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Research on long COVID is still in its infancy with the primary focus being on symptoms, treatment, and prevalence. Due to the severity and longevity of long COVID that has also affected the working population, an important question is how organisations can support workers with long COVID to stay and thrive in the workplace. In the present study, we used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore the lived experiences of workers with long COVID and the barriers and facilitators to them working while managing their symptoms. Using purposeful sampling, we recruited participants through social media and conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 workers with long COVID in Spring/Summer 2021. Three higher-order themes revolved around suffering, identity work and belongingness, and 12 subthemes, which were seen as barriers and facilitators to sustainable return to work at the individual, group, leader, organisational and overarching contextual levels. Our findings highlight the urgent need for research that considers work outcomes of those with long COVID and have important implications for how organisations can support workers suffering from long COVID and prevent sickness absence and reduce worklessness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research on return to work for workers with common mental disorders has primarily focused on the pre‐return journey. Relapses and recurrent sick leaves are prevalent and call for research on how we can support workers stay and thrive at work after long‐term sickness absence due to common mental disorders. In the present study, we used Longitudinal Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore the experiences of returned workers' post‐return journey and the barriers and facilitators to staying and thriving at work. We conducted monthly semistructured interviews with seven returned workers over a period of 4 months. We identified three post‐return trajectories: the thrivers, the survivors and the exiteers. We identified 10 higher order themes and 13 subthemes that influenced these trajectories. At the individual level, wanting to make a valuable contribution and job crafting facilitated a sustainable return. At the group level, we identified social support as a facilitator. At the leader level, line managers making work adjustments and recognising workers as valuable were important, whereas a lack of understanding and conflicts with senior management posed as barriers. At the overarching level, the media influenced organisational values. Our findings have important implications for how organisations can facilitate a whole systems approach to support returned workers and prevent sickness absence reoccurrence and job loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supervisors play an important role in supporting employees to return to work following sickness absence due to common mental disorders; stress, anxiety and depression, however, employees may not always feel supported. We examined employees' perceptions of their supervisors' attitudes and behaviours pre, during and following sickness absence due to common mental disorders, placing a particular focus on post-return. In a qualitative study, using purposeful sampling, we recruited and interviewed 39 returned employees up to four times. We identified three types of supervisor behaviours: the compassionate, the indifferent and the demeaning. Compassionate supervisors possessed empathy and communication skills, worked collaboratively to identify appropriate work adjustments and provided ongoing support and adjustment. Indifferent supervisors lacked the skills and motivation to support returning employees. They did what was required according to organisational policies. Demeaning supervisors lacked understanding and displayed stigmatising behaviour. The results extend our understanding of how supervisors may support returned employees in two ways: First, our results identified three distinct sets of supervisor behaviours. Second, the results indicate that it is important to understand return to work as lasting years where employees are best supported by supervisors making adjustments that fit the needs of returned employees on an ongoing basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Sustainable return to work remains challenging for workers returning after long-term sick leave due to common mental disorders (CMDs): stress, anxiety and depression. Line managers play a significant role in supporting returned workers. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the supportive behaviors of line managers in supporting returned workers. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted a longitudinal study with up to three semi-structured interviews with 20 line managers with experience managing returned workers. In these interviews, the authors asked questions about the supportive behaviors line managers enacted to support workers and the role of the context. The authors conducted reflexive thematic analysis. Findings: The analyses revealed five key strategies, including managing workload, flexible working time arrangements, location of work, mental health check-ups and long-term support. The interviewed line managers reported their own lived experiences and that being aware of the limitations of their role, together with training and support from senior management and human resources (HR), enabled them to provide appropriate support. Practical implications: The five strategies and the barriers and facilitators to implementing these may enable HR to develop policies and procedures to support line managers, including training of line managers. Originality/value: This is the first study in the UK on line managers' behaviors to support workers who have returned to work after a period of long-term sickness absence due to CMDs. The identification of such behaviors is paramount to developing organizational policies and practices. The question, however, remains whether employees see these behaviors as effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose — Work-related stress is a major concern for employers, and the UK Health and Safety Executive has introduced Management Standards for employers to support them in managing stress in the workplace. Managers have a key role to play in minimizing stress-related risks for their staff. Management behavior has a direct impact on staff well-being — managers can prevent or cause stress in those they manage. Managers also act as gatekeepers" to their employees' exposure to stressful working conditions and are vital to the identification and tackling of stress in the workplace. This means that managers need to understand what behaviors they should show in order to manage their employees in a way that minimizes work-related stress. New research has identified management behavior/competencies that prevent and reduce stress at work and this paper aims to present this. Design/methodology/approach — The first phase of this research involved interviews with nearly 400 employees and managers, and focus groups with over 50 human resources (HR) professionals. They were asked for their views on what manager behaviors are important, in terms of behaviors that are effective and behaviors that are ineffective for managing stress in staff. Findings — The behaviors identified were grouped into themes to create a framework of 19 management "competencies" for preventing and reducing stress at work. Originality/value — The resulting competency framework can be incorporated into managers' management approach, into HR practices such as training, selection and appraisal of managers and into other stress management activities in order to manage stress at work more effectively [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]