Being a co-worker or a manager of a colleague returning to work after stroke: A challenge facilitated by cooperation and flexibility

Abstract

Background: The process of return to work is complex. Knowledge is scarce regarding the experiences from co-workers and employers about this process. Aim: To explore and describe how co-workers and managers experience the return to work process involving a colleague with stroke who is participating in a person-centred rehabilitation programme focusing on return to work including a work trial. Material and methods: Seven co-workers and four managers were interviewed during the work trial of a colleague with stroke. Results: Being a co-worker or manager was related to various challenging experiences; the emotional challenge of being a supportive co-worker or manager, the challenging experience of having too much responsibility, and the challenge of being supportive despite a lack of knowledge. Conclusions: The participants placed value on having support from the coordinator for handling different challenges, but despite this they experienced difficulties in being a valuable support. The limited time of work trial and occasional lack of support from the employer were aggravating aspects. Significance: This study highlights the importance of establishing a commitment between the employer and all involved actors in the initial phase in order to create the best possibilities for a fruitful return to work process, including work trial.

The ReWork-Stroke rehabilitation programme described by use of the TIDieR checklist

“…In the following section, the ReWork-Stroke programme is explored and described by the TIDieR checklist [21] in order to give an in-depth description of the programme that is evaluated in both qualitatively and quantitatively in published [17,18] and forthcoming publications. Physical impairment and cognitive impairment such as lack of insight, has been described as risk factors for poor work re-entry after stroke [14,24].…”

“…This article presents an intervention developed 2013 and 2014, the ReWork-Stroke programme, which is coordinated by an OT and used in a project consisting of several studies evaluating the process and effect of the programme. The project contains two studies exploring the experiences of being involved in the programme [17,18] and two studies in progress focussing on the provision of the programme and the changes made in work potential and work performance. This study and the project were approved by the Regional Ethics Committee in Stockholm, Sweden (Reg.…”

“…However, as a first step in the evaluation of the programme it has been tested in praxis on people with stroke who were employed at time for stroke [16]. Experiences of participation in the programme have been explored [17,18] and documentation of the delivered components and a process evaluation of implementing the ReWork-Stroke programme will be presented elsewhere.…”

Challenging conceptualisations of work: Revisiting contemporary experiences of return to work and unemployment

“…Conceptualisations of return-to-work and unemployment have received less attention in occupational science and occupational therapy literature than the topic of work. Literature concerning return-to-work has primarily focused on a poor fit between employee abilities and the demands of work (Jakobsen, 2004(Jakobsen, , 2009, difficulties adapting to a (new) worker role (Soeker, 2011), expectations and conditions for return to work (Bergmark et al, 2011;Holmlund, Guidetti et al, 2018;Holmlund, Hultling, & Asaba, 2018), struggles adapting to (new) routines and travel to maintain employment (Crooks et al, 2009;Soeker, 2011), and intervention studies (Öst-Nilsson et al, 2017(Öst-Nilsson et al, , 2019. Studies concerned with unemployment have largely focused on its negative consequences for people's sense of identity, well-being, and belonging (Crooks et al, 2009;Jakobsen, 2004;Stone, 2003) and the ways in which it presents a significant disruption to opportunities for achieving health through occupation (Wright Vos et al, 2019).…”

Return-to-work: Exploring professionals’ experiences of support for persons with spinal cord injury

“…Based on viewing work as one of the several occupations in a repertoire of everyday situations [54,55], the occupational therapist has an important role in the team responsible for RTW rehabilitation. The occupational therapist's role and competencies in carrying out assessments complementary to the medical assessment, and to support the person in finding strategies for a new everyday life is previously highlighted [33,54,56]. In addition, the occupational therapist's training in establishing partnership with the person is relevant for a shared responsibility and trust in the rehabilitation process [57,58], and for goalsetting and planning [57].…”