Open research questions in Workplace Health and Well-being

What the literature leaves open

• The study faces the challenge of measuring loneliness at work, which is a subjective and multifaceted concept. The study must account for the differences in the distribution of characteristics among the participants and the population. The study needs to address the potential biases in the sample, such as the exclusion of civil servants and self-employed individuals.

  Loneliness at work: a cross-sectional study on prevalence and correlates in a representative sample of employees in Germany · 2026 · DOI

• There is a lack of population-representative data on the prevalence and correlates of loneliness at work. Prior studies have not examined the multifaceted nature of loneliness at work. There is a need to investigate the distinctiveness of loneliness at work from general loneliness.

  Loneliness at work: a cross-sectional study on prevalence and correlates in a representative sample of employees in Germany · 2026 · DOI

• The current evidence on the impact of telework on work-related outcomes for managing health conditions is limited and fragmented. There is a need to map the existing literature and examine research practices on the topic.

  The impact of telework on absenteeism, presenteeism, and return to work among workers with health conditions: a scoping review · 2025 · DOI

• Further research could investigate the long-term effects of IAPT-like services on mental health and economic outcomes. Research on the cost-effectiveness of different treatment formats (e.g. individual CBT, group-based psychoeducation) could be conducted.

  Cost–benefit of IAPT Norway and effects on work-related outcomes and health care utilization: results from a randomized controlled trial using registry-based data · 2025 · DOI

• There is a lack of studies examining the long-term economic impact of IAPT-like services - There is a need to examine the cost-benefit of IAPT Norway and its effects on work-related outcomes and health care utilization

  Cost–benefit of IAPT Norway and effects on work-related outcomes and health care utilization: results from a randomized controlled trial using registry-based data · 2025 · DOI

• Research on stress management strategies among self-employed individuals remains limited. There is a need to understand the impact of stress and stress management on entrepreneurs' mental health and performance.

  Self-employed and stressed out? The impact of stress and stress management on entrepreneurs’ mental health and performance · 2024 · DOI

• Employee participation is considered an essential element when implementing organisational occupational health interventions (OOHIs), yet little is known about the relative importance of different forms of participation, such as direct and indirect participation.

  What is the role of direct and indirect participation in organisational occupational health interventions? A configural perspective · 2026 · DOI

• Abstract Background A variety of health and work support (H&WS) services are available in the UK, yet little is known about patients’ preferences for such support.

  PATients’ views of Health and WORK advice (PATcHWORK) study · 2026 · DOI

• Given its substantial reduction in length and limited information loss, the screening version demonstrated a favorable balance between brevity and retained variance.

  Psychometric validation of the Czech Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ III): long, middle, and screening versions in a nationwide sample · 2026 · DOI

• However, these types of interventions are highly complex to implement and evaluate, and they remain scarce in the literature.

  Can an organizationally anchored, multilevel intervention improve perceived stress and psychosocial factors in the workplace? A pre-post study assessing effectiveness and implementation · 2025 · DOI

• These outcomes are often driven by complex and overlapping work-related stressors, which remain insufficiently understood in combination.

  Occupational Stress, Burnout, and Fatigue Among Healthcare Workers in Shanghai, China: A Questionnaire-Based Cross-Sectional Survey · 2025 · DOI

• There is limited evidence regarding the correlation between occupational stress and metabolic syndrome (MetS), particularly in the petrochemical workers.

  Correlation analysis between occupational stress and metabolic syndrome in workers of a petrochemical enterprise: based on two assessment models of occupational stress · 2024 · DOI

• A review of MA's psychosocial working conditions and mental health is lacking, however.

  Psychosocial working conditions and mental health among medical assistants in Germany: a scoping review · 2024 · DOI

• Future research should examine discrepancies between job satisfaction and unfavorable working conditions and if psychosocial working conditions and mental health remain changed after the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Psychosocial working conditions and mental health among medical assistants in Germany: a scoping review · 2024 · DOI

• Little is known about whether there is an increased stress load at all and what possible improvements could be made in such a case.

  Challenges of modern work environments and means of overcoming them in the context of psychosocial risk assessments · 2024 · DOI

• According to current state of research, HoL in virtual teamwork is insufficiently researched.

  “That was one of my most difficult and biggest challenges”: experiences, preconditions and preventive measures of health-oriented leadership in virtual teams – A qualitative study with virtual leaders · 2024 · DOI

• The centres were well accessed and valued by HCWs, but their relationship with wellbeing and job-related factors is not well established.

  Workforce wellbeing centres and their positive role for wellbeing and presenteeism in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: secondary analysis of COVID-Well data · 2024 · DOI

• O P O is an emotive, political issue for the railway industry, which has so far been little investigated. This research was a pilot for a more ambitious study, when whole h e s are converted to OPO. This study found no increase in strcss or its effects. However, it is recognized that the crude methods employed, the short time span of this study, and the small sample size make it unlikely to be able to identify any but the most gross changes. However, practical problems were identified, for which recommendations were made, and management have acted on these. The recommendations were: (1) Platform monitors should be improved and methods of reporting inadequacies in them speeded up. Work has already started on a ‘second generation’ of monitors, and drivers are now encouraged to radio faults direct to their line controller. (2) Cab seating and ventilation should be improved. Before this survey began, an experimental seat was already on trial, and installation of this seat has been expemted. Improved ventilation is being installed. (3) Shift organization should bc rcvicwcd. Finally, this study had to be camed out under both time pressures and financial constraints. It hashowever, proved useful in (a) increasing understandmg of the reactions to OPO and their study; and (6) producing design recommendations (which have been acted on).

