SoFA Workplace Adjustment Vocation and Evaluation project

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The WAVE project Supporting people with a
psychiatric disability in the workplace

• SoFA Workplace Adjustment Vocation and Evaluation
  project
• Caroline Crosse, Shannon Lang Tamar Paluch

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Key to job retention?

• Barriers to work
• Stigma
• Ability to disclosure
• Availability of workplace support
• Availability of jobs
• Mental health/vocational service divide
• Welfare disincentives
• Political climate and government structures

• Challenges to work
• Functional implications of mental illness
  experienceAND medication side effects
• psychiatric
• cognitive
• emotional
• psychosocial
• social
• Coping with other areas of life

Thomas, Secker Grove, 2002 Henry Lucca,
2004 Waghorn Lloyd, 2005
Cunningham, Wolbert Brockmeier, 2000 Tsang et
al., 2000 Waghorn, Chant Whiteford, 2002.
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Cultivating opportunity
WORKPLACE
JOB
EMPLOYEE
Based on the Person-Environment-Occupation model
(Law et al, 1997)
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Scenario

• Employee
• functional impact of mental illness
• interests, skills
• outside work issues
• Job
• design
• demands
• employers expectations
• Workplace
• distractions
• worksite set up

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Brenda

• Brenda was employed working as a cleaner in a
  well established cleaning company that had the
  cleaning contract for some local small
  businesses. Brenda has told her boss that she
  has schizophrenia, and she has managed this well
  to date. Brenda requires verbal support and
  reinforcement at times, and she takes great pride
  in her job. A business owner called the manager
  of the cleaning company and told them that while
  most of the time Brenda did a good job, she kept
  mixing up the garbage and not separating the
  paper/plastic/metal recyclables from the general
  waste.
• The business owner was concerned as they were
  committed to recycling, and they were incurring
  higher charges because they had not been able to
  reduce the bulk of general waste. The business
  owner asked the manager why this was occurring
  and was it because Brenda didnt believe in
  recycling? or was it laziness as this was the
  last task of the shift? or because she had a
  mental illness?
• The manager of the cleaning company had given
  Brenda this feedback a number of times regarding
  separation of the recyclables, and she agreed
  that she would do this. The manager was not sure
  what to do next as he could not work out if this
  was a situation that required performance
  management or support.

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Brenda

• Employee
• functional impact of mental illness
• interests, skills
• outside work issues
• Job
• design
• demands
• employers expectations
• Workplace
• distractions
• worksite set up

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Bringing it all together
Employee
Assessment
Action plan
Job
Intervention
Workplace
Evaluation
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Workplace modifications guide

• Structured resource
• Outcome-focussed, hands-on
• Evidence-based
• For employment consultant/support worker
• Future training modules
• Audience employer, employee consultant, employee
• Assessment, intervention, evaluation

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References

• Cunningham, Wolbert Brockmeier. (2000). Moving
  beyond the illness Factors contributing to
  gaining and maintaining employment. American
  Journal of Community Psychology, 28(4), p.481.
• Henry, A.D. Lucca, A.M. (2004). Facilitators
  barriers to employment The perspectives of
  people with psychiatric disabilities employment
  service providers. Work, 22, p.169.
• Law, M., Polotajko, H., Baptiste, S. Townsend,
  E. (1997). Enabling Occupation An occupational
  therapy perspective. Ottawa CAOT Publications.
• Thomas, T., Secker, J. Grove, B. (2002). Job
  retention mental health A review of the
  literature (unpublished). London IAHSP Kings
  College.
• Tsang, H., Lam, P., Ng, B., Leung, O. (2000).
  Predictors of employment outcome for people with
  psychiatric disability A review of the
  literature since the mid 80s. Journal of
  Rehabilitation, 66(2), p.19.
• Waghorn, G., Chant, D. Whiteford, H. (2002).
  Clinical non-clinical predictors of vocational
  recovery for Australians with psychotic
  disorders. Journal of Rehabilitation, 68(4),
  p.40.
• Waghorn, G. Lloyd, C. (2005). The employment of
  people with a mental illness. Australian
  e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health,
  4(2) supplement, pp.1-43.