Part-Time Sick Leave as a Treatment Method for Individuals with Musculoskeletal Disorders

Abstract

Considering that part-time sick leave may also be less expensive than assigning individuals to full-time sick leave, this would imply efficiency improvements from assigning individuals, when possible, to part-time sick leave.

Legislative change enabling use of early part-time sick leave enhanced return to work and work participation in Finland

“…Also unemployment was rarer after partcompared to full-time sick leave. The results are in agreement with previous studies on part-time sick leave from Sweden (3,5) and other Nordic countries (1,2). They are also in agreement with positive results from studies on RTW with gradually increasing work hours and tasks in combination with a workplace intervention (14) or after rehabilitation (15,16).…”

“…Some studies suggest that part-time sick leave reduces the duration of sickness absence (SA) or enhances return to work (RTW) (3)(4)(5)(6), while other studies have shown no effects (7) or prolonged sick leaves (8) after the use of part-time sick leave. Prescribing physician or patient selection mechanisms, ie, factors affecting whether or not parttime sick leave is preferable to full-time sick leave, may explain the findings in some observational studies.…”

Sustained Return to Work after Long-term Sick Leave Improves Work Ability and Quality of Life

“…Along these lines, part-time job or occupational activity had already been suggested as a method for helping workers on sick leave to recover their capability at work [13]. Thus, we are hypothesizing here that maintaining full-time occupational activities over time might be even more effective.…”

To RCT or not to RCT: evidence on effectiveness of return-to-work interventions

“…Almost half of all cohort participants (46%) were offered GRTW. A study evaluating the effects of GRTW using an instrumental variable method indicated that it improved the probability of recovery to full work capacity among workers on sickness absence due to musculoskeletal disorders (8). Another study, applying econometric models to analyze combined survey and register data, also showed this beneficial effect for GRTW on return to regular working hours, irrespective of the cause of sickness absence (9).…”