Aalborg Universitet, Aalborg East, Denmark.
Section of Social Medicine and Rehabilitation, Aarhus University and DEFACTUM, Central Region Denmark, P.P. Oerums Gade 9-11, Building 1B, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.
J Occup Rehabil. 2019 Dec;29(4):764-772. doi: 10.1007/s10926-019-09838-1.
Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore how employers and co-workers experience the return to work (RTW) process of employees undergoing cancer treatment. Methods Sixteen semi-structured individual interviews and participant observations at seven workplaces took place, involving seven employers and nine co-workers with different professions. A phenomenological-hermeneutic analytic approach was applied involving coding, identification of themes, and interpretation. Results We identified three employer themes: call for knowledge, Making decisions, and Feeling helpless. Also, three co-worker themes were identified: understanding and sympathy, extra work and burden, and Insecurity about future work tasks. Early initiated RTW, e.g. less work hours and work accommodations, did neither constitute challenges for employers nor co-workers in the beginning of the RTW process. However, when the RTW process was prolonged employers encountered difficulties in finding suitable work tasks, whereas co-workers were burdened by extra work. Conclusions Overall, cancer survivors' RTW process was welcomed and encouraged at the workplace level. However, employer and co-worker experiences suggested that RTW initiation parallel with cancer treatment raised challenges at the workplace level, when the RTW process was extended beyond the initial RTW plan; increased workload and difficulties in balancing the needs of the cancer survivor and co-workers. Mechanisms that support cancer survivors' RTW without introducing strain on co-workers should be investigated in future research. Furthermore, support for employers in their RTW management responsibilities needs to be addressed in general and in particular in future RTW interventions.
目的 本研究旨在探讨雇主和同事在癌症患者接受治疗期间重返工作岗位（RTW）的经历。
方法 在七个工作场所进行了十六次半结构化的个人访谈和参与者观察，涉及具有不同职业的七名雇主和九名同事。采用现象学-解释学分析方法，包括编码、主题识别和解释。
结果 我们确定了三个雇主主题：知识需求、决策和无助感。此外，还确定了三个同事主题：理解和同情、额外工作和负担以及对未来工作任务的不安全感。早期开始的 RTW，例如减少工作时间和工作适应，在 RTW 过程的开始阶段既没有给雇主也没有给同事带来挑战。然而，当 RTW 过程延长时，雇主在寻找合适的工作任务时遇到了困难，而同事则因为额外的工作而感到负担过重。
结论 总体而言，癌症幸存者在工作场所层面上的 RTW 受到欢迎和鼓励。然而，雇主和同事的经历表明，当 RTW 过程超过初始 RTW 计划时，RTW 启动与癌症治疗并行会在工作场所层面上带来挑战，增加工作量和平衡癌症幸存者和同事需求的困难。在未来的研究中，应该研究支持癌症幸存者 RTW 而不会给同事带来压力的机制。此外，需要在一般情况下，特别是在未来的 RTW 干预中，解决雇主在其 RTW 管理职责方面的支持问题。
