Workers' perspectives on self-directing mainstream return to work following acute mental illness: reflections on partnerships.

OBJECTIVE: To examine barriers and facilitators influencing self-direction of return to mainstream work following acute mental illness. PARTICIPANTS: Five individuals who had attempted return to mainstream work following acute mental illness. METHODS: In depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews with the five participants selected through purposive sampling. RESULTS: The three main themes related to the workers' self-direction of their return to work experience were (a) worker self-management, (b) workers' 'personal' partnerships and (c) workplace partnerships. CONCLUSION: Personal and workplace partnerships are integral to supporting workers as they take ownership of their full potential and self-direct return to mainstream work.

Disclosure of mental health.

As today's workplaces strive toward a climate of inclusiveness for persons with disabilities, much work remains for employers in developing a process to achieve this ideal. While survivors of mental illness are encouraged to disclose related concerns to their employer, such sharing of personal information remains daunting. Similarly, employers attempting to assist the process are often awed by the extent of collaborations involved in integrating employees with mental health issues back to work as well as concern about compliance with human rights legislation. Needed accommodations in terms of approach to the work itself are often simple; however substantiating the need for adjustments is more complex. This case study introduces a model to support the development of shared goals and shared understandings for return to work (RTW) among workers with mental health concerns, employers, co-workers and therapists. The model of occupational competence is used as a basis to guide dialogue, identify challenges and generate solutions that take into consideration a worker's preferences, sensitivities, culture and capacities in relationship to the occupational demands in a given workplace environment. A case study is used to demonstrate the potential utility of the model in assisting stakeholders to strengthen collaborations and partnering to achieve a shared understanding of worker and workplace needs.