Environmental Awareness

Individuals with mental health conditions encounter social and systemic barriers to their career progress. While oppressive environments need to change, individuals with mental health conditions have had to learn to adapt to these social and systemic barriers. Environmental Awareness is an individual’s knowledge of these barriers and access to vocational supports. For an individual with mental health conditions, they may: 

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• Have limited knowledge of world of work from having been out of the workforce for a while 

• Be less familiar with available resources and supports to benefit their career progress and mental health while working 

• View available resources and supports as less useful due to past experiences of accessing supports 

• Be aware of work-related inequities and discrimination but not know how to address them 

• Need a plan to deal with disruptions that affect their careers can occur 

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Based on the readiness phase of the Choose-Get-Keep model (Danley& Anthony, 1987; Farkas et al, 2000), Environmental Awareness can improve as individuals gain more practical knowledge about the world of work, become more attuned to the supports they have available to counter barriers, and view available supports as useful to their work life. Knowledge of the world of work can include familiarity with the job market, hiring practices, etc. but can also include knowledge of rights related to work-place discrimination, disability disclosure, paid time off, etc. Vocational supports include both practical and emotional supports. Attaining decent work is associated with an individual’s knowledge and awareness of the barriers they encounter, as well as their access to appropriate and overall support options. 

 

In CPF, the areas of Environmental Awareness that an individual can work on are identified as Knowledge of the World of Work, Empowerment, and Resource Appraisal.