| Abstract: | A number of studies focus on factors that might explain the low level of employment of persons with paraplegia without questioning the social representations connected to work. Being employed is considered a priori as beneficial, constituting an important objective for rehabilitation. However sociologists have recently pointed out that work, as a means of self fulfilment, is a 'constructed' rather than a 'natural' category.The comparisons of the representations of work given by two groups: persons with paraplegia (n = 350), and non-disabled persons (n = 327) show that persons with paraplegia are more likely than non-disabled persons to consider work as a source of personal fulfilment and social recognition and less likely to positively value the fact of not-working. In addition, a demonstrated satisfaction with not working, among persons of working age, is clearly more significant among non-disabled persons than among persons with paraplegia. Among these, some of them who have generally made up their mind about not working declare that they feel satisfied being unoccupied. This satisfaction is explained, in part, by expressed representations of work. The authors suggest a reflection on the place of work in rehabilitation programmes. |
