Developing a Work Accommodation Operating Model for Workplaces and Work Ability Support Services.

Purpose: Workplace accommodation can help employees with disabilities remain employed or access employment rather than leave the labor force. However, the workplace accommodation process is still poorly understood and documented.

Aim: The aim of this study was to develop a national operating model to make workplace accommodation interactive and procedural for workplaces and work ability support services and lower the threshold to making accommodations.

How does lowering psychosocial risks influence sickness absence? A prospective cohort study analyzed as a quasi-experiment.

Background: We examined how reducing work-related psychosocial stressors affected long-term sickness absence of younger and older employees.

Methods: We used data from 43 843 public sector employees in Finland who participated in surveys in 2018 and 2020. We assessed psychosocial factors, such as job demands, job control, work effort, job rewards and worktime control.

Income gradient in psychotherapy use and psychotropic drug purchases: A longitudinal register study in Finnish employed population.

Objective: We examined the income gradient changes in the use of long-term rehabilitative psychotherapy and psychotropic drug purchases in men and women during a 9-year follow-up.

Methods: We used register data from a random sample of the working-age population (18-64 years) with information on annual income, psychotherapy use and psychotropic drug purchases from 2011 to 2019 (N = 736 613, 49.7% women).

The Effect of Healthy Lifestyle Changes on Work Ability and Mental Health Symptoms: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: The effects of lifestyle interventions on the prevention of a decline in work ability and mental health are not well known. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to examine the effects of healthy lifestyle changes on work ability, sleep, and mental health.

Methods: Workers aged 18-65 years, who were free from cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and malignant diseases, and did not use medication for obesity or lipids were included (N = 319).

Alternative duty work as workplace-initiated procedure to reduce sickness absence.

Purpose: Alternative duty work is a procedure that enables an employee with a short-term disability to perform modified duties as an alternative to sickness absence. We examined whether the implementation of an alternative duty policy was associated with reduced sickness absence in the Finnish public sector.

Methods: Two city administrations (A and D) that implemented an alternative duty work policy to their employees (n = 5341 and n = 7538) served as our intervention cities, and two city administrations (B and C) that did not implement the policy represented the reference cities (n = 6976 and n = 6720).

'Return to Work' Coordinator Model and Work Participation of Employees: A Natural Intervention Study in Finland.

Purpose Employers increasingly use 'return to work' (RTW) coordinators to support work ability and extend working careers, particularly among employees with reduced work ability. We examined whether applying this model was associated with changes in employee sickness absence and disability retirements. Methods We used data from the Finnish Public Sector study from 2009 until 2015.

Predictors of employment in young adults with psychiatric work disability.

Aim: Mental disorders are the leading cause of work disability among young adults in the industrialized world. Factors predicting employment after long-term psychiatric work disability are largely unknown.

Methods: We linked personal and clinical information from the benefit applications and medical certificates of 1163 young adults (18-34 years) with a new-onset fixed-term psychiatric disability pension in 2008 with employment records between 2005 and 2013.

Psychotherapeutic and vocational interventions among young adults with work disability due to mental disorders in Finland.

Unlabelled: Backround: Little is known about treatment and rehabilitation received and planned among young adults with work disability due to a mental disorder.

Aims: To examine the implemented psychotherapeutic and vocational interventions and treatment plans among young adults with work disability due to a mental disorder.

Material And Methods: Data were collected from medical records of young Finnish adults aged 18-34 with a long-term work disability history due to a mental disorder (N = 1163).

Do predictors of return to work and recurrence of work disability due to mental disorders vary by age? A cohort study.

Background: The extent to which predictors of return to work (RTW) and recurrence of work disability episodes vary by age group is not well understood.

Methods: We examined the associations of sociodemographic and clinical factors with RTW and recurrence after mental-disorder-related work disability episodes in a cohort of 10,496 Finnish public sector employees. Disability records were derived from national disability registers between 2005 and 2011.

Predictors of Depression and Musculoskeletal Disorder Related Work Disability Among Young, Middle-Aged, and Aging Employees.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the level and predictors of work disability in different age groups.

Methods: We followed young (18 to 34 years), middle-aged (35 to 50 years), and aging (>50 years) employees (n = 70,417) for 7 years (2005 to 2011) for all-cause and cause-specific work disability (sickness absence and disability pension). Using negative binomial regression, we obtained both relative risk estimates and absolute rates, that is, days of work disability per person-year.

Psychotherapeutic and work-oriented interventions: employment outcomes among young adults with work disability due to a mental disorder.

Background: We examined the extent to which psychotherapeutic and work-oriented interventions were included in a medical treatment and rehabilitation plan and whether they predicted future employment among young adults with work disability due to a mental disorder.

Methods: Data were obtained from the treatment and rehabilitation plans of 1163 young adults aged 18‒34 years, who in 2008 were granted fixed-term work disability compensation due to a mental disorder and were followed for 5 years.

Results: Forty-six percent had no proposal for psychotherapy or a work-oriented intervention in their treatment and rehabilitation plan, 22 % had a plan for only a psychotherapeutic intervention, 23 % had a plan for only a work-oriented intervention, and 10 % had both types of interventions planned.

Attachment to employment and education before work disability pension due to a mental disorder among young adults.

Backround: We examined attachment to employment and education among young adults before they were granted a fixed-term work disability pension due to psychiatric diagnosis, and the factors associated with this attachment.

Methods: The data comprised all persons aged 18-34 who received a new-onset fixed-term disability pension compensation due to a mental disorder in Finland in 2008 (N = 1163). The data were derived from pension applications and the enclosed medical records, and were linked to employment records from a period of three years before the disability pension.

Clustering of adversity in young adults on disability pension due to mental disorders: a latent class analysis.

Purpose: Mental disorders are the leading cause of work disability among young adults. This study examined whether distinct classes could be identified among young adults on the basis of medical history before receiving a disability pension due to a mental disorder.

Methods: Medical history was obtained from pension applications and attached medical certificates for 1163 individuals aged 18-34 years who, in 2008, received a disability pension due to a mental disorder.

Importance of change appraisal for employee well-being during organizational restructuring: findings from the Finnish paper industry's extensive transition.

The global recession has forced the Finnish forest industry to carry out major restructuring activities. Employees have faced different kinds of restructuring, mainly aimed at reducing staff and production. Many studies have shown the negative consequences of restructuring on employee well-being by using negative, ill-health indicators.

Dismissals - a major concern, but only one among others?

The Finnish forest industry has undergone extensive transition in recent years. This study investigates the effect of restructuring on the well-being of blue-collar employees who continued working in the organization after the changes. All six factories selected for the study were in the process of restructuring between baseline and the follow-up survey.