Supervisors managing sickness absence and supporting return to work of employees with burnout: A membership categorization analysis

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographics of the participants and data collection methods

	Occupational physicians (n = 7)	RTW coordinators (n = 15)
Sex
Female (n)	6	14
Male (n)	1	1
Age
Range, years	46–59	35–62
Work experience
Range, years	8–29	3–33
Work organization
Employer-operated occupational health center (n)	6	–
Municipal health center (n)	1	–
University (n)	–	7
Hospital (n)	–	8
Interview type
Dyadic (n)*	3	3
Individual (n)	1	9
Essay assignment (n)	2	4

RTW: return-to-work

*two participants in each interview

Table 2. Supervisors’ category-bound activities during the absence management and return-to-work (RTW) process of employees with burnout, mentioned by the occupational physicians and/or the RTW coordinators.

Phases of the RTW process	Supervisors’ category-bound activities	Occupational physicians (n = 7)	RTW coordinators (n = 15)
Before the prolonged sickness absence	Control employees’ work capacity through development discussions	–	x
	Monitor sickness absence	x	x
	Observe work performance	x	x
	Broach a concern of an employee’s ability to work	x	x
	Provide support to manage stressors at work	x	x
	Guide the employee to seek occupational health services for work ability assessment	x	x
	Initiate a joint meeting on the employee’s work ability and work modifications	x	x
During the sickness absence	Delegate the work/arrange a substitute	–	x
	Maintain contact with the employee	x	x
	Provide emotional support	x	x
	Plan RTW	x	x
At work resumption	Inform co-workers on RTW	x	x
	Implement work modifications	x	x
	Re-orientate the employee	–	x
	Monitor coping at work	x	x
	Remind the employee of deadlines	–	x
After recovery from burnout	Focus on preventing the recurrence of burnout	x	x

x = mentioned; — = not mentioned

Table 3. Supervisors’ category-bound activities for which they need support and guidance during the absence management and return-to-work (RTW) process of employees with burnout, mentioned by the occupational physicians and/or the RTW coordinators

Phases of the RTW process	Supervisors’ category-bound activities for which they need support and guidance	Occupational physicians (n = 7)	RTW coordinators (n = 15)
Before the prolonged sickness absence	Conduct development discussions	–	x
	Monitor and react to the increased sickness absence	x	x
	Recognize burnout	x	x
	Broach a concern of an employee’s ability to work without hesitation	x	x
	Provide the employee support to manage stressors at work without causing additional role conflict	–	x
During the sickness absence	Communicate with the employee on sick leave	x	x
	Communicate with the employee on burnout and stressors at work to plan RTW	x	x
	Manage administrative tasks in RTW	–	x
At work resumption	Inform co-workers on RTW without fear of breaking privacy rules	x	x
	Welcome the employee	x	x
	Implement work modifications within the economical boundaries	x	x
After recovery from burnout	Resolve conflicts to maintain a good working atmosphere	x	x
	Improve one’s management practices	x	x

x = mentioned; — = not mentioned