227 Training for supervisors to guide employees with a work disability occurred as supervisors were asked to complete the questionnaire four times within a short period of times between measurements, meaning that supervisors may have remembered the questions in the questionnaire and could fill in the same answers. Although, this does not account for the effect evaluation among employees by using register data. Implications for research and practice This study showed that the effects of a supervisor training on employee and supervisor level are mixed and difficult to capture. Taking into account the methodological limitations of this study, there is a need for a higher quality study design to examine the effectiveness of ‘Mentorwijs’. A larger sample size and randomization of employees and supervisors could avoid the main limitations of this study – i.e. selection bias and the influence of unobserved or unmeasurable factors. Furthermore, qualitative research is needed to gain more insight into the experiences of supervisors with the training itself, but also what kind of elements (i.e. content and/or teaching methods) of the training were relevant for supervisors to implement at the workplace. Moreover, more research is also needed on organizational factors (e.g. feedback and formal endorsement) that enable supervisors to implement the training. For instance, research should be conducted on how organizational factors influence the guidance of employees with a work disability and how employers could be persuaded to implement factors that positively enhance the guidance, such as support from management and sufficient time and resources. Training supervisors in the guidance of employees with a work disability is highly recommended, as the importance of their role in the organization is widely recognized (10, 21). However, this study only found significant effects on knowledge and self-efficacy among supervisors, while effects on sustainable employment were only significant at 8 months and thereafter attenuated and became non-significant. As described above, the training was relatively short, thus to sustain effects we may need to think about a follow-up of the training or (monthly) return meetings. In these meetings supervisors can for example exchange experiences about the implementation of the training or further discuss certain aspects of the training. As was also described above, the effectiveness of the training is highly dependent on contextual factors. When employers do not make informed decisions on how these kinds of interventions can be effectively implemented in organizations, possibly in combination with or as an addition to other interventions, the effects remain uncertain. Trainings, such as ‘Mentorwijs’ need to be integrated in organizational policies to reassure that supervisors have sufficient time and resources to implement their newly acquired knowledge, attitudes, and skills. Considering the role of contextual factors (e.g. support from managers or resources) it would be useful to, in addition to ‘Mentorwijs’, 7
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