ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the human and environmental factors that influence work participation for people with serious mental illness, and by considering the situation from a variety of philosophical perspectives, to both highlight innovative and successful interventions, and envision novel approaches. The complexity and nuances of these interventions are highlighted by contrasting the situation of persons with and without workforce attachment, who may experience very different environmental conditions and resources as they strive to achieve satisfying work participation. People with weak or absent workforce attachment have few of the connections and resources that facilitate access to sustained employment. Compared to people without workforce attachment, persons with mental illness who are attached have only recently been the subject of much discussion in scholarly, practice and policy circles. A new dialogue and means of framing the approach to work and mental illness is necessary if societies are to move towards inclusion and optimisation of human potential.
