Affiliations: Institute for Rehabilitation, Ljubljana, Republic of
Slovenia | The Danish National Centre of Working Environment
Research, Copenhagen, Denmark
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Andreja Švajger, Institute for
Rehabilitation, Republic of Slovenia, Linhartova 51, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Tel.: +386 1 47 58 187; Fax: +386 1 43 72 070; E-mail: andreja.svajger@ir-rs.si
Abstract: Chronic musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are the most common cause of
work disability in the western world. Return to work (RTW) with chronic MSD is
a complex process dependent on individual and social factors, including
individual perceptions of the process. No studies have addressed RTW in the
Slovenian context of high job protection legislation. This study was aimed at
understanding how Slovenian employees with MSD made sense of their experiences
with work and life before and after the occurrence of MSD, giving meaning to
their perceptions of the possibility to return to work. Data were collected
through narrative interviews with six Slovenian employees with chronic MSD and
analyzed with a paradigmatic approach. The participants described their
experiences in a narrative of a transition from a life of stability and
fulfillment to a life of suspense about their future. The work environment as
well as health and disability systems were experienced as the most decisive in
the development of those perceptions. The participants linked those
experiences, more than the MSD itself, to their feelings of hope, doubt and
fear about their possibilities of returning to work. The study shows how
narratives about life and work can give meaning to individual perceptions of
RTW process in a specific social and work context.
Keywords: Return to work, chronic musculoskeletal disorders, occupational science, vocational rehabilitation, work disability, narratives
