Search

The present study analyzed the impact of business operations, work and family circumstances, and well-being on the risk of sickness presenteeism for Swedish self-employed workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is of great importance to investigate the impact of the pandemic on the self-employed and their enterprises because they are seen as key drivers of economic growth and constitute an expanding group in many countries. Data were obtained from 845 self-employed workers by a web-based survey including questions about background information, work and family circumstances, well-being, sickness presenteeism, and questions about the pandemic. Results were that around 40% of the self-employed introduced new products, processes, and marketing methods, and just over 50% attempted to get new customers during the pandemic. Nearly half of the self-employed people reported that they lost contracts, and 22% judged the risk of bankruptcy to be quite or highly likely. Regression analyses showed that the more the self-employed reported impact on business indicators, increased work hours, a higher level of work-family conflict, and a lower level of mental well-being, the higher the risk of sickness presenteeism. The most common reasons given by the participants for sickness presenteeism during the pandemic were “nobody else can carry out my responsibilities,” “I can't afford to take sick leave” and “I enjoy my work.” Conclusions are that a critical event such as the pandemic probably adds to an already high workload for the self-employed. Impact on business operations such as developing new products/services and marketing, risk of bankruptcy and increased work hours seems to be important factors for explaining sickness presenteeism among the self-employed. Theoretical contributions from the study suggest that critical events such as the Covid-19 pandemic should be considered as an important environmental factor when studying sickness presenteeism among self-employed.

Purpose: Long-term sickness absence is a significant human and economic cost in many countries, including Sweden making research on factors which impact on return to work (RTW) relevant. This study has two aims: (1) provide an overview of factors that impact RTW expectations in a national sample of Swedish workers on long-term sickness absence; and (2) gain an understanding of the interrelationships among these factors using a socioecological framework and decision tree analysis. Method: A survey, designed to capture information about demographic variables, health and work ability, workplace contact, supervisor support and expectations of return to work, was mailed to 1,112 randomly selected sick-listed people in Sweden and completed by 534, representing a response rate of 48%. Results: The most important factors affecting RTW expectations were work ability and burnout. Employees reporting high levels of work ability were more likely to expect to RTW compared to those reporting low levels, and this was dependent on their relative burnout score. Those with a high burnout score were less likely to expect to RTW, while for those with a low burnout score RTW expectations were dependent on age, country of birth, and supervisor support. For young employees reporting low work ability and low burnout score, RTW expectations were lower. Conclusions: Our results suggest a more nuanced approach to delivery of RTW services is required, whereby practitioners need to understand the socioecology of the range of factors that impact RTW expectations. The use of decision tree analysis facilitates this understanding by describing the interrelationships between these factors.

Introduction There is a limited body of research on how the actual social exchange among workplace actors influences the practice of return-to-work. The objective of this study was to explore how workplace actors experience social relations at the workplace and how organizational dynamics in workplace-based return-to-work extends before and beyond the initial return of the sick listed worker to the workplace. Method An exploratory qualitative method approach was used, consisting of individual open-ended interviews with 33 workplace actors at seven worksites that had re-entering workers. The workplace actors represented in these interviews include: re-entering workers, supervisors, co-workers, and human resource managers. Results The analysis identified three distinct phases in the return to work process: while the worker is off work, when the worker returns back to work, and once back at work during the phase of sustainability of work ability. The two prominent themes that emerged across these phases include the theme of invisibility in relation to return-to-work effort and uncertainty, particularly, about how and when to enact return-to-work. Conclusion The findings strengthen the notion that workplace-based return-to-work interventions need to take social relations amongst workplace actors into account. They also highlight the importance and relevance of the varied roles of different workplace actors during two relatively unseen or grey areas, of return-to-work: the pre-return and the post-return sustainability phase. Attention to the invisibility of return-to-work efforts of some actors and uncertainty about how and when to enact return-to-work between workplace actors can promote successful and sustainable work ability for the re-entering worker.

Introduction Employers can use several strategies to facilitate return-to-work for workers on sick leave, but there seems to be limited knowledge of how workplace-based interventions are actually implemented in organisations. One public Swedish employer initiated a return-to-work programme which incorporated interventions suggested by earlier research, e.g. multi-professional health assessment, case management, educational peer-support groups and adapted workplace training. The overall purpose of the study is to analyse how the programme was implemented and experienced in the organisation, from the perspective of involved stakeholders, i.e. supervisors, occupational health consultants and a project coordinator. The objective of this paper is to identify and analyse how these stakeholders perceived that the programme had been implemented in relation to its intentions. Methods A qualitative method was used, consisting of individual interviews with eight supervisors and the project leader. Two group interviews with five occupational health service consultants were also conducted. Results The study revealed barriers to the implementation of return-to-work interventions. Not all of the intended interventions had been implemented as expected in policy. One explanation is that the key stakeholders expressed a more biomedical, individual view of work ability, while the programme was based on a more holistic, biopsychosocial view. Conclusion Implementation of a return-to-work programme is an ongoing, long-term multi-level strategy, requiring time for reflection, stakeholder participation, openness to change of intervention activities, and continuous communication.

Since long-term sickness absence constitutes a problem in most western countries, research that can facilitate return to work (RTW) is important. Today there is evidence that the social context at the workplace has a significant impact on return to work. The dual aims of the study was firstly to investigate the pattern and quality of contact between employees on long-term sick leave and different actors at the workplace, and secondly to investigate whether contacts with the workplace were associated with expectations regarding return to work. An explorative method and descriptive design was used for the first aim. For the second aim, the data was analysed in a multivariate logistic regression model. The results show that employees had frequent and, in most cases, appreciated contact with their supervisor and co-workers. Contact with other workplace actors; that is, the occupational health unit, the union representative, and the human resources department, were less frequent. Employees who experienced the contact as supportive and constructive were far more positive and optimistic than others regarding return to work. It is concluded that supervisors and co-workers should be aware that they play a significant role in the return-to-work process, and that quality of contact is what matters.

Purpose The objective was to explore the role and contribution of co-workers in the return-to-work process. The social interaction of co-workers and supervisors are analysed within the framework of the Swedish national and local employer organisational return-to-work policies. Methods An exploratory qualitative method was used, consisting of open-ended interviews with 33 workplace actors across seven work units. Organisational return-towork policies were collected from the three public sector employers. Results Three key themes about the return-to-work process emerged during analysis: (1) policies and organizational structure for return to work do not take co-workers into account; (2) return-to-work social demands and expectations interact with broader social interaction and attitudes in the workgroup; (3) supervisory management of return to workis linked to workgroup communication and management. Conclusion An examination of the role of co-workers suggests that the social location matters, and highlights how different return-to-work actors interpret the return-to-work situation differently. Employers and workplaces should consider re-integration of sicklisted workers in the light of workgroup social relations and acknowledge social interaction and the heterogeneous experiences of returning workers, supervisors and coworkers. Funding agencies|Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CHIR)|FRN: 53909|HELIX Vinn Excellence Centre, Linkoping University, Sweden||Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Canada