title: Social support outside work and return to work among women on long-term sick leave working within human service organizations.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationships between return to work and social support outside work among women on long-term sick leave from human service organizations.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Work is an important part of life and is, in general, considered to be supportive of health and wellbeing. Few studies have thoroughly investigated the importance of aspects of social support outside work for return to work.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cohort of women on long-term sick leave was followed with questionnaires from 2005 to 2012.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The availability of social attachment increased the women's work ability, return to work, and vitality significantly more over time. There were positive relationships between return to work and seeking support in terms of emotional support and comfort and expressing unpleasant feelings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Important resources to increase return to work can be found in factors outside work, such as close social relationships and support seeking. Thus, it is important to take the woman's whole life situation into account and not focus solely on aspects related to the workplace.
authors.affiliation: Department of Caring Science, Work Life and Social Welfare, University of Borås, 501 90 Borås, Sweden. Electronic address: lotta.englund@hb.se.
authors.forename: Ann-Charlotte Dalheim
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Englund
authors.affiliation: Department of Caring Science, Work Life and Social Welfare, University of Borås, 501 90 Borås, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ingela
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rydström
authors.affiliation: School of Technology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lotta
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dellve
authors.affiliation: Department of Caring Science, Work Life and Social Welfare, University of Borås, 501 90 Borås, Sweden.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ahlstrom
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D062707:Return to Work; D018582:Sick Leave; D012944:Social Support
keywords: Cohort; Sickness absence; Social attachment; Social capital; Vitality; Work ability