Supporting the Return to Work After Cancer in Romania: Exploring Employers' Perspectives

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Oncology
• Human Resources Management

Background:

• Employers are crucial for employees with cancer's return to work.
• Limited understanding exists regarding employer experiences in the absence of supportive policies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To understand employer experiences managing employees with cancer.
• To explore employer reflections on their role in the return-to-work process.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study involving interviews with 20 employers.
• Inductive thematic analysis using NVivo 11 software.

Main Results:

• Employers navigate employees with cancer through three phases: diagnosis disclosure/absence, return to work, and post-return.
• In the absence of formal policies, employers rely on ad-hoc decisions and commonsense, often innovating solutions.
• Workplace accommodations are typically reactive, provided only upon employee request after returning.

Conclusions:

• Employers require accessible information and guidelines to effectively support employees with cancer.
• Enhanced communication and collaboration with healthcare professionals are vital for addressing long-term cancer survivorship needs.
• A comprehensive return-to-work policy is essential to standardize support and improve diagnosis disclosure practices in Romanian organizations.