  Stress and the London Regional Transport train driver · 1987 · DOI

• That research had reported that undesirable economic exper- iences were risk factors for physiological (Catalano & Dooley, 1983) and psychological (Dooley & Catalano, 1984a) disorder as well as for help seeking for the latter (Dooley & Catalano, 1984b) and suggested further study of moderators of the risk.

  Job and non‐job stressors and their moderators · 1987 · DOI

• One limitation in the present research is that the design fails to account for the effects of the environment on worker behavior, nor was there an attempt to control for the possibility that all differences in behavior can be explained by tasks and settings. The question can be raised: Would workers without handicaps display the same work and social skills if they were doing similar tasks under similar conditions as those of persons with handicaps and visa versa? Nevertheless, much training of workers with handicaps occurs in schools and sheltered settings. Goals and interventions are often established in environments different from those found in competitive work sites. Accounting for variations in work behavior across varying employment settings should lead to valid instructional objectives and placement decisions based on likely differences among groups of workers. The two distinct patterns of behavior visible for workers who are not retarded suggest that uniform placement objectives for mainstreaming employees with handicaps are not viable. Capitalizing on the relative strengths of individuals with handicaps in relation to alternative patterns of work and social behavior should aid in ensuring a successful transition to competitive employment. Recommendations for future research include (a) replication, particularly at varying job sites; (b) assessment of the construct validity and utility of instructional objectives based on the findings presented; and (c) evaluation of the quality of placement decisions made on the basis of similarities and differences observed across groups. 105 REFERENCES Bogdan, R., & Taylor, S. (1975). Introduction to qualitative research methods. New York: John Wiley. Bronner, A.F. (1933). Follow-up studies of mental defectives: Procedures and address. American Association of Mental Deficiency, 38, 258-267. Greenspan, S. (1979). Social intelligence in the retarded. In N.R. Ellis (Ed.), Handbook of mental deficiency: Psychological theory and research (pp. 99-141). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Landesman-Dwyer, S., & Berkson, G. (1984). Friendships and social behavior. In J. Wortis (Ed.), Mental retardation and developmental disabilities (Vol. 13) (pp. 129-154). New York: Plenum Press. Langford, C.A. (1982). Social interaction skills needed by severely handicapped workers in competitive employment. Unpublished manuscript, George Peabody College for Teachers, Vanderbilt University. Langford, C.A., & Salzberg, C.L. (1982). Developing socially valid teaching targets for fast food restaurant workers. Manuscript submitted for publication. Levy, S.M. (1978). The measurement of retarded and normal workers’ job performance through the use of naturalistic observation in sheltered and industrial work environments. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois. Levy, S.M., & Glascoe, F.P. (1986). An evaluation of work and work-related social skills in

  The Work Behavior of Employees with and without Handicaps · 1987 · DOI

• Thcse possibilities, and others, should be investigated thoroughly in order to fully understand what the intercorrelations among the variables represent.

  Interactive effects of perceived control and job stressors on affective reactions and health outcomes for clerical workers · 1987 · DOI

• Few studies have investigated the determinants of sustainable return to work after a common mental disorder. There is a need to identify factors that influence sustainable return to work for people with common mental disorders.

  Determinants of Sustainable Return to Work After Burnout or Depression: A Longitudinal Cohort Study · 2026 · DOI

