# Psychosocial Workplace Environments Enabling Sustainable Employment for People with Mental Health Conditions: A Scoping Review

## TL;DR

This scoping review identifies key psychosocial workplace factors that help people with mental health conditions maintain sustainable employment.

## Contribution

The study maps a multilayered framework of psychosocial workplace environments tailored to support individuals with mental illness.

## Key findings

- Five categories of psychosocial workplace environments were identified, including growth-supportive and low-psychological-strain environments.
- A multilayered support network and interprofessional collaboration are essential for sustainable employment.
- The findings highlight gaps in current evidence and the need for further primary research and formal concept analysis.

## Abstract

Background/Objectives: Research that systematically identifies the components of a psychosocial workplace environment tailored to people with mental illness is limited. This scoping review aimed to map the existing literature and clarify the key concepts of a desirable workplace environment from a psychosocial perspective that enables sustainable employment for people with mental illness. Methods: A scoping review was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. Five databases, including PubMed and Scopus, were searched to extract original English-language, peer-reviewed research articles published between 2003 and 2025 on workplace environments for individuals with mental illness. Two independent reviewers screened the records and selected 16 studies using the population, concept, and context framework. Following data extraction, qualitative inductive analysis was conducted for category development. Results: Five categories and 17 subcategories were identified as psychosocial workplace environments promoting sustained employment: (1) Growth-supportive environments that leverage individual strengths and promote self-actualization; (2) recognition-affirmative environments that respect individual characteristics and are based on fair evaluation and acceptance of diversity; (3) a low-psychological-strain environment featuring predictability and autonomy; (4) a multilayered support network; and (5) a support environment based on interprofessional collaboration and system utilization. Conclusions: Workplace environments supporting the sustained employment of individuals with mental illness appear to involve a multilayered structure integrating self-actualization, predictable and autonomous job design, and comprehensive interprofessional support. The findings provide a preliminary concept map; however, gaps remain in the types and quality of evidence. Future primary research and formal concept analysis are required to validate these components and address existing methodological and contextual gaps.