Mental health problems have incapacitating effects on an individual’s capacity to hold
and maintain employment. Over half a million Canadians are absent from work due to
mental health problems every day, which costs Canadian companies an estimated 14% of
their net annual profit. Individuals who miss work for mental health reasons often
experience longer periods of absence, and return to work at a much lower rate than
individuals absent for other reasons (e.g., physical injury). Regrettably, empirically
based return to work interventions focused on mental health problems are lacking, likely
the product of a lack of consensus surrounding salient predictors of return to work. The
current study sought to add to current literature aimed at identifying factors that influence
the likelihood of successful re-entry into the workforce. A review of patient files from a private psychological practice yielded the sample.
Clients were selected based on their satisfaction of one central criterion: having
experienced a workplace absence and suffered from a mood or anxiety disorder as
classified by the DSM-IV-TR. Recruitment letters and consent forms were mailed to 74
eligible participants, for a response rate of 68% (n=50). The sample was predominantly
female (n=38 or 76%). Of the 50 participants, 27 successfully reintegrated to the
workforce (RTW=54%), following a mean absence of 13 months (SD=7.37). Emerging
from the results are higher risk categories (e.g., physically injured workers, low
educational requirements, disability providers) of reduced likelihood of successful return
to work. The role of symptom severity and availability of social support is also discussed
along with best practice implications for stakeholder/practitioners.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:OSUL.10219/2139 |
| Date | 17 March 2014 |
| Creators | Leduc, Caleb |
| Publisher | Laurentian University of Sudbury |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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