Uncovering sustainable work strategies for individuals with Multiple Sclerosis

Research problem and specific questions: The labour market is currently undergoing a substantial transformation. The nature of work and the way it is conceptualized is evolving in unprecedented ways.

Work is increasingly becoming more remote, complex, and inter-connected whilst employees are expected to be more autonomous and efficient at work, whilst learning and adapting to the new technologies at the same time. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common neurological disease-causing disability in young adults.

In the past 20-years, treatment strategies have become increasingly effective.

However, most people with MS (PwMS) experience limitations in respect to their work capacity and many are forced to exit the labour market once the disease progresses and substantial disabilities appear.

It is uncertain how the changing dynamics of the labour market are impacting the work of PwMS and whether these changes can differ depending on the labour market attachment and the timing of disease onset and progression.

Therefore, this project aims to study the impact of the described labour market changes in relation to individuals with MS and disease progression in light of the recently developed highly effective treatments.

Data and method and Plan for project realisation: Different research strategies will be used: Microdata linked from several Swedish registers including all people of working age diagnosed with MS, about 14 000 individuals and matched population references, will be used to explore factors associated with entering the labour market, remaining in paid work long term, and exiting from the workforce.

In the second part, survey information collected from over 4000 responders in 2021, linked to register information will be used.

Here we will focus on strategies used in relation to work and further deepen the understanding of how MS has influenced their work life.

In the third part, individual and focus group interviews including PwMS and employers will be used to contrast our findings with the experiences of the work-life challenges related to new ways of working in combination with experienced physical or cognitive limitations both from a patient and an employer perspective.

Societal relevance and utilisation: This interdisciplinary project will generate new, relevant, and updated knowledge of working outcomes of PwMS given the transformation of the modern labour market and treatment advances for MS.