Abstract/Summary

In the 21st century healthcare landscape, the quality of life (QOL) of psychiatric healthcare workers (HCWs) is pivotal for a resilient mental healthcare system. My thesis advocates for employers to provide housing as a strategic intervention to enhance the QOL for HCWs. Acknowledging the unique challenges faced by HCWs, my research aims to alleviate stressors resulting from inadequate housing. My thesis underscores the potential benefits for employers by highlighting the intrinsic link between HCW QOL and the availability of effective mental health services. It proposes a paradigm shift towards employer-led housing (ELH) for HCWs to ensure the sustained delivery of high quality psychiatric care. To fully comprehend the housing issues faced by HCWs, I provide a critical examination of the physical housing context, and the challenges encountered by HCWs in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, both in terms of their housing conditions and their lived experiences. To draw recommendations for future ELH initiatives, I investigate the motivations and methods involved in providing such housing, and identify the opportunities and challenges associated with these schemes. My analysis includes two in depth case studies of ELH: Saltaire, Bournville. In the context of ELH and the employee-employer relationship, the concepts of privacy and power are deeply interrelated. I define the concept of power within this context before examining the relationship between power and privacy, and their impact on the development of ELH. I employ a case study methodology, utilising qualitative semi-structured interviews with employees from a private psychiatric hospital including HCWs and senior leadership team members, along with a focus group. This investigation explores HCWs perceptions of their QOL in housing and their views on the necessity and desirability of ELH. I utilise a conceptual framework to analyse the empirical data to ascertain the QOL experienced by HCWs and explore their perceived sense of power and privacy within their housing. The empirical findings indicate that employees are hesitant to support ELH initiatives. This reluctance is attributed to a perception that they will never secure better housing and a resignation to their current inadequate conditions. Employees doubt the likelihood that their employers will successfully provide such housing, leading them to consider it preferable not to expect it. Employers, while recognising the potential benefits of providing housing, particularly during periods of challenging recruitment and retention, appear motivated to assist their employees. Nevertheless, management are concerned that the costs associated with maintaining vacant housing may be prohibitive and question whether the initiative would sufficiently enhance retention to justify the investment. I posit ELH represents a paradigm shift necessary to enhance the overall QOL for HCWs. My study contributes to the limited research on HCWs perceptions of the QOL provided by their housing.