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Observational Study
. 2021 Sep;56(9):1657-1667.
doi: 10.1007/s00127-021-02088-8. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Employment status and desire for work in severe mental illness: results from an observational, cross-sectional study

Uta Gühne  1 , Alexander Pabst  2 , Margrit Löbner  2 , Johanna Breilmann  3 , Alkomiet Hasan  4 , Peter Falkai  5 , Reinhold Kilian  3 , Andreas Allgöwer  6 , Klemens Ajayi  7 , Jessica Baumgärtner  4 , Peter Brieger  7 , Karel Frasch  3   8 , Stephan Heres  7 , Markus Jäger  3   9 , Andreas Küthmann  10 , Albert Putzhammer  11 , Bertram Schneeweiß  7 , Michael Schwarz  7 , Thomas Becker  3 , Markus Kösters #  3 , Steffi G Riedel-Heller #  2
Affiliations
Observational Study

Employment status and desire for work in severe mental illness: results from an observational, cross-sectional study

Uta Gühne et al. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2021 Sep.

Abstract

Purpose: People with a severe mental illness (SMI) are at particular risk of occupational exclusion. Among the approaches to occupational rehabilitation, supported employment (SE) has been proven to be the most effective. A requirement to enter SE-programs is that individuals must want to seek competitive employment. The aim of this work is to investigate the relationship between serious mental illness and the desire to work including potential predictors.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study of patients with SMI aged 18-65 years (n = 397). Patients were interviewed by trained staff using standardised instruments. The relationship between potential predictors and a strong preference for employment were analysed using a hierarchic binary logistic regression model.

Results: Only about one-quarter (27.9%) of SMI patients is in competitive employment. Another quarter is unemployed (25.9%). Results show that the desire for competitive employment is strong among more than half of the SMI patients. Among the unemployed, two-thirds express a strong desire for work. These individuals are an ideal target group for SE interventions. Comorbid chronic physical illness, diagnosis, and the subjectively judged ability to work are associated with the desire for work.

Conclusion: Our data confirm a substantial exclusion of individuals with SMI from the workforce. In general, care needs for workplace interventions are not being met and leave much room for improvement. In addition to employment status, the desire for work should be routinely assessed.

Study registration: The study was registered in the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS) ( https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00015801 ) and under the WHO-Platform "International Clinical Trials Registry Platform" (ICTRP) ( https://apps.who.int/trialsearch/Trial2.aspx?TrialID=DRKS00015801 ) under the registration number DRKS00015801 before the start of recruitment (Registration date: 21.02.2019).

Keywords: Desire to work; Employment status; Predictors; Supported employment; Work ability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest/competing interests with respect to the research.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of the included patients
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Proportion of respondents with a low, moderate and strong preference for employment in the general labour market
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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