Returning to Work After Disability Leave: A Qualitative Analysis

Initial return to work (RTW) experiences of people living with a disability have been well-documented, but not as much is known about sustaining the employee in the longer-term. This qualitative study was undertaken to understand the barriers and facilitators associated with long term RTW success for workers with a variety of disabilities. Focus groups and interviews were held with researchers and practitioners in occupational health, HR and management professional, and employees with lived experience of disability leave and RTW. Following data collection, the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) for implementation research (Atkins et al., 2017) was used for thematic analysis that emerged within and between participant groups. All participants identified social influence and environmental domains (i.e., workplace accommodations) as both barriers and facilitators to long term RTW success. Other factors such as emotion, skills and social and professional role were limited to employees, researchers and practitioners and management/HR professionals respectively. By comparing three different perspectives connected to the RTW process, the present study allows workplace stakeholders to better understand where the needs and gaps experienced by each of these groups diverge and intersect with each other. The findings provide a useful guide to refer to when developing future resources and improving current resources designed to support long term RTW for both workers and their employers.