title: Employees' Perceptions of Social Norms as a Result of Implementing the Participatory Approach at Supervisor Level: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.
abstract: Purpose A multifaceted implementation strategy was targeted at supervisors to encourage them to apply a participatory approach (PA) in dealing with employees' work functioning problems due to health concerns. This paper assesses the effect on employees' perceived social norms regarding the use of the PA to deal with work functioning problems. Methods Three organizations participated in a cluster randomized controlled trial, with randomization at the department level. Supervisors in the PA intervention departments received the implementation strategy consisting of a working group meeting, supervisor training, and optional coaching. Supervisors in the control departments received written information about the PA only. In two of the organizations, employees were invited to complete surveys at baseline and at 6-month follow-up. The primary outcome was perceived social norms regarding the use of the PA to deal with work functioning problems. Secondary measures included attitudes and self-efficacy, and intention regarding joint problem solving, and sick leave data. Effects were analyzed using multilevel analyses to account for nesting of cases. Results At baseline, 273 employees participated in the survey, with follow-up analyses of 174 employees. There were no statistically significant group effects on employee outcome measures. The intervention group showed a larger reduction in mean sick days (from 4.6 to 2.4 days) versus the control group (from 3.8 to 3.6 days), but this difference did not reach statistical significance (p > .05). Conclusion The multifaceted strategy to implement the participatory approach for supervisors did not show effects on outcomes at the employee level. To gain significant effects at the employee level, may require that an implementation strategy not only targets management and supervisors, but also employees themselves.
  
  
  
  NTR3733.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Ketelaar
authors.affiliation: Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. f.schaafsma@vumc.nl.|Research Center for Insurance Medicine, Collaboration Between AMC-UMCG-UWV-VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. f.schaafsma@vumc.nl.
authors.forename: F G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Schaafsma
authors.affiliation: Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Geldof
authors.affiliation: Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Institute for Work and Health, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: C R L
authors.initials: CRL
authors.lastname: Boot
authors.affiliation: Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Kraaijeveld
authors.affiliation: Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, Hopkinton, MA, USA.|University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Community and Occupational Medicine, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bültmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Twisk
authors.affiliation: Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Research Center for Insurance Medicine, Collaboration Between AMC-UMCG-UWV-VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Anema
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006801:Humans; D057194:Intention to Treat Analysis; D009786:Occupational Health Services / Q000379:methods; D015397:Program Evaluation; D020377:Self Efficacy; D057566:Self Report; D018582:Sick Leave / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D066262:Social Norms; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014495:Universities / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017132:Workplace / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000523:psychology
keywords: Occupational health; Participatory approach; Sick leave; Supervisors; Workplace