title: Work Accommodations and Natural Supports for Employees with Severe Mental Illness in Social Businesses: An International Comparison.
abstract: Little is known about the types of work accommodations and natural supports that are useful for people experiencing severe mental illness working in social businesses. We conducted an exploratory, descriptive and cross-sectional investigation in Australia, Canada and Italy to study the nature of work accommodations and natural supports available in social businesses. Study findings are drawn from survey responses of a convenience sample of 90 employees with self-reported psychiatric disabilities. Results showed that, regardless of the country, social businesses provide many work accommodations and natural supports, especially those linked to schedule flexibility and support, while work accommodations related to training and schedule flexibility were linked to longer job tenure. Overall, this study advances our knowledge about the spectrum of work accommodations and natural supports that are available in social businesses for people with severe mental illness. Also, it highlights the type of work accommodations that are likely to support this population to sustain employment.
authors.affiliation: Centre de recherche de l'Hôpital Charles LeMoyne, Université de Sherbrooke, Longueuil, QC, J4K 0A8, Canada. Patrizia.Villotti@usherbrooke.ca.
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Villotti
authors.affiliation: Department of Education, Career Counselling, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Montreal, Canada.|Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal (CRIUSMM), Montreal, Canada.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Corbière
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Primary Health Care, Monash University, Peninsula Campus, Frankston, Australia.|Psychosocial Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
authors.forename: Ellie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fossey
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Trento, Italy.
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fraccaroli
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal (CRIUSMM), Montreal, Canada.|Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada.
authors.forename: Tania
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lecomte
authors.affiliation: Psychosocial Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Harvey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D002170:Canada; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016832:Employment, Supported / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Mental illness; Natural supports; Social business; Work accommodations; Work participation