Division of Psychiatry, University College London, Maple House, 149 Tottenham Court Road, W1T 7NF, London, UK.
Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
BMC Psychiatry. 2021 Nov 12;21(1):566. doi: 10.1186/s12888-021-03577-5.
Employment within social firms in the UK is under-developed and under-researched, but a potentially beneficial route to vocational rehabilitation for people with mental health problems. This study explores the views and experiences of employees with mental ill-health, managers of social firms and mental health clinicians, in order to understand the potential value of social firms for the vocational rehabilitation, employment and well-being of people with mental health problems.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 employees with mental health problems in 11 social firms in England. A focus group and individual interviews were conducted with 12 managers of social firms. Two focus groups were held with 16 mental health clinicians. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Most employees expressed very positive views about working in a social firm. In responses from both employees and social firm managers, an overarching theme regarding the supportive ethos of social firms encompassed several related features: openness about mental health issues; peer, team and management support; flexibility; and support to progress and develop skills over time. Managers identified benefits of employing people with mental health problems who were sufficiently recovered. Knowledge of social firms within clinician focus groups was very limited, although clinicians thought they could be a welcome additional vocational resource.
High levels of job satisfaction among social firm employees may be explained by the supportive ethos of these working environments. Social firms have potential to be a helpful addition to the range of vocational pathways available for people with mental ill-health. Further mixed methods investigations of experiences and outcomes in order to understand who engages with and benefits from this form of vocational rehabilitation would be valuable in informing decisions about scaling up the model.
在英国，社会企业中的就业机会较少，相关研究也较少，但对于有心理健康问题的人来说，这是一种潜在有益的职业康复途径。本研究旨在探讨患有心理健康问题的员工、社会企业经理和心理健康临床医生的观点和经验，以了解社会企业在职业康复、就业和心理健康人群福祉方面的潜在价值。
在英格兰的 11 家社会企业中，对 23 名患有心理健康问题的员工进行了半结构化访谈。对 12 名社会企业经理进行了焦点小组和个人访谈。对 16 名心理健康临床医生进行了两次焦点小组访谈。使用主题分析对数据进行分析。
大多数员工对在社会企业工作表示非常积极的看法。在员工和社会企业经理的回答中，一个关于社会企业支持性氛围的总主题包含了几个相关的特征：对心理健康问题的开放态度；同伴、团队和管理支持；灵活性；以及随着时间的推移支持进步和发展技能。经理们认为雇用恢复程度足够的有心理健康问题的人有好处。临床医生焦点小组对社会企业的了解非常有限，尽管他们认为社会企业可能是一种受欢迎的额外职业资源。
社会企业员工的工作满意度较高，这可能是因为这些工作环境的支持性氛围。社会企业有可能成为为心理健康不佳的人提供的各种职业途径的有益补充。进一步开展混合方法调查，以了解谁参与并受益于这种职业康复形式，对于就扩大该模式做出决策将具有重要价值。
