Sub-project 1: Those on sick leave and those who drop out of working life
- Which groups receive work-oriented measures from NAV during the sick leave period?
- Which work-oriented measures from NAV give different groups the best means to return to work?
- Which subgroups of people on sick leave should receive work-oriented measures from NAV to increase the likelihood of returning to work? Who seems to benefit most from which measures?
The analysis will therefore examine who receives work-oriented measures during the sick leave period, what kind of measures they receive, and the outcomes from receiving various measures. The analysis will also examine whether the people who return to work remain in the workforce over time.
The analysis of the labor market measures should also examine whether any of the measures seem to work better for some groups than for others. In addition, NAV has requested analyses on the timing of the measures in the course of sickness absence. Here, it may be relevant to compare people who receive measures during the sick leave period, with those who do not receive it until after the sick leave period, when they are transferred to work assessment allowance.
- Follow-up and offers from the healthcare system during the sick leave period
This part of the analysis will investigate whether a lack of health care services is a cause of sickness absence or labor market exits. The research project should investigate whether there are patterns linked to the follow-up from NAV and the offer you have received from the health care system, and the likelihood of returning to work. Here, for example, it may be interesting to investigate whether people who drop out of working life have lacked treatment options.
The database should contain information about both the specialist health service and the municipal health service, and possibly drug treatment. In this section, it will probably be difficult to get an overall picture. Here, it may therefore also be relevant to obtain information from, for example, case files, medical reports, reports in the health sector, etc.
Sub-project 2: Inclusion and sickness absence
A goal of the Inclusive Work Life (IA) agreement is a reduction in national statistics on sickness absence and labor market exits. A possible challenge with this goal is that it may stand in contrast to the government's "Inclusion task", i.e., that there should be an increase in participation in the workforce among people with health challenges and people with “gaps in their resume”.
If an employer hires a person with health challenges or who has been out of work for a long time, this may involve a possible risk of increased sickness absence in the work place. This may no entail that Norwegian working life in general has become less inclusive. There is therefore a need for more in-depth knowledge about the development of labor market participation among those who are at risk of sick leave and labor market exit, as well as about the labor market participation of people with "gaps in their resume".
NAV wishes sub-project 2 to carry out analyzes that can contribute to a more nuanced picture of the achievement of targets in the IA agreement, and the connections between inclusion and sickness absence. In this sub-project, it may also be relevant to examine different parts of the labor market, such as different professions or industries.
Publications
Evensen, Miriam; Dale-Olsen, Harald; Hardoy, Ines; Wentzel, Mirjam (2024). Registerdataanalyse: sykefravær, inkludering og frafall fra arbeidslivet. Delrapport 2. Institute for Social Research. Report 2024:1. Full text in Research Archive
