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Employer perspectives concerning the self-management support needs of workers with long-term health conditions
journal contribution
posted on 2021-07-20, 10:21 authored by Sally Hemming, Hilary McDermottHilary McDermott, Fehmidah MunirFehmidah Munir, Kim BurtonDesign: The exploration of employers’ views involved recruiting 15 participants with responsibilities for workplace health, wellbeing and safety, who participated in a semistructured interview about self-management and support. Data were analysed using a qualitative six-stage thematic analysis technique.
Purpose: Long-term health conditions are a significant occupational and global burden and can undermine people’s ability to work. Workplace support for self-management of long-term conditions has the potential to minimise adverse work effects, by enhancing
health and work outcomes. No data exists about employers’ views concerning
supporting workers with long-term conditions to self-manage.
Findings: Self-management support is not purposely provided to workers with longterm conditions. Support in any form rests on workers disclosing a condition, and on their relationship with their line-manager. While employers have considerable control over people’s ability to self-manage, they consider that workers are responsible for selfmanagement at work. Stigma, work demands, and line-manager behaviours are potential obstacles to workers’ self-management and support.
Practical implications: Workplace discussions about self-managing long-term conditions at work should be encouraged and opened up, to improve health and work outcomes and aligned with return-to-work and rehabilitation approaches. A wider biopsychosocial culture could help ensure workplaces are regarded as settings in which long-term conditions can be self-managed.
Originality: This study highlights that employer self-management support is not provided to workers with long-term conditions in a purposeful way. Workplace support depends on an employer knowing what needs to be supported which, in turn, depends on aspects of disclosure, stigma, work demands and line management.
Findings: Self-management support is not purposely provided to workers with longterm conditions. Support in any form rests on workers disclosing a condition, and on their relationship with their line-manager. While employers have considerable control over people’s ability to self-manage, they consider that workers are responsible for selfmanagement at work. Stigma, work demands, and line-manager behaviours are potential obstacles to workers’ self-management and support.
Practical implications: Workplace discussions about self-managing long-term conditions at work should be encouraged and opened up, to improve health and work outcomes and aligned with return-to-work and rehabilitation approaches. A wider biopsychosocial culture could help ensure workplaces are regarded as settings in which long-term conditions can be self-managed.
Originality: This study highlights that employer self-management support is not provided to workers with long-term conditions in a purposeful way. Workplace support depends on an employer knowing what needs to be supported which, in turn, depends on aspects of disclosure, stigma, work demands and line management.
History
School
- Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences
Published in
International Journal of Workplace Health ManagementVolume
14Issue
4Pages
440-458Publisher
EmeraldVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Rights holder
© EmeraldPublisher statement
This paper was accepted for publication in the journal International Journal of Workplace Health Management and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWHM-02-2021-0030Acceptance date
2021-06-02Publication date
2021-06-22Copyright date
2021ISSN
1753-8351Publisher version
Language
- en
Depositor
Dr Fehmidah Munir. Deposit date: 3 June 2021Usage metrics
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