Key elements of strategic work (dis)ability management: An AI-assisted literature review

Background

To maintain employees’ work ability and prevent work disability, companies have adopted policies and programs for work (dis)ability management (WDM). For effectiveness and impact, these policies and programs need to be incorporated into organization’s strategy. However, the key elements of strategic WDM remain unknown. We reviewed the key elements of WDM and determined how the concept was incorporated into organizations’ operational and strategic management practices.

Methods

A scoping review consisting of 29 independent publications. We utilised AI when formulating search terms, and summarizing researcher-gathered information. The search terms and all AI-based summaries were checked by researchers for correctness.

Results

A core package of key elements of operational WDM was identified: timely intervention, appropriate work accommodations, structured coordination, and the commitment of all relevant stakeholders tend to be associated with successful outcomes, but only a few studies explicitly discussed strategic-level integration. Strategic attributes identified were notions of top management involvement, inclusion of multiple stakeholders and effective communication, use of information systems to monitor absence from work and the execution of work disability management, and monitoring of costs of work disability.

Conclusions

We found strategic attributes that organizations can use to take the identified elements or their WDM policies and programs to strategic level. Despite growing body of research on WDM, researchers continue to remark on the fragmented and conceptually differing nature of the field. We noted a discrepancy between concepts and operational and strategic levels of decision-making: what matters for HR or occupational health services, does not always reach top management priorities driven by monetary profit and market share growth. Closing this gap requires reframing WDM in strategic terms, without losing its human-centred essence.

Key messages

• Good communication and coordination, monitoring, information systems, and assessment of key indicators were identified as key elements of strategic work (dis)ability management.

• To evolve into strategic-level, work (dis)ability management needs common consensus of definitions, and reframing work (dis)ability management with attributes essential to top management.