201 Training for supervisors to guide employees with a work disability Background Employees with a work disability face more difficulties to maintain employed, as opposed to those without a work disability (1). Employees with a work disability could be hampered from finding or maintaining employed due to long-term illness, a disorder or disability, including (mild) intellectual disabilities, psychological frailty, physical disabilities, (very) low level of education and/or learning delay (2). In the Netherlands, around 800 thousand people between 15 and 65 years indicated in 2019 that they faced difficulties to find and perform work due to a work disability (1). Their unemployment rates are twice as high as in the general population (3). Therefore, sustainable employment – defined as the ability to make a valuable contribution through work, while learning skills, maintaining good health and well-being throughout the working life (4) – remains a challenge among employees with a work disability. Ample research indicates that supervisors play a crucial role in sustainable employment of employees with a work disability (5-11). Barriers to remain employed were, for example, a lack of support from supervisors and colleagues and a lack of work accommodations (5). Supervisors can reduce these barriers by establishing a supportive environment, promoting acceptance and inclusion of employees with a disability, and enabling workplace accommodations. Other barriers were feeling incompetent, overqualified to execute work tasks or a lack of opportunities to learn new skills (5, 9). Supervisors can reduce these barriers by giving appropriate feedback, providing clear task instructions, and facilitating a work climate wherein employees can perform work tasks at their own pace and can learn from mistakes. However, to change behaviors and take away barriers, supervisors need specific knowledge, attitudes, and skills for the guidance of employees with a work disability. They need to understand that employees with a work disability may have, for example, a lower work pace, than employees without a work disability (2). Furthermore, some supervisors tend to take the role of a care provider, hindering employees to develop themselves. In such circumstances, it could be more important for supervisors not to focus on the disability and limitations, but on the competences and qualities of employees (2). Based on these findings, it is likely that training supervisors in the guidance of employees with a work disability can improve their sustainable employability. Previous research on training supervisors in the guidance of employees show that such trainings could lead to earlier return to work and reduced sick leave among employees, compared to employees whose supervisor was not trained (yet) (12, 13). However, these studies focus on the general working population. ‘Mentorwijs’ (literal translation: Mentorwise) is a training developed to improve the guidance of supervisors of specifically employees with a work disability (2). 7
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