Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
PLoS One. 2021 Nov 1;16(11):e0259206. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259206. eCollection 2021.
Return to work (RTW) or work resumption after a work absence due to psychosocial or medical reasons benefits the well-being of a person, including transgender people, and is nowadays a major research domain. The objective is to examine, through an occupational lens, the literature reporting objective RTW outcomes and experiences in transgender people to (a) synthesize what is known about return to work (full-time, part-time, or self-employed) and (b) describe which gaps persist.
METHODS & SAMPLE: Several databases and the gray literature were explored systematically. Studies between November 1, 2006 and March 1, 2021 revealing RTW quantitative and qualitative data of adult transgender people were eligible. This review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42019128395) on April 30, 2019.
Among the 14,592 articles initially identified, 97 fulfilled the inclusion criteria which resulted in 20 being analyzed. Objective RTW outcomes, such as number of RTW attempts, time to RTW or number of sick days, were lacking; thus, other relevant work outcomes were reported. Compared to the general population, lower employment rates and more economic distress were observed, with trans women in particular saying that their work situation had deteriorated. Research on positive RTW experiences was highlighted by the importance of disclosure, the support from especially managers and coworkers who acted as mediators, personal coping, and a transition plan along with work accommodations. Negative work experiences, such as demotion, lay-offs, and discrimination were often prominent together with a lack of knowledge of trans issues among all stakeholders, including occupational health professionals.
CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS: Few studies have explored employment characteristics and experiences of transgender people (TP). RTW is a dynamic process along with transition in itself, which should be tailored through supportive policies, education, a transition plan and work accommodations with the help of external experts. Future studies should include more occupational information and report RTW outcomes to enhance our knowledge about the guidance of TP and to make way for interventional studies.
因心理社会或医疗原因缺勤后重返工作岗位（RTW）或恢复工作有益于个人的福祉，包括跨性别者，如今这是一个主要的研究领域。目的是通过职业视角检查报告跨性别者 RTW 结果和经历的文献，（a）综合了解返回工作（全职、兼职或自雇）的情况，（b）描述仍然存在的差距。
系统地探索了多个数据库和灰色文献。符合条件的研究是在 2006 年 11 月 1 日至 2021 年 3 月 1 日之间揭示了成年跨性别者 RTW 定量和定性数据的研究。本综述于 2019 年 4 月 30 日在 PROSPERO（CRD42019128395）上注册。
在最初确定的 14592 篇文章中，有 97 篇符合纳入标准，最终分析了 20 篇。缺乏客观的 RTW 结果，例如 RTW 尝试的次数、RTW 的时间或病假的天数，因此报告了其他相关的工作结果。与一般人群相比，观察到就业率较低和经济困境更多，跨性别女性尤其表示她们的工作情况恶化。突出显示了积极的 RTW 经历的研究，包括披露的重要性、尤其是经理和同事的支持，他们充当调解人、个人应对以及与工作适应一起的过渡计划。负面的工作经历，例如降职、裁员和歧视，往往与所有利益相关者（包括职业健康专业人员）缺乏对跨性别问题的了解一起突出。
很少有研究探讨跨性别者（TP）的就业特点和经历。RTW 是一个动态的过程，本身就是一个过渡，应该通过支持性政策、教育、过渡计划和工作适应来适应，在外部专家的帮助下进行。未来的研究应包括更多的职业信息，并报告 RTW 结果，以提高我们对跨性别者指导的了解，并为干预研究铺平道路。
