Acting the part – managers view on employees with repeated short-term sickness absence

Abstract

Abstract Background Repeated short-term sickness absence has been identified as a risk factor for long-term sickness absence. This association indicate the need for workplaces to pay attention to employees' sickness patterns and has led to guidelines which encourages employers to acknowledge frequent short-term absence so early interventions may be put in place. It is likely that employer attitudes have an impact for these employees, and for the development into sickness absence. One way of making sense of the employer relationship is to identify which roles they act upon, and how the setting influences these actions. By applying role theory, the aim of the study was to explore managers view of employees with repeated short-term sickness absence. Methods The study is a qualitative interview study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers, health- and safety/union representatives and HR-managers at 17 different workplaces, a total of 44 individuals participated in the study. The material was analysed inductively using thematic analysis, focusing on the latent content. Results The results suggest that managing repeated short-term sickness absence is viewed as troublesome by the managers and it is not uncommon to express negative attitudes towards these employees. The results indicate that the managers' views of people on short-term sick leave goes through several phases, which we analyse as acts in a play, where their given roles are prescribing which actions to take, and which resources they have available for acting these parts. These acts describe an increasingly controlling attitude, where the sick leave is seen as an individual problem best managed by repressive tactics. Conclusions Great responsibility is put on the manager without enough decision latitude for them to handle the sick leave and rehabilitation process, leaving them with the option of focusing on individual actions. Key messages Role theory offers the possibility to analyze managers' attitudes and behaviours by considering the workplace and the manager-employee relationship as regulated by norms and organizational factors. The conditions within the organization influence how the managers deal with sickness absence and have an impact on how they view the employees with repeated short-term sickness absence.