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. 2021 Feb 12;18(4):1778.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18041778.

Process Evaluation of an Operational-Level Job Stress Intervention Aimed at Decreasing Sickness Absence among Public Sector Employees in Sweden

Jonathan Severin  1 , Lisa Björk  1   2 , Linda Corin  1   2 , Ingibjörg H Jonsdottir  1   3 , Magnus Akerstrom  1   4
Affiliations

Process Evaluation of an Operational-Level Job Stress Intervention Aimed at Decreasing Sickness Absence among Public Sector Employees in Sweden

Jonathan Severin et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Work-related sickness absence carries large societal costs, and interventions aimed at decreasing sickness absence need to be performed in an effective way. This study evaluated the implementation process of an operational-level job stress intervention, implemented between 2017 and 2018 in the public sector, by assessing the extent to which the allocated resources reached the intended target group, if the planned measures could be expected to address the relevant work environmental challenges, and if the planned measures were implemented. Data were collected from applications for funding in the intervention (n = 154), structured interviews (n = 20), and register data on sickness absence (n = 2912) and working conditions (n = 1477). Thematic analysis was used to classify the level of the work environmental challenges, the level and perspective of the suggested measures, and the "measure-to-challenge correspondence". Overall, participating workplaces (n = 71) had both higher sickness absence (p = 0.01) and worse reported working conditions compared to their corresponding reference groups. A measure-to-challenge correspondence was seen in 42% of the measures, and individual-level measures were mostly suggested for organisational-level work environment challenges. Almost all planned measures (94%) were ultimately implemented. When performing operational-level interventions, managers and their human resource partners need support in designing measures that address the work environmental challenges at their workplace.

Keywords: occupational health; organizational; process evaluation; public sector; sickness absence; workplace intervention.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; the collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data; the writing of the manuscript; or the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic overview of the logic model of the intervention, focusing on the implementation process and expected impact.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Flowchart describing the different steps in the data collection and the data sources used for each step, together with the number of measures, applications, and workplaces in each step.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Number of suggested measures (n = 209 in total) divided by the level of the measures and stratified by measure-to-challenge correspondence (yes/no).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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