Facilitation Strategies Used by Job Coaches in Supported Employment Settings

Abstract

This dissertation is an investigation of coworker perceptions of problems exhibited by supported employees, job coach support provided, job coach support needed, and coworker satisfaction with job coach support. Focusing on the level of job coach involvement or coworker autonomy in designing and implementing support or intervention, six types of facilitation strategies were identified: (a) Trust, (b) Suggest, (c) Direct, (d) Train, (e) Job Coach with Coworker, and (f) Job Coach Only. These strategies were used to measure job coach support provided and needed and coworker satisfaction in relation to the type and frequency of problems displayed by supported employees. Supported employees faced various types and frequencies of difficulties. Coworkers received a variety of facilitation strategies from job coaches to help supported employees solve these diverse problems. Regardless of the category of problems, job coaches overall used more intrusive strategies as the problems were more frequently exhibited by supported employees. When the frequency of problems was statistically controlled, work-related problems induced higher levels of job coach support provided and needed than did non-work-related problems. However, a variety of relationships between frequency of problems and job coach support provided and needed were displayed within a problem category. The most surprising finding was that job coaches generally used the level of facilitation strategies matched with coworker needs. These findings could be utilized to determine the initial level of facilitation strategies to be provided to help supported employees solve their problems.