Workplace Diversity, 2019

Work participation among young people with mental disabilities such as anxiety, depression or behavioural disorders is a relevant topic that has received more attention in the last couple of years, but as a research field, there are still many unanswered questions. Knowledge of the culture of inclusion in Norwegian working life, and how this culture asserts itself on young employment seeking people with reduced functional abilities or mental illnesses, could contribute to the reduction of these obstacles for work participation among young employment seekers. Practical cooperation structures between the research communities and the field of practice was established through the described competence-building project. This led to information exchanges that was in the interest of both parties, in the designing of the study and in the usage of the results. This competence-building project sought to answer among other things: What are the obstacles to hiring young people that represent different exposed groups? What are the motivational factors for hiring these people? How is the knowledge about different kinds of functional impairments, and what conditions do these impairments set on the individuals work capacity? A challenge to this research was whether the information collected was in fact mirroring the actual reality. Attitudes are generally normative, and the danger of socially desirable answers was real. The design of the study tried to avoid this problem. The results of this competence-building project will contribute to develop knowledge about the status among employers in Norway, and what factors that promote and hinder inclusion. This knowledge has a great practical value, considering that making problems visible for actors in the field of practice that until now have not been documented. The knowledge could also be implemented in courses directed at employers (by working life centres for instance), form the basis for better communication between counsellors in the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, employers and job-seekers in the employment seeking process, and in addition provide the basis for the development of a resource web page, conversational tools and other practical tools for relevant users.