Employment of young people with mental health conditions: making it work

Figures & data

Table 1. Socio-demographics of young persons with mental health conditions.

Socio-demographic variables	Mean	SD
Age	26.8	4.5
Duration of illness	3.5	3.7
Duration of employment	1.6	1.8
	n	Prevalence
Gender
Female	13	43.3%
Male	17	56.7%
Ethnicity
Chinese	19	63.3%
Indian	6	20%
Malay	5	16.7%
Education
University Degree	8	26.7%
Polytechnic Diploma	9	30%
GCE A level	1	3.3%
Secondary	6	20%
National ITE Certificate	4	13.3%
Primary	1	3.3%
Others	1	3.3%
Marital status
Single/never married	27	90%
Divorced/separated	3	10%
Diagnosis*
Affective disorder	16	53.3%
Schizophrenia and other psychosis	14	46.7%
Job level
Entry	18	60%
Senior	4	13.3%
Employment
Employed	22	73.3%
Unemployed^#	8	26.7%
Salary (monthly)
Above SGD1000	12	40%
Below SGD1000	10	33.3%
Not drawing a salary	8	26.7%

*Affective disorder: anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, dysthymia; Schizophrenia and other psychosis: schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, psychosis, delusional disorder.

^#Unemployed category includes full time students (n =2).

GCE A level: Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Advanced Level; National ITE Certificate: Vocational training certificate by Institute of Technical Education; Polytechnic diploma: Diploma in technical courses; SGD: Singapore dollar.

Table 2. Interview guide for young persons with mental health conditions.

General history	Can you tell me a bit about yourself so we can get to know each other? Can you tell me a bit about your educational background? Some people with mental health conditions have trouble while they are in school or university. How has your mental health condition impacted on your education?
Employment history	What does the term employment mean to you? Please tell me a bit about your experiences with employment (draw timeline to facilitate recollection and keep track of events as the participant describes them). What are your thoughts regarding finding a job? What do you think are some of the advantages and disadvantages of working? What kind of a job would you like to do? How do you think your condition affects your ability to work? Can you tell me about your work goals and expectations? What does your family think about your goals?
For those employed	Did anyone help you in applying for the job? What was your experience in applying for the job? Were you asked to disclose your mental health condition during the application process? What has it been like to work at that company? Has your mental health condition influenced the way you work? Have you experienced work-place discrimination because of your mental health condition or because of anything else? What is your relationship like with your co-workers? With your supervisor? Do your co-workers or supervisor know about your mental health problems? If yes, how do you feel about it?
For those unemployed	Can you share with me your past work experiences?
If the person has worked before	Can you tell me more about the jobs you have done? What did you do? Did you face any challenges in doing the job? Have you been looking for a job since then? What has it been like looking for work? Some people experience barriers to employment because of their mental health condition. Has your mental health condition influenced your job search? Can you tell me how?
For all	Have you ever lost a job? Can you tell me about it? [if they do not mention mental health condition as a factor contributing to job loss, prompt] Some people experience difficulty keeping a job because of their mental health condition, do you think your mental health condition had a role to play? How?
Service history	Can you tell me about the types of support you have had in your search for work? Can you tell about your experiences of using such support? Are you aware of any support services that could help you find work? What does your psychiatrist/physician think of your employment goals? What do you think is important for your success in [finding or keeping] employment?

Figure 1. Thematic representation of meaning, barriers and facilitators of employment for young people with mental health conditions.

Data availability statement

Due to the nature of this research, participants of this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, so supporting data is not available.