Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

A round-up of the ONWARDS phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the novel weekly insulin icodec in people with diabetes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation
Published in: Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation 3/2015

01-09-2015

Early and Late Return to Work After Sick Leave: Predictors in a Cohort of Sick-Listed Individuals with Common Mental Disorders

Authors: Kerstin Ekberg, Charlotte Wåhlin, Jan Persson, Lars Bernfort, Birgitta Öberg

Published in: Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation | Issue 3/2015

Login to get access

Abstract

Objectives The study aims to identify individual and workplace factors associated with early return to work (RTW)—defined as within 3 months—and factors associated with later RTW—between 3 and 12 months after being sick-listed—in a cohort of newly sick-listed individuals with common mental disorders. Methods In a prospective cohort study, a cross-sectional analysis was performed on baseline measures of patients granted sick leave due to common mental disorders. A total of 533 newly sick-listed individuals fulfilled the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate. A baseline questionnaire was sent by post within 3 weeks of their first day of certified medical sickness; 354 (66 %) responded. Those who were unemployed were excluded, resulting in a study population of 319 individuals. Sick leave was recorded for each individual from the Social Insurance Office during 1 year. Analyses were made with multiple Cox regression analyses. Results Early RTW was associated with lower education, better work ability at baseline, positive expectations of treatment and low perceived interactional justice with the supervisor. RTW after 3 months was associated with a need to reduce demands at work, and turnover intentions. Conclusions Early RTW among sick-listed individuals with common mental disorders seems to be associated with the individual’s need to secure her/his employment situation, whereas later RTW is associated with variables reflecting dissatisfaction with work conditions. No health measures were associated with RTW. The study highlights the importance of considering not only health and functioning, but also workplace conditions and relations at the workplace in implementing RTW interventions.
Literature
1.
Social Insurance in Figures. Stockholm, Social Insurance Office; 2004.
2.
Hensing G, Spak F. Psychiatric disorders as a factor in sick leave due to other diagnoses: a general populations-based study. Br J Psychiatry. 1998;172:250–6.CrossRefPubMed
3.
Nystuen P, Hagen KB, Herrin J. Mental health problems as a cause of sick leave in the Norwegian work force. Scand J Public Health. 2001;29:175–82.CrossRefPubMed
4.
Roelen CAM, Norder G, Koopmans PC, van Rhenen W, van der Klink JJL, Bültmann U. Employees sick-listed with mental disorders: who returns to work and when? J Occup Rehabil. 2012;22:409–4017.CrossRefPubMed
5.
6.
Goetzel RZ, Ozminkowski RJ, Sederer LI, Mark TL. The business case for quality mental health services: why employers should care about the mental health and well-being of their employees. J Occup Environ Med. 2002;44:320–30.CrossRefPubMed
7.
Lagerveld SE, Bültmann U, Francche RL, van Dijk FJH, Vlasveld MC, van der Feltz-Conelis CM, Bruinvels DJ, Huijs JJJM, Blonk RWB, van der Klink JJL, Nieuwenhuijsen K. Factors associated with work participation and work functioning in depressed workers: a systematic review. J Occup Rehabil. 2010;20:275–92.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
8.
Taloyan M, Aronsson G, Leineweber C, Magnusson Hansson L, Westerlund H, Leineweber C. Sickness presenteeism predicts suboptimal self-rated health and sickness absence: a nationally representative study of the Swedish working population. PLoS One. 2012;9:e44721.CrossRef
9.
Sverke M, Hellgren J, Näswall K. No security: a meta-analysis and review of job insecurity and its consequences. J Occup Health Psychol. 2001;7:242–64.CrossRef
10.
Virtanen M, Kawachi I, Oksanen T, Salo P, Tuisko K, et al. Socioeconomic differences in long term psychiatric work disability: prospective cohort study of onset, recovery and recurrence. Occup Environ Med. 2011;68:791–8.CrossRefPubMed
11.
Semmer NK, Tscan F, Maier LL, Facchin S, Jacobshagen N. Illegitimate tasks and counterproductive work behavior. Appl Psychol. 2010;59:70–96.CrossRef
12.
Nieuwenhuijsen K, Bruinvels D, Frings-Dresen M. Psychosocial work environment and stress-related disorders, a systematic review. Occup Med. 2010;60:277–86.CrossRef
13.
Rugulies R, Aust B, Madsen IEH, Burr H, Siegrist J, Bültmann U. Adverse psychosocial working conditions and risk of severe depressive symptoms. Do effects differ by occupational grade? Eur J Public Health. 2012;23:415–20.CrossRefPubMed
14.
