Examining employment barriers and enablers for people with psychosocial disability – A scoping review

Abstract

This report details the findings of our study about the employment of people with psychosocial disability. This research was commissioned by Candella and conducted by two researchers from the Centre for Disability Research and Policy at The University of Sydney. The study was led by a researcher with lived experience of disability with the Director of the Centre holding a supervisory role. The researchers carried out a scoping review across all years on publications that specifically focused on employment and psychosocial disability or mental impairment. Our research was summarised by applying thematic analysis against the 54 included publications to reveal themes corresponding to each of the research questions. In summary, we have addressed the four questions of: 1. What are the barriers to employment faced by individuals with psychosocial disability? Our inductive analysis has revealed a total of seven themes relating to the barriers to employment faced by individuals with psychosocial disability. These barriers included: 1. stigma as directed towards people with psychosocial disability as a barrier to employment; 2. discrimination against people with psychosocial disability as a barrier to gaining and maintaining employment; 3. policy gaps and challenges to improve employment outcomes for people with psychosocial disability; 4. service and program shortfalls that can hinder the employment of people with psychosocial disability; 5. psychosocial disability-related challenges to gaining or retaining employment; 6. legal shortfalls that fail to protect employees with psychosocial disability from discrimination in the workplace; and 7. inflexible workplace processes and prescriptive practices that can impede the employment of people with psychosocial disability. 2. How do the barriers experienced differ across various demographic groups (e.g., age, gender, socioeconomic status, geographic location)? We noted a general paucity of publications covering how employment barriers for people with mental impairments vary across demographic groups. The five groups identified by our thematic analysis were: 1. gender; 2. socioeconomic status; 3. age; 4. geographic location; and 5. intersectional discrimination. Nonetheless, our review revealed evidence of employment barriers variably experienced within demographic groups. For example, women with mental impairments were reported as: experiencing more discrimination than men; receiving less employment and advancement opportunities than men; and less likely to make a formal complaint about discrimination in the workplace than their male colleagues. 3. What measures can help to address the employment barriers that are faced by individuals with psychosocial disability? This scoping review revealed nine measures that are described in the literature as helping to address the employment barriers experienced by people with psychosocial disability. These evidence-based measures included: 1. service design improvements including those that are co-designed by people with psychosocial disability; 2. flexible and accommodating workplace arrangements and processes; 3. education and training to encourage the employment of people with psychosocial disability; 4. programs, schemes and interventions described as improving the employment participation of people with psychosocial disability; 5. current legal measures and proposed revisions to redress discrimination against employees with psychosocial disability; 6. government and organisational policies to support the employment of people with psychosocial disability; 7. activism and advocacy to redress the stigma and discrimination as directed towards people with psychosocial disability; 8. technology assisting the inclusion of people with psychosocial disability in the workplace; and 9. contact with people with psychosocial disability in the workplace. 4. What role do workplace cultures play in either exacerbating or mitigating these barriers? Our review has revealed a scarcity of research explaining the role played by workplace cultures in either exacerbating or mitigating employment barriers for people with psychosocial disability. Nonetheless, thematic analysis has revealed two themes relating to workplace cultures exacerbating employment barriers for people with psychosocial disability. These themes are: 1. alienating, divisive and unaccommodating workplace cultures where employees with psychosocial disability are avoided; and 2. A doubting culture that unfairly questions the employability of people with mental impairments. Two themes captured workplace cultures that mitigate employment barriers for people with psychosocial disability. The themes included: 1. collegiate and accommodating culture that values diversity and inclusion; and 2. inclusive workplace culture through leadership. We conclude with a message that barriers confronting the employment of people with psychosocial disability can be entwined (e.g., psychosocial disability related challenges exacerbated by inflexible workplace processes and practices). Furthermore, we have noted entanglements also occurring among policy measures that attempt to remove or lessen these barriers (e.g., use of technologies such as remote access advancing workplaces that are flexible and accommodating of people with psychosocial disability). Australian policymakers are therefore advised to be aware of these kinds of complications, with employment barriers and the measures to redress them not to be looked at in isolation. Finally, we make the call for investment in research that can help to fill in the wide-ranging research gaps that have been identified by our scoping review.