Organizational return to work support and sick leave duration: A cohort of Spanish workers with a long-term non-work-related sick leave episode

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association between organizational support and time to return to work (RTW) in workers with long-term non-work-related sick leave. METHODS: Cohort participants were 571 workers, with a non-work-related sick leave episode of more than 15 days, recruited during the first visit in a health insurance company (mutua). Workers completed a baseline questionnaire regarding organizational RTW support measures and were followed until the end of the episodes. Return to work and time to RTW were established on the basis of the mutua's register. Multivariate Cox regression models were used. RESULTS: Workers in companies with an overall high organizational RTW support returned to work earlier. This effect was mainly due to workers in companies that provided specific RTW programs. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that companies play an important role in facilitating RTW for workers with long-term non-work-related sick leave episodes.