# III persons and capable workers: Constructing work ability in return-to-work negotiations after sickness absence

## TL;DR

This paper explores how work ability is discussed and negotiated among stakeholders during return-to-work meetings after sickness absence.

## Contribution

The study introduces a new perspective on work ability by analyzing how it is constructed through interaction in RTW negotiations.

## Key findings

- Work ability is constructed situationally using illness categories during RTW negotiations.
- Participants use cultural understandings of illness and capability to negotiate work ability.
- Membership categorization analysis reveals the situational aspects of illness and work ability.

## Abstract

In return-to-work (RTW) negotiations after sickness absence, the work ability of an individual employee becomes a shared interest for the multiple stakeholders representing both the healthcare sector and working life. In practice, the employee, employer and occupational health professionals need to reach a shared understanding of the employee’s work ability to enable shared decision-making concerning the plans for sustainable RTW. Drawing on 14 video-recorded RTW negotiations, we used conversation analysis-informed membership categorization analysis to examine how the participants of RTW negotiations discuss the work ability of an employee to pursue a shared understanding of the situation. Work ability was constructed in a very situational way, using illness categories to both explain the work ability of the employee and argue for or against their ability or inability to work. Our study contributes to research on RTW by introducing a new perspective to work ability. We show how work ability is realized during RTW negotiations through interaction, and how participants leverage their cultural understanding of illness and capability when negotiating work ability. We also demonstrate how membership categorization analysis can reveal the situational and consequential aspects of illness and work ability categories.