oa Het heft in handen nemen

Return to work of long-term absent employees: the view of Dutch employers on the amount own initiative of these employees

T. van Vuuren & J.F. Ybema, Gedrag & Organisatie, volume 22, November 2009, nr. 4, pp. 371-391.

Employees who are absent for a prolonged period of time are expected to actively contribute to their own return to work. The present study examines how employers rate the employees' own initiative for return to work following long-term sickness absence and how this initiative affects successful return to work. In this study, a sample of 1294 employers in the Netherlands were interviewed (69% response), 608 of whom had recent experience with one or more long-term absent employees. These employers were asked about their experiences and efforts to support the return to work of an employee who had been absent for an extended period of at least thirteen weeks during the past two years. The results of this survey showed that long-term sick employees who took initiatives themselves, were more likely to return to work successfully. The results further indicate that the degree to which the employee has taken personal initiatives tends to depend not only on individual characteristics, such as occupational level and possible elements of dysfunctioning before the sickness absence, but also on the activities undertaken by the employer to support the employee's return to work within the company. The conclusion is that an active contribution of both the absent employee and the employer enhances the likelihood of successful return to work.