Research Updates

This page lists all research updates available on Return to Work Matters.

Research is chosen for review based on quality of the evidence and its practical value in return to work.

Requests to undertake reviews of research on particular subjects are welcome.

Click the ‘Topics’ button below to drill down into all articles and research updates on your topic of interest.

Improving RTW outcomes through digital coordination

contributorLauren Finestone

A web application called PRATICAdr helps workers with mental health issues return to work...

If you build it, will they come? — How useful are workplace mental health toolkits?

contributorLauren Finestone

What should organisations think about when implementing toolkits to support workers’ mental...

To conceal or reveal a mental health issue at work? That is the question for many injured or ill workers

contributorLauren Finestone

A tool to help someone decide whether or not to disclose a mental health issue helped unemployed...

What motivates workers to improve their health?

contributorLauren Finestone

A personalised approach and workplace support are the keys to helping a worker adopt healthier...

Help me if you can, I’m feeling down — addressing mental health at work

contributorLauren Finestone

Interventions for mental health issues must address the individual, organisational and systemic...

How supervisors can prevent staff burnout

contributorLauren Finestone

Supervisors’ personal experiences of burnout, their attitudes towards mental health and the...

Culture not trauma — a new approach to identifying and preventing mental harm in first responders: Part 2

contributorLauren Finestone

A study highlights the importance of addressing ‘moral injury’, organisational practices and...

‘This is so unfair’. Preventing perceptions of injustice after a work injury.

contributorLauren Finestone

A sense of injustice is common among injured workers and can prolong their suffering. What...

Culture not trauma — a new approach to identifying and preventing mental harm in first responders (Part 1)

contributorLauren Finestone

A study suggests it’s time for a rethink on what causes distress in first responders and how to...

Checking the benefits of workplace mental health screening

contributorLauren Finestone

A study suggests that workplace mental health screening programs on their own may not be very...

A Wysa approach to recovery from work-related injury

contributorLauren Finestone

A study of an AI drive app shows that digital psychosocial interventions can improve recovery...

Job demands as psychosocial hazards — reducing the risks through the power of nature and virtual reality

contributorLauren Finestone

A study suggests that taking a break, getting some exercise and spending time in nature — either...

The 'wicked' problem of addressing psychosocial hazards — lessons from abroad

contributorLauren Finestone

What makes it so hard to effectively assess and implement measures to address psychosocial...

‘Manage at Work’ — a worksite self-management program boosts engagement and retention

contributorLauren Finestone

A worksite self-management program that used a group psycho-education format helped workers with...

Spark joy to stay safe at work

contributorLauren Finestone

Leaders’ behaviours can influence employees — and also prevent workplace injuries — through...

What aspects of work cause MSDs for professional drivers?

contributorRTWMatters team

Interventions for work-related MSDs should not be based merely on addressing the symptoms, but...

An evidence-based system for occupational mental health interventions

contributorWork Wellness Institute, Canada

Covering risk assessment, implementation, RTW, EAPs and post-implementation quality improvement,...

Workplace interventions to prevent sedentary pain

contributorGabrielle Lis

Are inflating and deflating “smart seats” the cure for back and neck pain amongst sedentary...

Failure to implement

contributorGabrielle Lis

Workplace health and wellbeing programs almost always sound great in theory, but often come...

Gaming workplace wellness

contributorRTWMatters team

For sedentary office workers, gamification steps up activity but nudges (e.g. signs) in the...

Comparing LBP prevention approaches

contributorGabrielle Lis

Fixing the workplace or fixing the person: which is a more effective way to prevent lower back pain?

A new look at depression and RTW

contributorRTWMatters team

Clinical treatment combined with workplace changes is the most promising approach for improving...

We need better workplace interventions for common mental disorders

contributorGabrielle Lis

Tackle the psychosocial work environment if you want to see higher productivity, less sickness...

Clearing the air at work

contributorGabrielle Lis

Can workplace interventions ease occupational asthma? Are there benefits to reducing risk...

Less mental illness, more flourishing at work

contributorGabrielle Lis

Can interventions that target the psychosocial work environment reduce mental illness AND...

Targeted learning eases job strain in the ICU

contributorGabrielle Lis

A 5-day intervention for ICU nurses in France establishes that individual workers can learn to...

Interventions with workplace contact reduce stress absence

contributorGabrielle Lis

Contact with the workplace has proven benefits for workers with stress, depression and other...

Hospital, union collaborate on good RTW medicine

contributorGabrielle Lis

Employer, union collaboration on disability management policy and RTW planning leads to 50% drop...

Works often but not always: a closer look at participatory ergonomics

contributorGabrielle Lis

Not all participatory ergonomics programs are created equal, Professor Robin Burgess-Limerick...

RTW intervention supergroup

contributorRTWMatters team

International research says workplace interventions work best when they tick multiple boxes:...

Supervisor training wasted without support from the top?

contributorRTWMatters team

Before your organisation invests in supervisor training, ask whether the organisational culture...

Preventing chronic MSDs

contributorGabrielle Lis

The right kind of vocational rehabilitation can stave off the transition to chronic disability....

Research short: Can yoga ease workplace stress?

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

A UK study has concluded that regular yoga can improve workplace wellbeing and reduce employee...

Want less sick leave?

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

The evidence says you should improve workplace culture, clearly define roles and put better...

Research short: Is integrated care value for $?

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

A European study of an integrated care program for workers with long term back problems shows a...

Research short: Armed against arm pain

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

Reducing repetitive work is not the only option to consider when attempting to accommodate arm...

What helps RTW for people with chronic pain?

contributorJoy Hewitt

Surveys can help identify factors that will improve RTW.

Supervising recovery

contributorAndrea Thompson

Employer response to injury impacts employee recovery. This study identifies where employers go...

Improving disability management in the workplace

contributorHilary Hoare

What works when designing disability management programs in the workplace?

Mismanaging depression

contributorTom Wells-Quinn

What are the barriers to effective management of depression in the workplace?