WORKER ADAPTATION AND EMPLOYER ACCOMMODATION FOLLOWING THE ONSET OF AHEALTH IMPAIRMENT

The responses of workers and their employers to the onset of work-limi ting health impairments were investigated using data from the new Heal th and Retirement Study. The results indicate that many workers who su ffer from health limitations are directly accommodated by their employ ers, and that those who do not receive direct accommodation frequently adapt to their limitations by altering their job demands or by changi ng jobs. These findings point to the potential for adjustments on both sides of the market: by employers, in the form of job accommodation, and by employees, in the form of job change.