| 1. |
- Bernhard, Dörte, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Disability management experts and the impact of jurisdiction on practice: an Ontario example
- 2010
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Ingår i: International Journal of Social Security and Workers Compensation. - 1836-9022. ; 2:1, s. 1-16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction The role, tasks and competencies of disability management professionals (DMPs) have increasingly become a focus of research in the last decade. However, the legal context in which DMPs work, how this affects their daily practice, and how this impacts their training curricula, has been neglected. This omission is problematic given that international training programs of disability management (DM) operate across different jurisdictions. Our study describes DMPs' practice in Ontario, Canada and considers jurisdiction-specific elements of disability management practice. Methods The study is based on seven interviews and a focus group with five participants, who are either certified disability management professionals or who are involved with DMPs' training, as well as documentary analysis of the legal context of these professionals' practice. Results The study shows how DMPs' practice is affected by the local legal context. The jurisdiction's socio-political framework requires DMPs to distinguish between occupational and non-occupational cases, a distinction which affects their practice and their recommendations to employers. This is in contrast to DM training which emphasises equal treatment of all people with disabilities. Conclusions The research suggests that disability management practices may differ from one jurisdiction to the next and therefore emphasises the need to consider socio-political aspects in DMPs' practice as well as in the development of training programmes and cross-jurisdictional research.
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| 2. |
- Seing, Ida, 1982-
(författare)
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Activating the Sick-Listed : Policy and Practice of Return to Work in Swedish Sickness Insurance and Working Life
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A critical task of social policy in most Western welfare states during recent decades has consisted of reducing the economic burden on society due to sick leave, by stimulating participation in the labour market. Many jurisdictions have introduced activation policies, based on the premise that work “per se” has a therapeutic effect on sick-listed workers. People are expected to be “active”, rather than “passive”, recipients of financial benefits. However, there is limited knowledge of how activation policies focusing on return to work (RTW) are carried out in local practice. Against this background, the overall aim of this thesis is to study the local practice of activation policies by analysing how they are received, implemented and experienced by welfare state organizations, employers and sick-listed workers. The analysis has been influenced by theories concerning organization fields, individualization, street-level bureaucracy and organizational governance.In this thesis, the overall aim is investigated in four interrelated papers. In Paper I, the aim is to analyse the perspectives of stakeholders (i.e. welfare state actors and employers) on work ability by studying multistakeholder meetings. Paper II sheds light on activation policy, focusing on early RTW in the context of modern working conditions; the aim is to analyse RTW practice in local workplace contexts, in relation to Swedish early-RTW policy. The third paper focuses on employers, with the aim of analysing their role and activities regarding RTW, in local workplace practice. In Paper IV, the aim is to analyse sick-listed workers’ experiences of the sickness insurance system in their contact with the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SSIA) and their front-line staff.The empirical material comprises two empirical studies: 1) audio-recorded multi-stakeholder meetings from regular practice (n=9) and 2) semi-structured interviews with sick-listed workers and their supervisors in 18 workplaces (n=36). The analyses of the material have been performed in accordance with the principles of qualitative content analysis.Main findings of the papers reflect strong organizational boundaries in the implementation process of activation policies. Welfare state actors and employers appear to be governed by their own organizational logics and interests, so the actors involved fail to take a holistic view of sick-listed workers and do not share a common social responsibility for individuals’ RTW. This thesis illustrates how current activation policies focusing on RTW are based on a rather idealized image of the standard workplace. There is an explicit or implicit assumption that employers and work organizations are able to welcome sick-listed workers back to work in a healthy way. However, the intensity of modern working life leaves limited room for accommodating people with reduced work ability, who are not considered to have a business value to the workplace. In several cases, findings indicate that the SSIA’s focus on activation and early RTW clashes with the financially oriented perspective of employers. Economic considerations regarding their business take precedence over legal and ethical considerations, and employers have difficulty taking social responsibility for RTW. Sick-listed workers are encouraged to adjust to new workplace settings and environments to meet the demands of the workplace, and, if RTW is not possible, to the demands of the labour market. The findings also show that sick-listed workers experience that contacts with the SSIA are ‘standardized’; i.e., they perceive that the officials are loyal to demands in their organizations rather than being involved actors who support workers’ individual needs. Sick-listed workers clearly experience that measures in Swedish activation policies have a strong focus on demanding aspects (financial work incentives) and less on enabling aspects (investments in skills).Overall, this thesis illustrates an emerging social climate where sick-listed workers are positioned as active agents who must take responsibility for their sick leave and their RTW process. In a Swedish context, RTW is a matter of activating the sick-listed rather than activating the workplace.
