Managers' experience of causes and prevention of sick leave among young employees with Common Mental Disorders (CMDs)-A qualitative interview study with a gender perspective.

BACKGROUND: Young adults entering the workforce have an almost 40% greater risk of work-related mental health problems than other working age groups. Common mental disorders (CMDs) constitute the majority of such mental health problems. Managers are crucial in promoting a good psychosocial work environment and preventing sick leave. The study aims to explore managers' experience of 1) causes of sick leave in the personal and work-life of young employees with CMDs, and 2) prevention of such sick leave. A gender perspective is applied to examine managers' experience of causes and prevention of sick leave in relation to male and female employees and male and female-dominated occupations. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A qualitative design was applied and 23 semi-structured interviews were conducted with Swedish managers experienced in supervising young employees with CMDs. The interviews were analysed with conventional content analysis and the managers' experience of similarities and differences between young female and male employees and occupations were explored through reflective notes. RESULTS: Four main categories and eight subcategories describe the managers' experience of the causes of sick leave due to CMD among young employees. The main categories are: 1) entering work life when already worn-out, 2) struggling with too high expectations at work, 3) having a challenging personal life, and 4) being unable to manage specific occupational challenges and demands. Gender differences were found in six subcategories regarding, e.g., work demands and problems in personal relationships. One main category and three subcategories describe how this type of sick leave might be prevented, with managers emphasizing the need to ease the transition into work life. Gender differences in the prevention of sick leave were found in one subcategory regarding communication about workers' health and problems at work. CONCLUSION: Our findings show that gender norms and the expectations of young men and women are factors of importance in managers' experience of the development and prevention of CMDs. These results can inform their preventive work and their supervision and introduction of newly-employed young adults.

A gender perspective on perceived causes of sick leave due to common mental disorders among young Swedish employees: A qualitative interview study.

OBJECTIVE: Common mental disorder (CMD) is the most common reason for sick leave among young employees in Sweden, with young women having a higher prevalence. There is a lack of studies focusing on young employees' own perceptions of sick leave. The aim was twofold: to investigate 1) perceived causes of sick leave due to CMD among young employees, and 2) differences and similarities among women and men. METHODS: Using a qualitative design with an applied gender perspective enabled us to capture young employees' gendered experiences and consider cultural and social aspects of their situations. We interviewed 13 women and 12 men (aged 20-29) with experience of being on sick leave and applied a conventional inductive content analysis. RESULTS: Six categories were identified: a) Being new to the labour market and the workplace; b) Want to prove themselves; c) To be exposed to poor working conditions; d) Relations at work; e) Being vulnerable; and f) Additional private life burdens. CONCLUSION: This study adds to the understanding of young employees' perceived causes of sick leave due to CMD, by letting them share their experiences of events prior to sick leave connected to work and private life. Similarities and differences in women's and men's experiences were revealed. Overall, both young men and women describe a more pressured work situation for young women compared to their male counterparts, that young women take more social responsibility in private life and at work whereas men on the other hand find it harder to disclose mental health problems.

Hindering and enabling factors for young employees with common mental disorder to remain at or return to work affected by the Covid-19 pandemic - a qualitative interview study with young employees and managers.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in working life occurred, even in Sweden, where there was no general lockdown. The aim of this study was to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic was perceived as affecting the hindering and enabling factors among young employees with CMD to remain at or return to work, here as investigated from the perspective of young employees and managers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A qualitative design was applied with semistructured interviews with 23 managers and 25 young employees (20-29 years old). The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, and the parts of the interviews related to the aim of this article were analysed using conventional content analysis. RESULTS: The hindering factors were changed working conditions, decreased well-being when spending more time at home, and uncertainty. The enabling factors were decreased demands, increased balance, and well-functioning work processes. For managers it is important to be aware of warning signals indicating blurred boundaries between work and private life, to create and maintain well-functioning communication, and leave room for recovery. CONCLUSION: The hindering and enabling factors can be described as two sides of the same coin. Changes in the working conditions during the pandemic led to difficulties for both young employees and managers when the margins of maneuver were insufficient.

Exploring reasons for sick leave due to common mental disorders from the perspective of employees and managers - what has gender got to do with it?

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the employee and the managerial experience of reasons for sick leave due to CMDs in relation to work and private life, through the lens of a transactional perspective of everyday life occupation and gender norms. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 employees on sick leave due to CMDs and 11 managers. By using transactional and gender perspectives in a reflexive thematic analysis, themes were generated in a constant comparative process. FINDINGS: Four themes were identified: a) struggling to keep up with work pressure and worker norms; b) struggling with insecurity in an unsupportive work environment; c) managing private responsibilities through flexible work schedules, and d) managing emotions alongside unfavourable working conditions. CONCLUSION: Sick leave due to CMDs was understood as related to experiences of accumulated events situated in different social, cultural, and societal contexts of everyday life. Practices and policies should encourage an open dialogue about work and private life and health between employees and managers. To build healthy and sustainable work environments practices should also aim for increased awareness of social norms. A better understanding may facilitate the identification of situations in work and private life that are problematic for the employee.

Fetal and animal research in Sweden: The construction of viable lives in regulatory policy debates, 1970-1980.

Following demands to regulate biomedicine in the post-war period, Sweden saw several political debates about research ethics in the 1970s. Many of the debates centered on fetal research and animal experiments. At stake were questions of moral permissibility, public transparency, and scientific freedom. However, these debates did not only reveal ethical disagreement-they also contributed to constructing new boundaries between life-forms. Taking a post-Marxist approach to discursive policy analysis, we argue that the meaning of both the "human" and the "animal" in these debates was shaped by a need to manage a legitimacy crisis for medical science. By analyzing Swedish government bills, motions, parliamentary debates, and committee memorials from the 1970s, we map out how fetal and animal research were constituted as policy problems. We place particular emphasis on the problematization of fetal and animal vulnerability. By comparing the debates, we trace out how a particular vision of the ideal life defined the human-animal distinction.