Article,
Encounters between workers sick-listed with common mental disorders and return-to-work stakeholders. Does workers' gender matter?
Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 41 (2): 191-197 (March 2013)
DOI: 10.1177/1403494812470750
Abstract
The aims of this paper were to examine how disabled workers assess encounters with return-to-work (RTW) stakeholders during sickness absence due to common mental disorders (CMD) and to investigate gender differences in these assessments.Data on contact with and assessment of encounters with RTW-stakeholders were obtained from a questionnaire investigation (N = 226). The participants were recruited from employees applying for sickness benefits due to CMD from the Municipality of Copenhagen.High support was most often reported from the personal and health system, especially from the psychologists (83%), while encounters with social insurance officers were least often reported to be highly supportive (16%). Colleagues were more often reported to be highly supportive (49%) than supervisors (30%). Gender differences were found both in contact with and assessments of encounters. Women were less likely to participate in a sickness absence interview with the employer, to receive care from a psychiatrist, and also assessed the encounter with the supervisor as less supportive and respectful. Gender differences remained statistically significant after controlling for several covariates, including depressive symptoms.The study findings strongly indicate that further attention needs to be directed towards improving the workers' relationship with supervisors and social insurance officers. Findings apply in particular to women.
