Managers in action: Prevention of sick leave in employees with mental ill-health in the public sector and the importance of organizational and workplace context.

Research problem and specific questions:The most common reason for sick leave exceeding 14 days is common mental disorders (CMD) such as depression, anxiety, and exhaustion.

The workplace is identified as a key arena for preventing sick leave, but research rarely puts the spotlight on those responsible for prevention and rehabilitation, i.e., the managers. Even fewer studies focus on the organizational preconditions managers need to fulfil this responsibility.

We will therefore investigate how managers in the public sector work to prevent CMD-related sick leave and the impact of organizational and workplace context. Specific research questions are:1. What preventive measures do the managers use and do they differ between organizations and female and male employees?2.

How does organizational and workplace context relate to managers’ preventive measures?3.

What organizational barriers and facilitators do managers experience in their support to employees with CMD?Data and method:A survey among 3,000 public sector managers will be held. These managers will be recruited from the Citizen Panel, University of Gothenburg. The panel represent many services within the public sector and have a high response rate.

To increase validity of the responses, video vignettes will be used in the survey to examine managers´ measures to prevent sick leave.

Cross-sectional associations between managers’ preventive measures and their organizational and workplace preconditions will be studied.

A qualitative study with a purposive sample of approximately 40 public sector managers will be held to explore the organizational barriers and facilitators they experience while supporting employees with CMD. Recruitment will take place by contacting public employers and through advertising on relevant web-sites and magazines.

Societal relevance and utilisation:Sick leave is a major problem in the public sector and affects mainly female employees.

Based on the results, we will propose changes to provide better conditions for managers and thus better prevention of sick leave for employees with common mental illness.

The results may eventually lead to a reduction in sick leave.Plan for project realisation: During year 1, the survey as well as recruitment and interviews for the qualitative study are carried out. During years 2 and 3, analyzes and manuscripts will be undertaken. The costs relate to salaries, data collection, language checks and conferences.