Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar 21;19(6):3740.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063740.

The Current Practice of Gradual Return to Work in Germany: A Qualitative Study Protocol

Inga L Schulz  1 , Ralf Stegmann  1 , Uta Wegewitz  1 , Matthias Bethge  2
Affiliations

The Current Practice of Gradual Return to Work in Germany: A Qualitative Study Protocol

Inga L Schulz et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

(1) Background: The increase in working age and long-term illnesses is a challenge for society to maintain the health of employees and to support their work participation. In many countries, such as Germany, a gradual return to work (GRTW) is used frequently to support returning employees, but little is known about its facilitators and obstacles. This protocol aims to provide an overview of the national state of the art in workplace adjustments during return to work and to outline the design of a qualitative study examining current GRTW practices in Germany. (2) Methods: Our qualitative study will examine the current implementation of GRTW by means of 32 narrative interviews and 10 group discussions from different perspectives. Therefore, we will ask returning employees as well as organisational stakeholders and external experts about their experiences with GRTW and attitudes towards the measure. The verbal data obtained will be analysed using the documentary method of interpretation. (3) Discussion: This study will reveal facilitating and hindering factors for the implementation of GRTW in Germany. The findings of the study may contribute to an improved implementation of GRTW not only in Germany.

Keywords: documentary method of interpretation; gradual return to work; occupational health and safety; qualitative research; rehabilitation; study protocol; workplace adjustments; workplace health management.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

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

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Planned data collection and its embedding.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Exemplified steps of analysis within the documentary method of interpretation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Belin A., Dupont C., Oulès L., Kuipers Y., Fries-Tersch E. Rehabilitation and Return to Work: Analysis Report on EU and Member States Policies, Strategies and Programmes. European Agency for Safety and Health at Work; Luxembourg: 2016. Report No.: 978-92-9240-925-8.4.
    1. OECD . OECD Employment Outlook 2019. OECD; Paris, France: 2019.
    1. OECD . Sickness, Disability and Work: Breaking the Barriers a Synthesis of Findings across OECD Countries. OECD; Paris, France: 2010.
    1. van Rijn R.M., Robroek S.J., Brouwer S., Burdorf A. Influence of poor health on exit from paid employment: A systematic review. Occup. Env. Med. 2014;71:295–301. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2013-101591. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kochskaemper S. Statutory Pension Insurance How Long Work for a Stable Pension Level? Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln; Köln, Germany: 2016. Gesetzliche Rentenversicherung wie lange arbeiten für ein stabiles Rentenniveau? IW-Kurzbericht, No. 27.2016.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources