181–190, 218

Job-seeking skills training, 184Job Services Australia, 185, 190Judgments of employment potential,

217

KKrumboltz, 50

INDEX

225

LLabourers, 23, 24, 35, 43, 53, 61, 123,

124, 127–129, 175, 176, 178, 209Labour market information, 217Life and career development stages,

112Lifetime earnings, 28Lofquist, Lloyd, 50, 93–95, 100Logotherapy, 163, 164

MMalingering, 133, 151, 216McMahon, M. M., 50, 51, 121–123,

145Mental status, 3, 133, 144, 151, 169,

176, 179, 216Mild, 3–6, 11, 13n2, 17–23, 28, 31,

34, 87Minnesota Importance Questionnaire,

93, 99, 101, 102, 104, 105Minnesota Job Description

Questionnaire, 94Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire,

93Moderate, 3–6, 11, 13n2, 17, 19–23, 28,

31–34, 38, 87, 91, 103My System of Career Influence, 145,

146

NNational Disability Insurance Scheme,

185Non-school qualification, 17Norm-referenced, 137, 138Not all employers are nice, 209

OOccupation, 6, 9, 10, 18, 23–25, 32,

36n7, 38–44, 46, 50, 52, 54, 54n4, 56, 57, 60, 61, 63–66, 68–71, 74–78, 81, 82, 87, 88, 91, 98, 99, 102, 107, 109, 110, 112, 113, 115, 118–121, 126, 136, 138,

141–144, 147–150, 155, 158, 161, 162, 168, 173, 175, 195, 209, 215, 217

O*NET, 48, 49, 53, 54n3, 56, 65, 77–79, 82, 87, 89, 101, 103, 106, 137, 147–151, 160, 173, 216

PParticipation rate, 18–20, 23, 29, 125Patton, W., 50, 51, 121–123, 145Pegboard, 133, 165, 169, 178Pre-interview medical questionnaire,

133, 135, 177Profound, 3–6, 10, 11, 17–24, 28, 31,

34, 87Psychometric assessments, 100, 101,

137, 140Purpose-in-life, 161–164, 170

QQualitative assessment, 144, 145Quality of Life, 2, 3, 10, 13n5, 133,

144, 151Quantification, 138, 145

RReading, 2, 11, 31, 39, 52, 53, 69,

89, 99, 102, 105, 123, 129, 133, 134, 165, 175, 177, 202, 203, 216

Realistic, 57, 58, 60, 61, 63, 64, 66–71, 75, 80, 81, 91, 111, 138, 175, 177, 218

Reasonable adjustment, 183, 193–205, 216

Rehabilitation Counselling Association of Australia, 153, 200, 201

Rehabilitation counsellor, 63, 65, 73, 82, 100, 115, 153–155, 159, 160, 162, 164, 183, 185, 186, 194, 200, 201

Reinforcers, 93, 94, 96–98, 105Reliability, 57, 103, 138–140

INDEX

226

Restrictions by particular disabilities, 215, 216

RIASEC, 58–60, 75

SSatisfaction, 40, 64, 65, 70, 79, 94–96,

98, 105, 113, 150Satisfactoriness, 94–98, 105, 156Schooling, 4, 6, 11, 15–17, 52, 53, 82,

83, 123, 129, 132, 165, 168, 177Schooling restrictions, 4–6, 10, 15, 16,

36n2Self-Directed Search, 56, 66, 74, 77, 79,

82, 149, 160, 216Severe, 3–6, 11, 13n2, 17, 19–23, 28,

31, 34, 87, 91, 162, 169, 179, 186, 191n14

Social, 2, 3, 8, 12, 13n12, 34, 35, 38–40, 45, 48, 50, 51, 53, 57–60, 62–68, 70, 71, 75, 77, 78, 80–82, 88, 89, 91, 95, 99, 103, 105, 111, 118, 122, 124, 126, 127, 132, 133, 144, 155–157, 159–161, 164, 165, 169, 173, 176, 178, 185, 186, 188, 194, 209, 217, 218

Speed of mental processing, 133Steps taken to find work, 188–190Successful and Unsuccessful Job

Search Experience, 188Super, Donald, 50, 111–114Supported Wage System, 197Survey of Disability, Ageing and

Carers, 3, 15Systems Theory Framework, 110,

121–126, 132, 146

TTenure, 94, 97, 186Theory of Work Adjustment, 51, 82,

89, 92, 94, 95, 97–102, 105, 106, 109, 136, 150, 156

Three interviews and a cloud of dust, 46

Trait-factor, 37, 38, 40–43, 45, 46, 48, 50–53, 55, 56, 60, 64, 75, 76, 82, 87–89, 92, 101, 109, 125, 136, 153, 216

UUnemployment, 2, 7, 8, 12, 18–20, 23,

29, 32, 39, 64, 65, 89, 91, 93, 100, 110, 125, 184, 187, 188, 211, 215

VValidity, 42, 43, 75, 100, 103, 104, 135,

136, 140, 141Values, 3, 8, 36n7, 50–52, 57, 71, 77,

87–107, 109, 118, 125, 126, 134, 136, 137, 142, 143, 145, 147, 150, 151, 159, 160, 162–164, 168–170, 179, 186, 216

Vocation, 10, 39, 44, 81, 136, 157, 163, 164

Vocational assessment, ix, x, 1, 7, 13n4, 56, 86n23, 131–151, 153, 155, 159, 160, 181, 186, 200, 201

Vocational development of people with disabilities, 215

Vocational development, theory, 216Vocational guidance, 10, 32, 37, 39–42,

44, 45, 50, 74–76, 81, 92, 93, 111, 120, 153–165, 179, 182, 183, 216

Vocational Guidance Bureau, 39–41, 44

Vocational Preference Inventory, 57, 58, 66, 72, 77, 79, 82, 84

Vocational rehabilitation, 6–8, 10, 11, 17, 25, 34, 40, 52, 63, 65, 76, 82, 88, 98–100, 126, 135, 137, 138, 142, 144, 154, 157–159, 164, 167, 186, 216, 218

Vocational Rehabilitation Index, 6–8, 10, 11, 13n8, 31, 32, 34, 38, 87, 89, 91

Vocophy, 54n1

INDEX

227

WWages are not based on skill, 210Wage support schemes, 197Wide Range Achievement Test 4, 2,

13n3Wide-Range Achievement Test, 138, 216Woodhouse v Wood Coffill Funerals,

193, 204n1Work, ix, 2, 4–6, 8, 9, 12, 18–20,

25–27, 29, 32, 34–36, 38, 39, 41, 43, 45, 46, 48–53, 55–84, 87–107, 109–111, 113, 118, 119, 123, 124, 129, 132–134, 138, 140, 142–144, 146, 148–151, 153–160, 162–165, 167–190, 194, 196–200, 203, 205n13, 207–212, 215–218

contractual arrangement, 209dangerous, 208exploitation of children, 211, 212

exploiting people, 209fair day’s pay, 209, 210overwork, 211political changes, 209restricting competition and limiting

rights, 211Work Adjustment Project, 93Work Importance Locator, 101–107,

148–150, 216Work Importance Profiler, 101–105,

148Work-life expectancy, 18, 21–23, 31,

34, 87Workplace Rehabilitation Consultant,

199, 200, 205n13, n14Writing formal vocational reports,

217

ZZone of acceptable alternatives, 118

promoting career development after personal injury

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