Weighing Work Accommodations, Work Withdrawal, and Return to Work

Background and objectives Return to work (RTW) or work resumption after a work absence due to psychosocial or medical reasons benefits the well-being of a person, including transgender people, and is nowadays a major research domain. The objective is to examine, through an occupational lens, the literature reporting objective RTW outcomes and experiences in transgender people to (a) synthesize what is known about return to work (full-time, part-time, or self-employed) and (b) describe which gaps persist. Methods & sample Several databases and the gray literature were explored systematically. Studies between November 1, 2006 and March 1, 2021 revealing RTW quantitative and qualitative data of adult transgender people were eligible. This review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42019128395) on April 30, 2019. Results Among the 14,592 articles initially identified, 97 fulfilled the inclusion criteria which resulted in 20 being analyzed. Objective RTW outcomes, such as number of RTW attempts, time to RTW or number of sick days, were lacking; thus, other relevant work outcomes were reported. Compared to the general population, lower employment rates and more economic distress were observed, with trans women in particular saying that their work situation had deteriorated. Research on positive RTW experiences was highlighted by the importance of disclosure, the support from especially managers and coworkers who acted as mediators, personal coping, and a transition plan along with work accommodations. Negative work experiences, such as demotion, lay-offs, and discrimination were often prominent together with a lack of knowledge of trans issues among all stakeholders, including occupational health professionals. Conclusion & recommendations Few studies have explored employment characteristics and experiences of transgender people (TP). RTW is a dynamic process along with transition in itself, which should be tailored through supportive policies, education, a transition plan and work accommodations with the help of external experts. Future studies should include more occupational information and report RTW outcomes to enhance our knowledge about the guidance of TP and to make way for interventional studies.

Download Full-text

The Role of the Employer in Supporting Work Participation of Workers with Disabilities: A Systematic Literature Review Using an Interdisciplinary Approach

Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation ◽

10.1007/s10926-021-09978-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

J. Jansen ◽

R. van Ooijen ◽

P. W. C. Koning ◽

C. R. L. Boot ◽

S. Brouwer

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Organizational Culture ◽

Labor Market ◽

Return To Work ◽

Interdisciplinary Approach ◽

Work Participation ◽

Poor Health ◽

Market Exit ◽

Continued Employment ◽

Work Accommodations

AbstractPurpose There is growing awareness that the employer plays an important role in preventing early labor market exit of workers with poor health. This systematic review aims to explore the employer characteristics associated with work participation of workers with disabilities. An interdisciplinary approach was used to capture relevant characteristics at all organizational levels. Methods To identify relevant longitudinal observational studies, a systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO and EconLit. Three key concepts were central to the search: (a) employer characteristics, (b) work participation, including continued employment, return to work and long-term work disability, and (c) chronic diseases. Results The search strategy resulted in 4456 articles. In total 50 articles met the inclusion criteria. We found 14 determinants clustered in four domains: work accommodations, social support, organizational culture and company characteristics. On supervisor level, strong evidence was found for an association between work accommodations and continued employment and return to work. Moderate evidence was found for an association between social support and return to work. On higher organizational level, weak evidence was found for an association between organizational culture and return to work. Inconsistent evidence was found for an association between company characteristics and the three work outcomes. Conclusions Our review indicates the importance of different employer efforts for work participation of workers with disabilities. Workplace programs aimed at facilitating work accommodations and supervisor support can contribute to the prevention of early labor market exit of workers with poor health. Further research is needed on the influence of organizational culture and company characteristics on work participation.

Download Full-text

Book Review: AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Work Ability and Return to Work, Second Edition

Guides Newsletter ◽

10.1001/amaguidesnewsletters.2011.julaug02 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 12-12

Author(s):

James Talmage ◽

J. Mark Melhorn ◽

Mark H. Hyman

Keyword(s):

Return To Work ◽

Work Ability

Download Full-text

Zusammenhänge zwischen Resilienz und Return to Work im Kontext der psychosomatischen Rehabilitation

Zeitschrift für Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie ◽

10.1026/1616-3443/a000517 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 29-39 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Scott Stock Gissendanner ◽

Gerhard Schmid-Ott ◽

Wolfgang Schulz

Keyword(s):

Return To Work ◽

Psychologische Interventionen

Zusammenfassung. Theoretischer Hintergrund: Die Studie betrachtet die Bedeutung der Resilienz für psychologische Interventionen in der stationären psychosomatischen Rehabilitation. Methode: An einer Stichprobe von 401 Patientinnen und Patienten werden Ausprägung, Veränderbarkeit und Vorhersagekraft der Resilienz am Anfang, am Ende und 12 Monate nach der Rehabilitation untersucht. Ergebnisse: Die Patientinnen und Patienten verfügen zu Rehabilitationsbeginn im Vergleich zu repräsentativen Erhebungen über ein signifikant geringeres Ausmaß an Resilienz ( p < .001, d = 0.86). Über die drei Messzeitpunkte hat sich die Resilienz der Patientinnen und Patienten signifikant verändert ( p < .001, part. Eta2 = 0.08). Return to Work lässt sich durch die Resilienz zu Rehabilitationsbeginn und zu Rehabilitationsende signifikant vorhersagen (jeweils p < .001, d = 0.39 bzw. d = 0.53), allerdings kommen anderen Merkmalen, v. a. der Selbstregulationsfähigkeit und der subjektiven Prognose der Erwerbstätigkeit, eine größere Bedeutung zu. Schlussfolgerung: Resilienz ist ein veränderliches Merkmal, das mit anderen veränderbaren psychologischen Merkmalen in Zusammenhang steht. Bei psychologischen Interventionen in der Rehabilitation zur Stärkung der Erwerbsfähigkeit sollte die Selbstregulationsfähigkeit unter Berücksichtigung von Strategien zur Bewältigung beruflicher Belastungen betont werden.

Download Full-text