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| 3. |
- Seing, Ida, et al.
(författare)
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Activation Policies and Sick-Listed Workers’ Experiences and Trust in the Sickness Insurance System in Local Practice
- 2014
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In recent welfare and labour market reforms in Europe and North America, there is a general trend towards activation, in that people (e.g. those who are sick-listed, unemployed and recipients of social welfare) are expected to be “active”, rather than “passive”, recipients of financial benefits. Meanwhile, street-level bureaucracy in many welfare state organizations has been fundamentally reformed in recent years with the implementation of New Public Management Principles which have come to influence the day-to-day work of front-line staff. The aim of this paper is to analyse sick-listed workers’ experiences of the sickness insurance system in their contact with the SSIA and their front-line staff. The data consists of semistructured interviews with 18 sick-listed workers in Sweden. The material was analysed using qualitative content analysis. The findings illustrate that sick-listed workers experienced contacts with the Social Insurance Agency (SSIA) as “standardized”; that is, they perceived that the officials were loyal to demands in their organizations rather than involved actors that supported workers’ individual needs. The SSIA was described as having a mainly administrative and controlling function during their sick leave, resulting in a distant relationship. It was also clear that sick-listed individuals experienced the activation policy as demanding, and their sick leave was characterized by insecurity and uncertainty. Overall, this paper suggests that activation policies with regulations emphasizing time limits, and enforcement of standardized work processes at the SSIA, challenge sick-listed workers’ trust in the sickness insurance system.
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| 4. |
- Ståhl, Christian, et al.
(författare)
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Ethical Perspectives in Work Disability Prevention and Return to Work : Toward a Common Vocabulary for Analyzing Stakeholders’ Actions and Interactions
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Business Ethics. - : Springer Netherlands. - 0167-4544 .- 1573-0697. ; 120:2, s. 237-250
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Many studies have emphasized the importance of medical, insurance, and workplace systems treating individuals fairly in work disability prevention (WDP) and return-to-work (RTW). However, ethical theories and perspectives from these different systems are rarely discussed in relation to each other, even though in practice these systems constantly interact. This paper explores ethical theories and perspectives that may apply to the WDP–RTW field, and discusses these in relation to perspectives attributed to dominant stakeholders in this field, and to potential differences in different jurisdictional contexts. Literature was sought primarily in biomedical ethics, business ethics, and public administration ethics. In biomedical ethics, four ethical principles are dominant: autonomy, beneficence, nonmalevolence, and justice. Business ethics involve theories on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), social contracts, and organizational justice. Public administration ethics focus on constitutional theory, citizenship, social equity, virtue, and public interest. Several concepts were identified as relevant for ethical analyses in the WDP–RTW field, including justice; individual autonomy; nonmalevolence; economic and social responsibility; and social contracts. These concepts provide a vocabulary that may be used to analyze stakeholders’ actions and interactions in RTW processes. It was also noted how the power balance between stakeholders will influence which ethical perspectives will influence RTW. Jurisdictional differences that influence RTW processes with regard to stakeholder responsibilities were identified, as well as varying beliefs as to who is the client in different compensation systems. A social contractual approach may inform an analysis of cultural and legal differences.
