Work accommodations for employees with common mental disorders and associated manager-related determinants: a cross-sectional study among Swedish managers.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To investigate frequencies of managers' reported use of work accommodations (WAs) for employees with common mental disorders (CMD), and to examine associations between manager-related characteristics and the use of diverse WAs. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 3358 managers took part in a web-survey, of these, 1779 were included in this study. The survey listed 15 WAs grouped into seven types using principal component analysis. The relationships between managers' person-related, knowledge-related, and work-related characteristics with the seven WAs were tested with multivariate logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Reported use of WAs was high. Compared to work-related characteristics, person-related and knowledge-related characteristics were stronger associated with WAs. The two characteristics associated with most WAs types were (1) confidence in supporting employees with CMD (5 WA types) and (2) managerial training on CMD (4 WA types). CONCLUSION: Managers report an extensive use of different types of WAs. WAs were related to a variety of determinants, depending on the WA type, but using WAs depends on the manager as an individual rather than on their work environment. To increase equal access to WAs, organizations should encourage managers to use WAs in order to support and improve the work capacity for employees with CMD.

Managers' use of work accommodations (WAs) for employees with common mental disorders (CMDs) is highly dependent on their confidence in and knowledge about how to support these employees.Organizations should encourage the universal use of WAs, regardless of individual managers' preference.Organizations should provide training for managers to increase their knowledge on CMDs and how to find WAs for these employees.While cooperating with managers, rehabilitation professionals should pay attention to managers' potential lack of confidence regarding dealing with employees with CMDs and with WAs, and their lack of knowledge on these issues.Rehabilitation professionals should strive for an encouraging and informative approach to managers to increase their confidence and knowledge in matters of employees with CMDs and the supportive role of WAs.