Abstract
Preventing sick leave and helping people to return to work (RTW) is a major challenge in many societies. Different definitions and perspectives of RTW have led to a lack of agreement about what constitutes a successful RTW outcome. Commonly used outcome measures of RTW interventions capture only parts of the process to sustainable participation in the labor market. In this chapter we discuss theoretical and empirical research on inclusion and exclusion from the labor market for long-term sick-listed or people with disabilities. Work disability policy based on activation principles that restrict benefits for the sick-listed and unemployed in favor of active work reintegration may serve to increase the inequality gap in the labor market, since they tend to focus on individual responsibilities and agency rather than resource-generation. Increased demands on flexibility seem to promote opportunities and employability for people who have good resources. For those with less resources, the labor market is restricted to temporary or precarious jobs, increasing the inequality gap. This dynamic development creates new challenges for work disability prevention research. The notion of equality needs to be reinterpreted from looking at outcomes to taking a broader perspective on equality of opportunity. Employment in any job is questioned as the best outcome unless the quality of the job is taken into account, providing resources for sustainable participation in the labor market.
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Ekberg, K., Ståhl, C. (2020). Employment as a Key Rehabilitation Outcome. In: Bültmann, U., Siegrist, J. (eds) Handbook of Disability, Work and Health. Handbook Series in Occupational Health Sciences, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75381-2_20-1
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