Borritz M, Christensen KB, Bultmann U, Rugulies R, Lund T, Andersen I, Villadsen E, Diderichsen F, Kristensen TS. Impact of burnout and psychosocial work characteristics on future long-term sickness absence. Prospective results of the Danish PUMA Study among human service workers. J Occup Environ Med. 2010;52(10):964–70.CrossRefPubMed
15.
Zapf D. Organisational, work group related and personal causes of mobbing/bullying at work. Int J Manpow. 1999;20:70–85.CrossRef
16.
Brouwers EPM, Terluin B, Tiemens BG, Verhaak PFM. Predicting return to work in employees sick-listed due to minor mental disorders. J Occup Rehabil. 2009;19:323–32.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
17.
Knudsen AK, Harvey SB, Mykletun A, Ǿverland S. Common mental disorders and long-term sickness absence in a general working population. The Hordaland Health Study. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2013;127:287–97.CrossRefPubMed
18.
Van der Klink JJ, Blonk RW, Schene AH, van Dijk FJ. Reducing long term sickness absence by an activating intervention in adjustment disorders: a cluster randomized controlled design. Occup Environ Med. 2003;60:429–37.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
19.
20.
Wåhlin C, Ekberg K, Persson J, Bernfort L, Öberg B. Association between clinical and work-related interventions and return-to-work for patients with musculoskeletal or mental disorders. J Rehabil Med. 2012;44:355–62.CrossRefPubMed
21.
Loisel P, Durand P, Abenhaim L, et al. Management of occupational back pain: the Sherbrooke model. Results of a pilot and feasibility study. Occup Environ Med. 1994;51:597–602.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
22.
Andersen MF, Nielsen KM, Brinkmann S. Meta-synthesis of qualitative research on return to work among employees with common mental disorders. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2012;38:93–104.CrossRefPubMed
23.
Virtanen P, Vahtera J, Nakari R, Pentti J, Kivimäki M. Economy and job contract as contexts of sickness absence practices: revisiting locality and habitus. Soc Sci Med. 2004;58:1219–29.CrossRefPubMed
24.
Post M, Krol B, Groothoff JW. Work-related determinants of return to work of employees on long-term sickness absence. Disabil Rehabil. 2005;27:481–8.CrossRefPubMed
25.
Arends I, van der Klink JCL, van Rhenen W, de Boer MR, Bültmann U. Prevention of recurrent sickness absence in workers with common mental disorders: results of a cluster-randomised controlled trial. Occup Environ Med. 2014;71:21–9.CrossRefPubMed
26.
Ervasti J, Vahtera J, Pentti J, Oksanen T, Ahola K, Kivimäki M, Virtanen M. Depression-related work disability: socioeconomic inequalities in onset, duration and recurrence. PLOS One. 2013;8:e79855.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
27.
Nieuwenhuijsen K, Verbeek JHAM, de Boer AGEM, Blonk RWB, van Dijk FJH. Predicitng the duration of sickness absence for patients with common mental disorders in occupational health care. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2006;32:67–74.CrossRefPubMed
28.
Dolan P, Gudex C, Kind P, Williams A. Modeling Valuations for EuroQol Health States. Med Care. 1997;35:1095–108.CrossRefPubMed
29.
The EuroQol Group. EuroQol: a new facility for the measurement of health related quality of life. Health Policy. 1990;16:199–208.CrossRef
30.
Shirom A, Melamed S, Toker S, Berliner S, Shapira I. Burnout and health review: current knowledge and future research directions. In: Hodgkinson GP, Ford JK, editors. International review of industrial and organizational psychology, vol. 20. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press; 2005. p. 269–309.
31.
Main CJ, Wood PL, Hollis S, Spanswick CC, Waddell G. The Distress and Risk Assessment Method. Spine. 1992;17:42–52.CrossRefPubMed
32.
Åkerstedt T, Knutsson A, Westerholm P, Theorell T, Alfredsson L, Kecklund G. Sleep disturbances, work stress and work hours. A cross-sectional study. J Psychosom Res. 2002;53:741–8.CrossRefPubMed
33.
Feise RJ, Menke JM. Functional Rating Index. A new valid and reliable instrument to measure the magnitude of clinical change in spinal conditions. Spine. 2001;26:78–87.CrossRefPubMed
34.
Tuomi K, Ilmarinen J, Jahkola A, Katajarinne L, Tulkki A. Work ability index. Helsinki: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health; 1994.
35.
Pearlin LI, Lieberman MA, Menaghan EG, Mullan JT. The stress process. J Health Soc Behav. 1981;22:337–56.CrossRefPubMed
36.
Lambeek LC, van Mechelen W, Buijs PC, Loisel P, Anema JR. An integrated care program to prevent work disability due to chronic low back pain: a process evaluation within a randomized controlled trial. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2009;10:147.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
37.
Altmaier E, Russell D, Kao C, Lehmann T, Weinstein J. Role of self-efficacy in rehabilitation outcome among chronic low back pain patients. J Couns Psychol. 1993;40:335–9.CrossRef
38.
Cherkin DC, Deyo RA, Street JH, Barlow W. Predicting poor outcomes for back pain seen in primary care using patients’ own criteria. Spine. 1996;21:2900–7.CrossRefPubMed
39.
