Type of Project: Funded project Study
Promoting job participation of people with severe mental illnesses. Attitudes, barriers and enabling factors (TAPE)

Employment in the primary labor market contributes significantly to the social participation of people with mental illnesses. Despite good evidence on the effectiveness of supported employment on job participation and the strong recommendation of rapid placement in the primary labor market by professional societies, widespread implementation is difficult. There is a lack of competitive workplaces adapted to the special needs of people with mental illnesses and of low-threshold access to simple jobs. Companies and employers have a key role to play in improving the job participation of people with mental illnesses. However, so far there are only isolated findings on the experiences, attitudes and views of the central agents and the support needs of employers with regard to the establishment and allocation of suitable workplaces. The two-part, participatory project TAPE therefore has the following goals: 1.) the identification of barriers and supportive factors for professional participation in the general labor market from the perspective of employers and people with psychiatric experience 2.) the systematic analysis of practical solution experiences in the employment of people with mental illnesses and 3.) the participatory development of practical tools for employers and companies to improve the professional participation of people with mental illnesses. Subproject 1 includes empirical data collection using a mixed-method approach. The aim is to record the experiences, attitudes and needs of the central agents (employers and people with psychiatric experience) with regard to the job participation of people with mental illnesses in the primary labor market. A special focus is on the practical experiences of successful participation-oriented workplace design and successful forms of support. Based on the results of subproject 1, subproject 2 will develop practical tools and recommendations for action to support employers in hiring and employing people with mental illnesses.