Vocational rehabilitation via social firms: a qualitative investigation of the views and experiences of employees with mental health problems, social firm managers and clinicians

Factors influencing employers' support for employees with acquired brain injuries or mental illness to return to- and stay in work: A qualitative systematic review

BACKGROUND

People with acquired brain injuries (ABIs) often experience residual limitations and co-morbid mental illnesses that restrict work participation. Employers are key in enabling successful return-to-work and job retention.

OBJECTIVE

This review aimed to explore employers' perspectives of factors influencing their support for people with ABIs and/or mental illness to return to- and stay in work. Review questions focused on barriers and facilitators to their support, and contextual characteristics present at the time.

METHODS

Five databases were searched from October 2010 until November 2023 for relevant qualitative studies published in English. Findings from included studies (N = 25) were synthesised using thematic synthesis.

RESULTS

Included studies focused on employees with ABI or mental illness, rather than dually diagnosed ABI and mental illness. Employers' support was influenced by their awareness/knowledge of- and attitudes towards the employee's condition/illness; their skills and experience in supportive strategies; factors related to provision of work accommodations; and stakeholder influence. Similarities and differences in influential factors were observed across the ABI and mental illness literature. Contextual characteristics related to organisational characteristics, cultural taboo, and involvement of certain stakeholders.

CONCLUSIONS

ABI survivors (with and without co-morbid mental illness) and their employers may benefit from specialist support and resources to guide them through the return-to-work process. Further research is needed to investigate employers' knowledge of ABI and mental illness and supportive strategies. Exploration of the influence of other stakeholders, socio-demographic characteristics, and contextual factors on employers' return-to-work and retention support for ABI survivors with co-morbid mental illness is warranted.

Job demands and resources related to burn-out symptoms and work engagement in supervisors working with people with severe disabilities in social firms: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

To analyse working conditions, work and health-related outcomes of supervisors working with people with severe disabilities in social firms.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey.

SETTING

Social firms who employ between 30% and 50% of people with different types of disabilities on the general labour market.

PARTICIPANTS

Supervisors of social firms in Germany.

PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analysis was used to analyse relations between job demands (quantitative and emotional demands), job resources (meaning of work, perceived organisational support and influence at work), personal resources (resilience) and burn-out symptoms as well as work engagement. Validated scales, for example, from the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire were applied.

RESULTS

124 supervisors of social firms in Germany (59.7% were male and 39.5% female) participated within a cross-sectional quantitative online survey. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis indicated an association of quantitative job demands (β=0.236, p<0.05) and perceived organisational support (β=-0.217, p<0.05) and burn-out symptoms of supervisors in social firms. Meaning of work (β=0.326, p<0.001) and perceived organisational support (β=0.245, p<0.05) were significantly associated with work engagement.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study specified main job demands and resources for supervisors in German social firms and their impact on both burn-out symptoms and work engagement. When designing measures for workplace health promotion in social firms, especially supervisors' quantitative job demands need to be reduced and perceived organisational support strengthened.

Evaluation verhaltenspräventiver Gesundheitsförderungsmaßnahmen in Inklusionsbetrieben

Hintergrund

Inklusionsbetriebe nach §§ 215–218 SGB IX bieten schwerbehinderten Menschen eine Beschäftigung auf dem allgemeinen Arbeitsmarkt. Seit 2018 sind Inklusionsbetriebe verpflichtet, Maßnahmen der betrieblichen Gesundheitsförderung (BGF) anzubieten.

Ziel der Arbeit

Das Ziel der vorliegenden Studie ist es, verhaltenspräventive BGF-Angebote in Form von Seminaren für schwerbehinderte Beschäftigte und deren Leitungskräfte in Inklusionsbetrieben zu evaluieren.

Material und Methoden

Anhand eines multimethodischen Studiendesigns erfolgte im Zeitraum von Juni bis November 2021 eine Evaluation der 12 Beschäftigtenseminare (3 Seminarkonzepte, z. B. Selbstfürsorge im Arbeitsalltag) mittels Fokusgruppen (n = 44) und eine Evaluation der 3 Leitungskräfteseminare zur gesunden Führung mittels eines standardisierten Fragebogens (n = 10). Die erhobenen quantitativen Daten wurden deskriptiv ausgewertet und die qualitativen Daten mithilfe der qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse nach Mayring induktiv analysiert.

Ergebnisse

Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass die durchgeführten Maßnahmen zur BGF von Beschäftigten hinsichtlich der Zufriedenheit, der Seminarlänge, der Verständlichkeit und des erwarteten Nutzens mehrheitlich positiv bewertet wurden. Die Leitungskräfte bewerteten die Seminarinhalte, die Didaktik, die Seminarleitung und den Beitrag der Teilnehmenden mehrheitlich positiv.

Diskussion

Die Studie lieferte erste empirische Erkenntnisse zur Evaluation von BGF-Maßnahmen in Inklusionsbetrieben. Vor allem die auf die Inklusionsbetriebe angepassten Seminarinhalte konnten die Zufriedenheit der Teilnehmenden mit der Gesundheitsförderungsmaßnahme positiv beeinflussen. Insgesamt bedarf es weiterer Studien zur Entwicklung und Evaluation von verhältnis- und verhaltensbezogenen BGF-Maßnahmen in Inklusionsbetrieben.

Capturing and analysing the working conditions of employees with disabilities in German social firms using focus groups

Background

Social firms – a type of social enterprise – provide job opportunities to people with mental or intellectual, sensory, physical or multiple disabilities who are disadvantaged on the general labour market. Given the limited number of studies on working conditions of employees in inclusive workplaces, the aim of this study was to explore job demands and resources experienced by employees with disabilities in German social firms.

Methods

Three focus groups were conducted between September and October 2020 with 14 employees with disabilities from social firms in the catering and cleaning sector in Germany. The Job Demands-Resources model was used as a theoretical basis for developing the semi-structured interview guide. Audiotaped data were transcribed verbatim, analysed deductively and inductively using the qualitative content analysis according to Mayring.

Results

The results show that employees of social firms experience specific job demands and resources regarding work content, work organisation, social relations and work environment. Job demands were mainly reported with respect to work organisation, e.g. high workload, time pressure or challenges in collaboration, whereas social relationships with colleagues and supervisors were most frequently mentioned as important resources at the workplace.

Conclusion

First exploratory study results on the working conditions of employees in social firms in Germany were obtained. Given the pivotal importance of employment for people with disabilities, the identified job demands and resources of this study highlight the relevance of a healthy workplace, especially for employees in social firms. Future interventional research is needed regarding the development, implementation and evaluation of workplace health promotion measures in social firms.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-12689-w.