Undén AL, Orth-Gomér K. Development of a social support instrument for use in population surveys. Soc Sci Med. 1989;29:1387–92.CrossRefPubMed
40.
Siegrist J, Wege N, Puhlhofer F, Wahrendorf M. A short generic measure of work stress in the era of globalization: effort-reward imbalance. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2009;82:1005–13.CrossRefPubMed
41.
Siegrist J, Starke D, Chandola T, Godin I, Marmot M, Niedhammer I, Peter R. The measurement of effort-reward imbalance at work: European comparisons. Soc Sci Med. 2004;58:1483–99.CrossRefPubMed
42.
Moorman RH. Relationship between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behaviors: do fairness perceptions influence employee citizenship? J Appl Psychol. 1991;76:845–55.CrossRef
43.
Liljegren M, Nordlund A, Ekberg K. Psychometric evaluation and further validation of the Hagedoorn et al. modified EVLN measure. Scand J Psychol. 2008;49:169–77.CrossRefPubMed
44.
Hagedoorn M, van Yperen N, van der Vliet E, Buunk B. Employees’ reactions to problematic events: a circumplex structure of five categories of responses, and the role of job satisfaction. J Organ Behav. 1999;20:309–21.CrossRef
45.
Liljegren M, Ekberg K. Job mobility as predictor of health and burnout. J Occup Organ Psychol. 2009;82:317–29.CrossRef
46.
Strindlund L, Ekberg K. Employees at the county council of Östergötland on long-term sick leave. Diagnoses, work conditions and needs for rehabilitation interventions. IHS, Linkoping University, report 2004:1. (In Swedish).
47.
Nilsing E, Söderberg E, Berterö C, Öberg B. Primary healthcare professionals’ experiences of the sick leave process: a focus group study in Sweden. J Occup Rehabil. 2013;23:450–61.CrossRefPubMed
48.
Löve J, Hensing G, Holmgren K, Torén K. Explaining the social gradient in sickness absence: a study of a general working population in Sweden. BMC Public Health. 2013;13:545.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
49.
Bertilsson M. Work capacity and mental health: the phenomena and their importance in return to work. Dissertation. Institute of Medicine at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg. 2014.
50.
Sandmark H, Renstig M. Understanding long-term sick leave in female white-collar workers with burnout and stress-related diagnoses: a qualitative study. BMC Public Health. 2010;10(1):210.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
51.
Holmgren K, Dahlin Ivanoff S. Women on sickness absence-views of possibilities and obstacles for returning to work. A focus group study. Disabil Rehabil. 2004;26:213–22.CrossRefPubMed
52.
Argyris C. Understanding organizational behavior. Michigan: Dorsey Press; 1960.
53.
Nieuwenhuijsen K, Verbeek JHAM, de Boer AGEM, Blonk RWB, van Dijk FJH. Supervisory behaviour as a predictor of return to work in employees absent from work due to mental health problems. Occup Environ Med. 2004;61:817–23.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
54.
Lemieux P, Durand M-J, Nha Hong Q. Supervisors’ perception of the factors influencing the return to work of workers with common mental disorders. J Occup Rehabil. 2011;21:293–303.CrossRefPubMed
55.
56.
Coomber B, Barriball KL. Impact of job satisfaction components to leave and turnover for hospital-based nurses: a review of job-related and non-related factors. Int J Nurs Stud. 2007;44:297–314.CrossRefPubMed
57.
Aronsson G, Göransson S. Permanent employment hut in a non-preferred occupation: psychological and medical aspects, research and implications. J Occup Health Psychol. 1999;4:152–63.CrossRefPubMed
58.
Wilk SL, Sackett PR. Longitudinal analysis of ability-job complexity fit and job change. Pers Psychol. 1996;49:937–67.CrossRef
Metadata
Title
Early and Late Return to Work After Sick Leave: Predictors in a Cohort of Sick-Listed Individuals with Common Mental Disorders
Authors
Kerstin Ekberg
Charlotte Wåhlin
Jan Persson
Lars Bernfort
Birgitta Öberg
Publication date
01-09-2015
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation / Issue 3/2015
Print ISSN: 1053-0487
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3688
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-015-9570-9

Other articles of this Issue 3/2015

Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation 3/2015 Go to the issue

OriginalPaper

Effects of Modified Hatha Yoga in Industrial Rehabilitation on Physical Fitness and Stress of Injured Workers

OriginalPaper

The Mental Disability Military Assessment Tool: A Reliable Tool for Determining Disability in Veterans with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

OriginalPaper

Measurement Properties of the Spinal Function Sort in Patients with Sub-acute Whiplash-Associated Disorders

OriginalPaper

Labour Market Status and Well-Being in the Context of Return to Work After Vocational Rehabilitation in Germany

OriginalPaper

Recovery of Work-Related Stress: Complaint Reduction and Work-Resumption are Relatively Independent Processes

OriginalPaper

Supervisor Autonomy and Considerate Leadership Style are Associated with Supervisors’ Likelihood to Accommodate Back Injured Workers