Employability of cancer survivors from the SME employers' perspective in Singapore.

Abstract

As the rate of cancer escalates and medical advances are made, cancer survivorship has improved and gained increasing attention. Over the past decades, it has been extensively studied in the Western context. Yet in Singapore, the topic has not received much academic attention. Recognizing the need to address practical problems facing cancer survivors in Singapore, this research is in response to the call to examine the employability of cancer survivors (Ang, 2008).

In this research, we examined employment problems faced by cancer survivors upon re-entry to society after primary treatment. Narrowing the scope of study to employers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which contributes to 60% employment in Singapore (Singapore Department of Statistics, 2009), we looked at this issue from the employers' point of view.

Our study aimed to gain an understanding of the SME employers’ views on cancer survivors, their concerns, and factors that would motivate the hiring and/or retaining of cancer survivors. In Study 1, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 SME employers. In Study 2, a self-administered Web survey was disseminated to 473 SME employers and garnered a response rate of 11.4%. Research findings indicated that the top three concerns SME employers have when employing a cancer survivor are: (1) the cancer survivor's current state of health; (2) the cost of insurance; and (3) the cancer survivor’s ability to meet the demands of the job. Along with that, we found that employers' efficacy, relationship with the cancer survivor, and government initiatives motivate the hiring and retaining of cancer survivors.