Research for a sustainable working life long term

According to Therese Hellman, adjunct senior lecturer, and part of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine research group at the Department of Medical Sciences, the most important thing an employer should think about, for preventing sickness absences and making adjustments at the individual and group levels, is systematic work environment management.

She is working on a project that is focusing on methods for conducting Work Capability Assessments (WCA) and the employer’s involvement in the return to work.

This research group has developed and evaluated methods that can be used to improve employee engagement in systematic work environment management.

“Employees’ engagement has proven to be an important factor when working to improve conditions in the work environment and reduce the risk of occupational health problems. But it is also important for the employer to be involved in the process towards returning to work while the employee is on sick leave. However, the employer needs a certain amount of knowledge to take an active role, and that knowledge doesn’t always exist,” says Therese Hellman.

Further research needed

If necessary, employers can use the occupational health service to support and carry out WCAs. Therese Hellman argues that there is currently a lack of knowledge about how a WCA can be structured to be effective while also strengthening the employee’s work capability and initiating relevant modifications of work tasks.

“But the goal of our current research project is to acquire in-depth knowledge of how a WCA can best promote the employee’s work capability, prevent lengthy periods of sick leave, and identify relevant modifications of work tasks,” says Therese Hellman.

The research group is also investigating methods to promote inclusion in working life of people with complex needs, as well as the role of working conditions and health checks in occupational health.

In order to prevent sickness absences, together with the employee the employer should think about what demands in the work the employee is currently having difficulty living up to, and check whether it is possible to make a temporary modification to their work tasks. Getting support from the occupational health service in doing this is also a good idea.

“What we have seen earlier is that it’s important to have a transparent process so that both employees and managers agree on what the purpose of the WCA is when it comes to promoting engagement and clarity for all parties,” according to Therese Hellman.

Being on the same page and good planning are crucial

Previous studies have shown that the dialogue tool Demand and Ability Protocol (DAP) works well when it comes time for a return to work. Results from studies from specialist rehabilitation for people living with chronic pain, and from primary care, show that a dialogue based on DAP gives the employer excellent tools for making relevant modifications to work tasks.

“DAP is also used in occupational health assessments, but thus far this has been studied to a lesser extent, and our research group will be focusing on this in coming years However, we know that it’s important that the employer and employee reach a consensus about the employee’s work capability in order to move forward with good planning. The structured dialogue on the balance between the demands of the work and the employee’s functional capability that DAP provides contributes greatly to this,” says Therese Hellman.

Johan Ahlenius