169 Guidance of employees with a work disability to improve sustainable employability Background Work is generally considered good for one’s health, because it can offer financial independence, which in turn reduces psychological distress, and improves physical and psychosocial well-being (1, 2). In contrast, those unemployed and with insecure work have higher mortality rates and poorer physical and mental health than people with a job (1, 3). In certain groups, unemployment and job insecurity are more prevalent than in others. One of those groups are employees with a work disability that are employed in supported workplaces and/or in the regular labor market. This can include people with a (mild) intellectual disability, psychological disability, physical disability, (very) low level of education and/or learning delay (4). In the Netherlands, there were in 2019 more than 800 thousand persons between 15 and 65 years old who were prevented from obtaining or maintaining sustainable work due to a long-term illness, a disorder, or disability (5). About 45–50% of these people had a paid job, while the remainder received social insurance benefits (5). Social insurance benefits place a significant financial burden on society and being unemployed has, as mentioned earlier, negative health consequences. Therefore, it is important that employees with a work disability find work and maintain employed. For employees with a disability, it is hard to find a job (6, 7). Moreover, when they have a job, employees with a work disability less frequently have a permanent contract than employees without a work disability (8). Studies on the reasons why companies do not hire employees with a work disability showed that supervisors believe that this group of employees is less productive and more absent, and therefore supervisors prefer someone without work disabilities with equal suitability (4, 9, 10). Improving sustainable employability is a way to ensure that employees with a work disability will find work and maintain employed (11). Sustainable employability is defined as employee’s ability to contribute through their work, while learning skills, maintaining good health and well-being throughout their working life (12, 13). Sustainable employability consists of four core components: health, productivity, valuable work, and long-term perspective (12). For employees with a work disability, optimal guidance from their supervisor by focusing on these components is key for sustainable employability (4). Research shows that training supervisors in providing the right type of guidance can reduce absenteeism and promote reintegration of employees with a work disability, and improve sustainable employability (14). When supervising employees with a work disability, a supervisor must for instance, set clear expectations and motivate the employee by providing good examples (4). However, unfortunately supervisors often lack the expertise to adequately guide employees with a work disability (15). They may have negative perceptions and attitudes and little knowledge about employees with a work disability and the guidance they need (16–18). 6
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