The social interaction of return to work explored from co-workers experiences

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Sociology of Work
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• The return-to-work (RTW) process is crucial for employee well-being and organizational productivity.
• Existing RTW policies often focus on administrative and medical aspects, potentially overlooking social dynamics.
• Understanding the influence of workplace social interactions is vital for effective RTW strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the specific roles and contributions of co-workers in the RTW process.
• To analyze co-worker social interactions within the context of Swedish national and local employer RTW policies.

Main Methods:

• Employed an exploratory qualitative research design.
• Conducted open-ended interviews with 33 participants across seven work units.
• Collected organizational RTW policies from three public sector employers for contextual analysis.

Main Results:

• Identified two primary co-worker approaches: work-task oriented and social-relational.
• Demonstrated that social relations are intertwined with job task allocation and support for returning workers.
• Found that co-worker interactions can critically facilitate or hinder the RTW process.

Conclusions:

• RTW models and policies should explicitly incorporate the significance of social relations among co-workers.
• Effective RTW interventions require attention to work arrangements, social communication, and co-worker roles.
• Failure to consider social dynamics may lead to suboptimal RTW outcomes and employee reintegration.