Learning Experiences in Return to Work Among Workplace Actors

Purpose: The objective of this article was to investigate how individual learning emerges among workplace actors during the return-to-work process, and whether the prerequisites for collective learning at the workplace are present and managed by the actors. Learning in this context is viewed as a change in the preconceptions, experience or competence of the individual as a result of interactions in the workplace due to the return-to-work process. Method: A qualitative method was used, consisting of open-ended interviews with 19 individuals across 11 workplaces in the public and private sector. Inductive content analysis was performed. Results: The key findings from this study are that individual learning emerges in the return-to-work process due to previous experience, communication with other workplace actors, or insights into what works for the individual. However, the individual learning that occurs in the return-to-work process is not carried over into workplace learning due to barriers in understanding the needs and opportunities that may be present in the process. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that individual learning occurs within social practices through social interaction between the actors involved (workers on sickness absence supervisors and colleagues) and individual experiences. A greater knowledge of the factors that contribute to workplace learning could facilitate biopsychosocial and ecological return-to-work interventions, which allow workplace actors to draw on previous experiences from one return-to-work process to another.