TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore women’s experiences in one such social enterprise, and to analyze the ways in which this social enterprise supports and/or undermines its employees’ health and well-being. Finding and keeping employment during recovery from addiction is a strong predictor of women’s ability to maintain sobriety and accomplish other important life goals. Many treatment organizations have programs that support job readiness and acquisition; however, less priority is placed on the quality of the workplaces and their consequences for continued health and well-being. Social enterprises that exist for the purpose of employing women in recovery have the potential to be health-promoting workspaces, but understanding how health is supported for this particular population is important.Design/methodology/approach This paper provides an ethnographic account of Light Collective, a social enterprise run by women in recovery from addiction. Data were collected through 2 years of participant observation, 38 interviews and 2 focus groups. Data were analysed using a grounded theory approach.Findings Light Collective provides a health-promoting workplace by keeping barriers to employment low and making work hours and expectations individualized and flexible. Furthermore, the organization creates a setting in which work is developmentally nurturing, provides the opportunity for meaningful mastery and serves to build community amongst women who are often marginalized and isolated in more traditional contexts.Originality/value This study contributes to literature exploring the potential for social enterprises to create health-promoting workplaces by focusing the types of workplace commitments required to support a particularly vulnerable population. This study also explores some of the challenges and contradictions inherent in trying to create health-promoting work environments vis-à-vis the constraints of broader economic systems.
VL  - 16
IS  - 1
SN  - 1750-8614
DO  - 10.1108/SEJ-07-2019-0046
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/SEJ-07-2019-0046
AU  - Suiter Sarah V.
AU  - Wilfong C. Danielle
PY  - 2019
Y1  - 2019/01/01
TI  - Healing work
T2  - Social Enterprise Journal
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 82
EP  - 99
Y2  - 2024/04/25
ER  -