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| 5. |
- Tjulin, Åsa, 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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Exploring the meaning of early contact in return-to-work from workplace actors' perspective
- 2011
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Ingår i: Disability and Rehabilitation. - : Informa. - 0963-8288 .- 1464-5165. ; 33:2, s. 137-145
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose. The objective of this article was to explore the meaning of early contact in return-to-work, and how social relational actions and conditions can facilitate or impede early contact among actors in the workplace. Method. An exploratory qualitative method was used, consisting of individual open-ended interviews with 33 workplace actors at seven worksites across three public employers in Sweden. The workplace actors represented in these interviews included re-entering workers, supervisors, co-workers and human resources managers. Organisational policies on return-to-work were collected from the three employers. Results. The analysis indicated that early contact is a complex return-to-work measure with shifting incentives among workplace actors for making contact. For instance, the findings indicated obligation and responsibilities as incentives, incentives through social relations, and the need to acknowledge and balance the individual needs in relation to early contact. Conclusion. The findings strengthen the importance of early contact as a concept with a social relational context that comprises more than just an activity carried out (or not) by the employer, and suggest that early contact with a sick-listed worker is not always the best approach for a return-to-work situation. This study provides a starting point for a more articulated conceptualisation of early contact.
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| 6. |
- Tjulin, Åsa, 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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Exploring Workplace Actors Experiences of the Social Organization of Return-to-Work.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of occupational rehabilitation. - : SpringerLink. - 1053-0487 .- 1573-3688. ; 20:3, s. 311-321
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: There is a limited body of research on how the actual social exchange among workplace actors influences the practice of return-to-work. The objective of this study was to explore how workplace actors experience social relations at the workplace and how organizational dynamics in workplace-based return-to-work extends before and beyond the initial return of the sick listed worker to the workplace. Method An exploratory qualitative method approach was used, consisting of individual open-ended interviews with 33 workplace actors at seven worksites that had re-entering workers. The workplace actors represented in these interviews include: re-entering workers, supervisors, co-workers, and human resource managers. Results The analysis identified three distinct phases in the return to work process: while the worker is off work, when the worker returns back to work, and once back at work during the phase of sustainability of work ability. The two prominent themes that emerged across these phases include the theme of invisibility in relation to return-to-work effort and uncertainty, particularly, about how and when to enact return-to-work. Conclusion The findings strengthen the notion that workplace-based return-to-work interventions need to take social relations amongst workplace actors into account. They also highlight the importance and relevance of the varied roles of different workplace actors during two relatively unseen or grey areas, of return-to-work: the pre-return and the post-return sustainability phase. Attention to the invisibility of return-to-work efforts of some actors and uncertainty about how and when to enact return-to-work between workplace actors can promote successful and sustainable work ability for the re-entering worker.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Tjulin, Åsa, 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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The social interaction of return-to-work explored from co-workers experinces.
- 2011
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Ingår i: Disability and Rehabilitation. - : Informa Healthcare. - 0963-8288 .- 1464-5165. ; 33:21-22, s. 1979-1989
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose The objective was to explore the role and contribution of co-workers in the return-to-work process. The social interaction of co-workers and supervisors are analysed within the framework of the Swedish national and local employer organisational return-to-work policies. Methods An exploratory qualitative method was used, consisting of open-ended interviews with 33 workplace actors across seven work units. Organisational return-towork policies were collected from the three public sector employers. Results Three key themes about the return-to-work process emerged during analysis: (1) policies and organizational structure for return to work do not take co-workers into account; (2) return-to-work social demands and expectations interact with broader social interaction and attitudes in the workgroup; (3) supervisory management of return to workis linked to workgroup communication and management. Conclusion An examination of the role of co-workers suggests that the social location matters, and highlights how different return-to-work actors interpret the return-to-work situation differently. Employers and workplaces should consider re-integration of sicklisted workers in the light of workgroup social relations and acknowledge social interaction and the heterogeneous experiences of returning workers, supervisors and coworkers.
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