Background
Methods
Design and participants
Characteristic | Employee (8) | HR professional (8) |
---|---|---|
Health complaints | psychological (3) / physical (2) / both (3) | |
Age | <45 years (4) / ≥45 years (4) | |
Gender | male (4) / female (4) | male (4) / female (4) |
Absence duration | <1 year (5) / ≥1 year (3) | |
Organisational size | >150 (6) / 20–150 (2) | >150 (7) / 20–150 (1) |
Sector | profit (5), cases* (2) / non-profit (3), cases* (1) | profit (5), cases* (2) / non-profit (3), cases* (1) |
Industry | production industry (2), healthcare (2), education (1), commercial (3) | technical (4), healthcare (2), education (1), commercial (1) |
Profession | cook (1), salesman (2), process operator (2), teacher (1), administrative assistant (1), management assistant (1) | HR officer (4), HR manager (3), director occupational healthcare (1) |
Data collection
Data analysis
Results
Cooperation (research question 1)
Year 1 | Year 2 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type of agreement | Expected | Observed | Expected | Observed | |
1. Meetings | + (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | + - (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | + (1,2,3,6) | + (1,2,3,6) | |
2. Mutual exchange of information about RTW possibilities | + (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | - (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | + (1,2,3,6) | - (1,2,3,6) | |
3. Shared decision-making about RTW | + (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | - (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | + (1,2,3,6) | - (1,2,3,6) | |
4. Intervention to support work resumption | + (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | - (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | + (1,2,3,6) | + (1,2,6), - (3) | |
Cooperation summarised
| - | + - |
Lack of cooperation early during the first year of sick leave
Supervisors use their power and decide about RTW during the second year of sick leave
Understanding cooperation or the lack thereof (research question 2)
Year 1 | Year 2 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Motivationa
| Employee | - (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | + (1,2,3,6) | |
HR professional | + (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | + - (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | ||
Abilitya
| Employee | + - (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | + - (1,2,3,6) | |
HR professional | + - (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | + - (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | ||
Understanding motivation to cooperate | Experienced dependence on the other a
| Employee | Goals: primary goal is medical recovery (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) / Resources: medical treatment (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8), time without contact with employer (4,5) / Feelings of dependence on employer: - (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | Goals: primary aim is RTW (1,2,3,6) / Resources: intervention to find new job (1,2,6), modified or new work (3) / Dependence: + (1,2,3,6) |
HR professional | Goals: primary aim is RTW (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) / Resources: information about employees’ RTW possibilities (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8), effort from employees to achieve RTW (1,2,3,5,7) / Feelings of dependence on employee: + (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | Goals: primary aim is RTW (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) / Resources: information about employees’ RTW possibilities (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) / Dependence: - (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | ||
Perception of the otherb
| Employee | + (1,2,5), - (3,4,6,7,8) | + (1,2), - (3,6) | |
HR professional | + - (1,2,4,6,7,8), - (3,5) | + - (7), - (1,2,3,4,5,6,8) | ||
Legislationc
| Employee | - (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | Legislative reduction pay + (1,2,3,6) | |
HR professional | Feels responsible for meeting legislative requirements + (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | + (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | ||
Distrust of the othera
| Employee | + (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | + - (1,2,3,6) | |
HR professional | - (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | + (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | ||
Norms about the goalsd
| Employee | + (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | + (1,2,3,6) | |
HR professional | + (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | + (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | ||
Understanding ability to cooperate | Legislationc
| Employee | - (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | - (1,2,3,6) |
HR professional | Legislation supports planning meetings + (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | - (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | ||
Resourcese
| Employee | Time to meet + (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8), knowledge of law + (1) / - (2,3,4,5,6,7,8) feeling well enough - (1,5,6) | Time to meet + (1,2,3,6), knowledge of decision discretion regarding RTW - (2,3,6) | |
HR professional | Time, place to meet + (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8), policy, budget + (1,2,3,4,8) / - (5,6,7), communicative skills - (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8), knowledge about information employers are allowed to ask employees for - (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) | Time, place to meet + (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8), communicative skills - (1,2,3,4,5,6,8), policy, budget + (1,2,3,4,8) / - (5,6,7) |
(Lack of) motivation to cooperate
Lack of experienced dependence on each other for achieving medical recovery (employee) or RTW (HR professional and supervisor)
Year 1: employees focus strongly on medical recovery and health care professionals
Year 1: employees control cooperation
Year 2: focus of cooperation shifts towards return to work
Year 2: HR professionals and supervisors control cooperation
Positive and negative perceptions of each other
Legislation stimulates particularly the supervisor (first year) or the employee (second year)
Year 1: supervisors felt responsible for meeting legal requirements on cooperation
Year 2: legal reduction in pay stimulates employees to cooperate
Distrust
Year 1: Employees may distrust their supervisors
Year 2: HR professionals’ trust in employees may be violated because of sick leave
Norms about the employees’ and HR professionals’ goals
Perhaps motivated, yet not completely able to cooperate
Time- and feeling well enough to meet
Knowledge
Communication skills of supervisors
Policies and budget to support the employees’ work resumption
Legislation supported the HR professionals and supervisors to plan meetings with employees
The internal validity of the RDIC model (research question 3)
Year 1 | Year 2 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Expected | Observed | Expected | Observed | ||
Cooperation | - | - | + - | + - | |
Motivation | Employee | + - / - | - | + / + - | + |
HR professional | + /+ - | + | + - | + - | |
Ability | Employee | - | + - | - | + - |
HR professional | + | + - | - | + - |