This is what Thomas Kalkman said in his opening words during the webinar Eigen regie bij reintegration. Kalkman is a policy adviser at the Dutch Association of Insurers and chaired the webinar. His message is clear: absenteeism in the Netherlands is increasing. "That becomes completely clear when we look at the influx into the WIA. This law was created twenty years ago and initially led to a sharp decrease in long-term absenteeism. In 2006, the influx was 'only' 21,000 people, but in recent years we have seen a turnaround. Both absenteeism and the WIA influx are rising. Since 2015 (35,800 entrants), that influx has even risen to almost 60,000 in 2023. Something has to be done, because the consequences for the labour market are great. For employers, but certainly also for employees. Research shows that incapacity for work has the most impact on an employee's financial situation."
Self-management in RE-integration (ERIRE)
Together with occupational health and safety services, reintegration companies and science, insurers have started a project in which the self-management of sick employees is central. This so-called ERIRE project, Self-Direction in REINTEGRATION, should ensure faster reintegration.
Many different parties are involved in the project, which is being carried out by the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG). In addition to the Dutch Association of Insurers, a.s.r., de Goudse, elipsLife and Nationale-Nederlanden are also participating on behalf of the sector. During the webinar, it not only became clear how the ERARE project works, but the first conclusions were also shared.
In a series of articles, two researchers from the UMCG, a case manager from the HCS occupational health and safety service and a business development manager from reintegration company Staatvandienst have their say. In this first part, Haitze de Vries (project leader of the study) and Bibi de Mul (PhD student at the UMCG) explain what the project entails and share the initial findings.
Wait-and-see attitude
The demand for more self-management has literally come from practice, researcher Haitze de Vries emphasises. "All organisations involved in reintegration know that it is a complicated process. Often a lot of time is lost because both the employer and the employee find it difficult to take control. People are waiting and ill-prepared for what is to come. That can be done differently. Better. With more support, people learn to take the wheel themselves during reintegration. The goal of ERIRE is to promote self-management and thus improve reintegration."
How?
De Vries comes back to it a few times in the presentation he gives together with colleague Bibi de Mul. "The sick employee's own control is central."
"We try to increase that control by offering two extra conversations at an early stage," De Mul adds. "The first concerns a three-quarters of an hour self-management interview , which takes place with a case manager after four weeks of absence. In that conversation, the employee learns more about the reintegration process, the responsibilities and taking control. The second, an Own perspective interview, is with a career coach and lasts an hour and a half. In that conversation, the main focus is on taking control of the career and the possible reintegration paths are discussed. For each conversation, protocols have been developed that the case manager and career coach must adhere to. They also have access to three tools that we have developed: 1. an infographic about laws and regulations, 2. your own director's card, and 3. a workbook with which an employee can prepare conversations with the company doctor and manager."
Haitze de Vries: "A lot of time is often lost, because employer and employee find it difficult to take control"
First evaluation
Both the Self-directed and the Own perspective interviews are mainly evaluated positively. In total, from September 2023 to April this year, there were 240 Own Directorate Interviews and 60 Own Perspective Interviews . For an initial evaluation, De Vries and De Mul conducted many interviews with employees, case managers, career coaches and company doctors. De Mul: "We interviewed ten employees who gave a 'positive to neutral' assessment of the methodology. They are also positive about the Jip and Janneke language of the preparatory animation and the tools. Some employees eventually managed to take control of themselves, while for others it is and remains a challenge."
Timing
A point of attention is the timing and targeting of the conversations. "Customization is important. Some employees found an extra conversation and an extra face difficult in the initial phase of the absence. Especially the Own perspective conversation was sometimes interpreted differently. In a few cases, an employee thought that the employer wanted to get rid of him."
Bibi de Mul: "Customization is important"
Personal interview
The case managers also gave a positive opinion of the management interviews they had. According to De Vries, they noticed first-hand "that employees had prepared well for the conversation and had thought about their own direction". This regularly resulted in a personal conversation, for which there is normally not always time so early in the reintegration process. "The Self-directed interview lasts three quarters of an hour, longer than usual, and that not only leads to employees feeling heard; They also take action faster."
Follow-up desired
De Mul, in turn, emphasised that the career coaches interviewed for the evaluation were very pleased with the ERARE methodology. These coaches came into the picture after sixteen weeks of absence for the Own perspective interviews and called the employees 'very candid'.
The coaches themselves found it 'a nice change' to start talking so early in the process. "Normally, they only come into the picture in the second year of illness. However, these coaches have noticed that employees need more information about the purpose of the conversation. And that one or more follow-up conversations are desirable in many cases."
Involving managers
Finally, De Vries explained the opinion of the company doctors. "In the evaluation, they called ERIRE 'a great initiative', but they also indicated that many employees and their managers are very hesitant. Both still rely on the advice of the company doctor, while it can also be nice for the doctor if people are better prepared for the consultation."
The tip from the company doctors was to pay more attention to the manager. De Vries: "I understand that. If you want to make an employee more proactive, you have to include that manager. They really have to do it together!"
In part 2 of the series How sick is the Netherlands? follows the story of case manager Brigitte van Wijngaarden, who is associated with the project on behalf of HCS.