Abstract
Background: The reduction of the number of people that drop out of the labour force and temporarily receive public benefits has increasingly been a political priority in Norway since the early 1990s. In particular, there has been a focus on reducing sick leave. However, none of the efforts in this direction has had the desired effects. To succeed, more knowledge is needed regarding the factors that create the illnesses influencing the length of the sickness leave. Aim: The purpose of this article is to study how relational social capital, both at work and home, has an impact on the experience of being on long-term sick leave and the process of returning to work. Methods: Individual in-depth interviews have been performed with 20 women between 25 and 60 years old. They were all sick-listed for more than 30 days during 2013 with mental illness or musculoskeletal diagnoses. Results: The study illustrates how long-term sickness absence can threaten the identity and self-confidence of the sick-listed persons. The effects of relational social capital are expressed through personal relationships with their family members, friends, colleagues, and managers at their workplace. Individuals with high social capital in both the workplace and the domestic sphere have the best prospects for recovering and returning to work. High workplace capital may, to a certain degree, compensate for low domestic social capital. Single mothers with low social capital both in their domestic life and in their workplace are the most vulnerable. Conclusion: Relational social capital influences both the experience of being on sick leave and the process of returning to work. The efforts to reduce sickness leave should therefore focus on not only the sick-listed person, but also their relationships with their family and in their workplace, as well as the interplay between these.
Highlights
During the last few decades the relation between social capital and health has been extensively explored (Kawachi et al, 2008; Berkman & Glass, 2000; Lomas, 1999), and social capital has become a popular theory through which differences in health and illness between social groups can be explained (Turner, 2003)
The effects of relational social capital are expressed through personal relationships with their family members, friends, colleagues, and managers at their workplace
The aim of this article is to explore how women diagnosed with mental illness and musculoskeletal problems experience the challenges connected to staying in the work force, and, in particular, how individual social capital influences both the experience of being on long-term sick leave and the prospects of returning to work
Summary
During the last few decades the relation between social capital and health has been extensively explored (Kawachi et al, 2008; Berkman & Glass, 2000; Lomas, 1999), and social capital has become a popular theory through which differences in health and illness between social groups can be explained (Turner, 2003). Social capital is often viewed as both an individual (Bourdieu, 1986; Coleman, 1988) and a collective characteristic (Putnam, 1993, 2000). A social-capital perspective applied to health presents a view that the quantity and quality of the relationships of a collective or a person play a role in the maintenance of health, and, at the same time, may provide useful resources during the recovery from illness. Social capital is viewed as resources accessible to individuals by their involvement in social networks in their private lives and in their workplace. Access to individual social capital is expected to influence their experience of being sick-listed and the prospects for returning to work. More knowledge is needed regarding the factors that create the illnesses influencing the length of the sickness leave
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