The Prevalence and Determinants of Being Offered and Accepting Operational Management Services—A Cohort Study

Adrian Loerbroks, Jessica Scharf, Peter Angerer, Katja Spanier and Matthias Bethge
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Adrian Loerbroks: Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Centre for Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Jessica Scharf: Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Centre for Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Peter Angerer: Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Centre for Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Katja Spanier: Institute for Social Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
Matthias Bethge: Institute for Social Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: In Germany, employers are obliged to offer “operational integration management” (OIM) services to employees returning from long-term sick leave. OIM aims to improve employees’ workability and to prevent future sick leave or early retirement. This study examined (i) to what extent OIM services are offered to eligible employees, (ii) to what extent offers are accepted and (iii) the determinants of both outcomes. We used data from a cohort of employees eligible for OIM. Thirty-four potential determinants were assessed in 2013 (i.e., the baseline) using participant reports. In 2015 (i.e., the follow-up), participants were asked (a) whether they had ever been offered OIM services by their employer, and (b) whether they had accepted that offer (i.e., the outcomes). We estimated relative risks by multivariable binomial regression to identify predictors based on backward elimination. In total, 36.0% of the participants were offered OIM services and 77.2% of them accepted that offer. The likelihood of an OIM offer at follow-up was elevated in participants with mental impairment, cancer or long-term absenteeism and increased with organizational justice, neuroticism, and company size. The likelihood of accepting that OIM offer was positively associated with mental impairment and decreased with increasing company size.

Keywords: cohort study; Germany; occupational health services; return to work (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:4:p:2158-:d:504070

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