Weak social ties at workplace increase risk of burn-out

“Sickness leaves are a multifaceted problem with consequences for the individual, the person's closest friends and relations, the employer, and society,” says Ulla-Britt Eriksson, who authored the doctoral dissertation in public health science.

“Enhanced knowledge of what conditions affect the process leading to long-term sickness leave provides a valuable platform for both preventive and rehabilitative measures.”

The dissertation described how long-term sickness leave due to burn-out and other mental diagnoses can be understood. What preceded the sickness leave is depicted as a process in which the individual is gradually emptied of feelings that sustain the life-giving force that provides joy and involvement and serves as a basis for mental well-being. This force is nourished by secure and comforting social relations with other people. Individuals on long-term sickness leave made it clear that these preconditions were lacking in their surroundings.

“The overall aim of the dissertation has been to describe and understand the processes that lead to long-term sickness leave from the point of view of the individual taking the leave,” says Ulla-Britt Eriksson. “The focus has been on sickness leaves tied to mental, stress-related diagnoses, with a special emphasis on so-called burn-out diagnoses.”

The background to the changes that took place at these individuals' workplaces included the major transformations that marked the Swedish job market in the 1990s. They affected not only the psychosocial working environment but also rehabilitation efforts to get people back to work, not least for unemployed people on sickness leave.

Job market changes and explicit political objectives affected rehabilitation efforts in such a way as to lower the priority of unemployed individuals on sickness leave who were difficult to place in the job market. A job-market problem was turned into a medical problem.

The dissertation is titled Man är ju inte mer än människa (You Are Only Human). For more information please contact Ulla-Britt Eriksson, PhD in public health science, phone: +46 (0)54 700 1646 or cell phone: +46 (0)703 191902

Media Contact

Carina Olsson idw

More Information:

http://www.vr.se

All latest news from the category: Social Sciences

This area deals with the latest developments in the field of empirical and theoretical research as it relates to the structure and function of institutes and systems, their social interdependence and how such systems interact with individual behavior processes.

innovations-report offers informative reports and articles related to the social sciences field including demographic developments, family and career issues, geriatric research, conflict research, generational studies and criminology research.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors