Success rate and predictive factors of return to work after the implementation of a return-to-work trajectory: A retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Purpose: To reduce long-term absenteeism, several countries take legislative initiatives. In this study, we evaluate the impact of a legally defined return-to-work (RTW) trajectory on the RTW of sick-listed employees.Methods: We conducted a retrospective registered-based cohort study on Belgian employees (N = 1416) who followed a RTW-trajectory in 2017. We linked workers’ data from a Service for Prevention and Protection at Work with data from the Crossroads Bank for Social Security. We analysed how many employees RTW with the same employer, with another employer or not at all. By multinomial logistic regression, we analysed which characteristics are predictive for RTW.Results: One year after their trajectory, 69.2% of employees did not RTW, 10.7% did RTW with the same employer, 20.1% did RTW with a new employer. Duration of sickness absence (SA) was an important predictor for both RTW with the same as with another employer. When duration of SA exceeded six months, odds of RTW were lower than when the duration of SA was < six months. Marital status, organization-size, and decision of occupational physician had significant impact on RTW with the same employer, while age and who initiated the trajectory were key factors for RTW with another employer. Conclusions: 30.8% of employees succeeded to RTW after their trajectory. Results show that a one-size-fits-all-approach is not recommended. A stepped approach with an early, informal start of the RTW-process should be implemented. When employees or employers fail to initiate RTW on their own, a legally defined RTW-trajectory could be useful.