Common mental health problems are a major contributor to long-term sickness absence from work and the evidence is weak for the effectiveness of many return-to-work interventions.
An interview-based study explored why this might be the case, and concluded that interventions need to be individual to be effective.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
It also suggested that it is difficult for employees with mental health problems to establish a high-quality relationship with return-to-work professionals, as the latter are often both the facilitators and controllers of the process.
Andersen MF et al (2014). “How do workers with common mental disorders experience a multidisciplinary return-to-work intervention? A qualitative study”. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, first published online 15 February.
