Returning to Work After Sick Leave – The Role of Work Demands and Resources, Self-Efficacy, and Social Support

Abstract

Returning to work after sick leave is a process that begins with the initial steps of functional recovery and results in full vocational capacity. Different personal and situational factors could influence an employee's well-being after returning. The following research was conducted in order to examine how occupational demands and resources, self-efficacy, and social engagement contribute to the return-to-work process. A total of 256 employees took part in the study, who were later divided into two groups: short-(less than 30 days), and long-term (more than 30 days) sick leave. We measured their self-efficacy at the workplace, recent job demands and resources, social engagement, and work satisfaction after returning to work after sick leave. The results showed that personal (gender, age, and self-efficacy), social (social engagement), and occupational (job demands and resources) factors are associated with the duration of sick leave. Participants who were on shorter sick leaves reported being more satisfied with their work after returning than those returning from long-term sick leave. The research presents important insights that could help employers better understand the needs of employees who are returning to work after sick leave.

Time to Return to Work After an Occupational Injury and Its Prognostic factors Among Employees of Large-Scale Metal Manufacturing Facilities in Ethiopia: A Retrospective Cohort

“…30 Likewise, after an injury, financial constraints can affect an employee's decision-making balance, contributing to the decision to return to work too soon. 31 Having dependents to support was associated with RTW in the present study. While the clinical significance of having dependents to support appears to be evident in the current study, more research is needed to determine whether returnees resume work because they have regained full vocational capacity or because they are afraid of losing their jobs.…”

Calidad de vida en el trabajo en empleados reincorporados: Una mirada desde los compañeros de trabajo

“…Uno, como resultado final de un proceso completo en cual el trabajador logra regresar a su trabajo asumiendo roles productivos y el otro, como un proceso donde aún se está en recuperación de la salud y que puede ser continuado en una orientación vocacional debido a la imposibilidad de retomar el cargo que el trabajador ocupaba antes de presentar la incapacidad. 5 La ausencia de salud y bienestar afectan el sentido de la autoeficacia en el trabajador y por tanto, afecta su proceso de retorno al trabajo, su percepción de la calidad de vida en el trabajo. 6 En algunas situaciones, como consecuencia de la enfermedad, continúan con manifestaciones de dolor que afectan la participación social y laboral.…”

Why Making Promotion after a Burnout is Like Boiling the Ocean

“…Consequently, rational employers could then withhold their invisible workers from a promotion to further hide their capacities, retaining in-house talent at a relatively low cost. In line with this hypothesis, many recovering burnout patients are 'invisible workers' because the external hiring penalties former burnout patients face (Sterkens et al, 2020) and their often reduced sense of self-efficacy (Boštjančič & Galič, 2020) could limit their connection 1 This stigmatisation and the corresponding distaste could then be further amplified because the promoted employee takes on a hierarchically superior and more visible role in the organisation and, thus, more readily activates prejudices (Pichler & Holmes, 2017). 2 Furthermore, when individuals responsible for a promotion decision had limited (or no) contact with the promotion candidate (e.g., when they did not manage her or him directly), the information frictions increase compared to a situation in which the decision-makers had more professional contact with candidates.…”