School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
J Occup Rehabil. 2012 Sep;22(3):376-86. doi: 10.1007/s10926-012-9357-1.
Social support in the workplace has been has been demonstrated to serve as a contributor to a worker's ability to manage work demands and to manage stress. Research in the area of disability management indicates that interpersonal factors play an important role in the success of return-to-work interventions. The role of workplace support has received limited attention in rehabilitation, despite the salience of support to the disability management process. Prior to this study, there existed no validated quantitative measure of social support for workers who re-enter the workplace following injury or disability.
A support measure prototype, the Support for Workers with Disability Scale, was tested with 152 workers in accommodated work situations. Four validation tools were used to assess criterion validity. Factor analysis was used to validate the content structure and reduce the total number of response items. Additional analysis was conducted to determine the ability of the measure to discriminate between groups, and to provide insight into how social support operates in workplaces.
Based on analysis, a reduced measure consisting of 41 items and measuring supervisor, co-worker, and non-work supports was created. Secondary analysis disclosed information concerning the nature of supports in the workplace. Higher levels of support were identified for workers with fewer work role limitations and for those with one versus multiple injury claims.
This tool provides a validated outcome measure for research examining the social aspects of workplace disability. It can also serve as a quality management tool for human resource professionals engaged in continuous improvement of disability management programs.
工作场所的社会支持已被证明有助于员工管理工作需求和应对压力的能力。残疾管理领域的研究表明，人际因素在重返工作岗位干预措施的成功中起着重要作用。尽管支持对于残疾管理过程至关重要，但工作场所支持在康复中的作用却受到了限制。在这项研究之前，对于因伤或因病返回工作岗位的工人，还没有经过验证的、用于衡量社会支持的定量测量工具。
使用 152 名处于适应工作环境的工人，对支持残疾工人的量表原型（Support for Workers with Disability Scale）进行了测试。使用了四种验证工具来评估效标效度。使用因子分析来验证内容结构并减少响应项目的总数。进一步的分析旨在确定该测量工具区分不同群体的能力，并深入了解社会支持在工作场所中的运作方式。
基于分析，创建了一个由 41 个项目组成的简化测量工具，用于衡量主管、同事和非工作支持。二次分析揭示了工作场所支持的本质。对于工作角色限制较少的工人以及单一和多重受伤索赔的工人，支持水平更高。
该工具为研究工作场所残疾的社会方面提供了经过验证的结果测量工具。它还可以作为人力资源专业人员用于不断改进残疾管理计划的质量管理工具。
