Research
Sustaining employment in a social firm: use of the Work Environment Impact Scale v2.0 to explore views of employees with psychiatric disabilities Anne Williams,1 Ellie Fossey 2 and Carol Harvey 3
Key words: Psychiatric disability, employment, Model of Human Occupation.
1 Lecturer, School
of Occupational Therapy, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia. 2 Senior Lecturer, School of Occupational Therapy, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia. 3 Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia. Corresponding author: Anne Williams, Lecturer, School of Occupational Therapy, La Trobe University, Kingsbury Drive, Bundoora, Victoria 3086, Australia. Email: a.e.williams@latrobe.edu.au Reference: Williams A, Fossey E, Harvey C (2010) Sustaining employment in a social firm: use of the Work Environment Impact Scale v2.0 to explore views of employees with psychiatric disabilities. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 73(11), 531-539. DOI: 10.4276/030802210X12892992239279 © The College of Occupational Therapists Ltd. Submitted: 20 December 2009. Accepted: 18 May 2010.
Evidence suggests that people with psychiatric disabilities find it difficult to get and keep jobs, with workplace characteristics contributing to difficulties staying in employment. This qualitative study aimed to understand the views of employees with a psychiatric disability about working in an Australian social firm designed to provide an inclusive and supportive work environment. Method: Seven participants who had sustained jobs for 6 months or longer in the social firm, a contract cleaning business, were interviewed using the Work Environment Impact Scale (Version 2.0). Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and analysed inductively using thematic and narrative analysis. Findings: Participants’ views of the work environment included that the regular structure and achievable tasks, the supportive and cooperative team and the benefits of the job made working in the social firm enjoyable and the right job for now. The findings suggest that participants’ decisions to stay in their jobs were influenced by the social firm environment, which supported their wellbeing, and by their individual illness and occupational narratives. Conclusion: The WEISv2.0 was effective in gaining participants’ views on wide-ranging features of their workplaces. Further research is recommended to expand the evidence base concerning workplace features that support employees with psychiatric disabilities to sustain their jobs.
Introduction Engaging in productive occupations, in particular paid employment, is central in adult life, so it is not surprising that many people with psychiatric disability want to work (McQuilken et al 2003, Mental Health Council of Australia 2006). Supporting people with psychiatric disabilities to secure worthwhile and sustainable employment is a traditional role and continues to be an important area of occupational therapy (Strong and Rebeiro 2003, Ross 2007, Waghorn et al 2009). Evidence suggests that employment circumstances for people with psychiatric disabilities are not positive, even in developed countries. The unemployment rate for this population has been reported as 70-80% in Australia (Waghorn et al 2009); the United Kingdom (UK) (Boardman et al 2003) and in recipients of standard vocational rehabilitation in the United States (US) (Bond et al 2008). Sustaining employment is also challenging. On average, people with psychiatric disabilities who obtained employment following vocational rehabilitation worked for less than 6 months a year (Bond et al 2008, Waghorn et al 2009). These are dire statistics given that ‘enabling people to retain or gain employment
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