• The prospective cohort design of this study allowed for the tracking of SRTW over time, capturing personal and social variables that cannot be measured retrospectively. Making use of self-reported SA data made it possible to take the reason of recurrent SA into account in analysis, which is not always possible for register-based data. Thereafter, it allowed any recurrences to be reported, while register-based data often are limited to recurrences that exceed a certain length (e.g., 4 weeks of absence for which disability ben- efits are in place). Furthermore, in this research, two out- come measures of SRTW were taken into account, recurrent SA and WA, while previous research usually focusses on recurrent SA alone. This is of importance as Nielsen et al. emphasize that work functioning after RTW is an impor- tant measure of SRTW after a CMD [11]. Several limita- tions are also present in our study. We would like to point out that despite considerable effort, recruitment challenges resulted in a small sample size. This might be explained by the vulnerable target group not wanting to increase their load in a difficult time of RTW. Furthermore, substantial attrition was a key limitation. This in combination with the relatively small sample size, reduces the statistical power to detect—and confidently exclude—potentially relevant pre- dictors. Consequently, our findings should be interpreted with appropriate caution. We were also unable to distin- guish between different kinds of trajectories or take into account within-individual changes over time. The absence of significant changes in work ability over time may partly reflect a selection effect, whereby participants with more stable trajectories are more likely to remain in the sample. We cannot exclude the possibility that missingness was not completely at random. Additionally, the study population exhibited certain biases. First, there was a gender imbalance, with the majority of participants being women. However, this may reflect the broader population, as psychological disorders are more prevalent among women, accounting for over two-thirds of the individuals on work disability due to burnout or depression [4, 6]. Secondly, all measures in this study were self-reported by participants, and accuracy of the provided data on SA could not be confirmed by an inde- pendent source. Thirdly, as the study focused exclusively on salaried workers, the findings cannot be extrapolated to self-employed individuals. Impact & Future Despite its exploratory character, this study may offer some insights into factors of importance to achieve a SRTW for people experiencing a CMD. Sufficient time to achieve con- siderable improvement of depression and anxiety symptoms at the time of RTW seems to be important to prevent recur- rent SA. Contrary, delaying RTW might also impact the occurrence of RTW at all, since longer absences decrease chances of RTW [57]. In addition, Modini et al. state that RTW can also alleviate depression and anxiety symptoms, improve self-reported wellbeing, provide a greater sense of autonomy, increase access to resources to cope with demands, enhance social status, and provide unique oppor- tunities for personal development and mental health promo- tion [7]. Finding a balance between sufficient recovery and timely action to steps in RTW is thus essential. Depressive and anxiety symptoms have also been shown to be important indicators of work ability after the initial return. Over time, resilience and controllability also appear to play a meaning- ful role. Although only correlations were found with other factors at individual, group, leader, and organizational level, these findings suggest that actions at different levels of the IGLOO framework may influence SRTW. Future research should further investigate the variables found to impact SRTW, both directly, via recurrence of SA, and indirectly, via WA or work functioning. By examining both recurrent SA and WA within the same framework, this study contrib- utes to the conceptualization of (S) RTW by highlighting the multidimensional nature of sustainability and the intercon- nected pathways through which symptoms, work ability, and work participation influence each other over time. Further research with larger sample sizes is needed to validate these findings, resolve inconsistencies in the existing literature, and investigate potential interactions between variables. Such efforts could contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the determinants of SRTW and inform the development of targeted interventions.

  Determinants of Sustainable Return to Work After Burnout or Depression: A Longitudinal Cohort Study · 2026 · DOI

• This study has several important strengths. The use of a large nationwide administrative dataset (over 260 000 women) provided substantial statistical power and enabled analyses across employment sectors, contract types and residential areas in the Netherlands. Objective administrative records reduced recall bias and ensured consistent measurement of benefit receipt, employment status and working hours over a prolonged obser- vation period. Distinguishing sick leave during pregnancy from sick leave within 2 years after childbirth allowed examination within their distinct legal and occupational contexts. Several limitations should be considered. First, sick leave was classified based on benefit receipt and timing rather than diagnosis, as diagnostic information was not available in a standardised, analysable format. Sick leave should there- fore be interpreted as a composite indicator reflecting health needs, working conditions and sick leave behaviour rather than morbidity alone. Second, information on subsequent pregnan- cies was unavailable, and labour force participation may have been underestimated among women with short pregnancy inter- vals. Previous register- based research has shown that patterns of sick leave absence after childbirth are highly sensitive to selection mechanisms, particularly subsequent pregnancies, highlighting the difficulty of attributing post- childbirth sickness absence causally to motherhood alone.24 Third, the data lacked precise timing of individual sick leave spells, precluding time- to- event analyses and limiting assessment of sequencing between sick leave and return to work. Sick leave was operationalised as accumulated length, which may not reflect complete absence due to partial benefits. Fourth, the study population was restricted to women eligible for employee- based maternity and sick leave benefits, limiting generalisability to those outside the formal labour market. Finally, information on death or emigra- tion during the observation was unavailable and could not be treated as competing risks. As an observational study, causal interpretations cannot be made, and unmeasured confounding (including previous work history, pre- existing health condi- tions, socio- economic circumstances and workplace characteris- tics) may partly explain the observed associations.

  Associations between sick leave during pregnancy and after childbirth and future labour force participation: a Dutch cohort study · 2026 · DOI

• Purpose This study examines the role of line managers in supporting workplace mental health within non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the West of Ireland, a predominantly rural and coastal region comprising counties Mayo, Galway, Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon, addressing a critical yet under-researched area.

  An exploration into the role of the line manager in supporting workplace mental health in a sample of NGOs in the West of Ireland · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Workplace Health and Well-being

• Job strain, work place social support, and cardiovascular disease: a cross-sectional study of a random sample of the Swedish working population. · American Journal of Public Health · 1988 · 1,811 citations
• An empirical examination of self-reported work stress among U.S. managers. · Journal of Applied Psychology · 2000 · 1,735 citations
• The Job Demand-Control (-Support) Model and psychological well-being: A review of 20 years of empirical research · Work & Stress · 1999 · 1,322 citations
• Internationally Comparable Measures of Occupational Status for the 1988 International Standard Classification of Occupations · Social Science Research · 1996 · 1,273 citations
• The Experience of Work-Related Stress across Occupations · Journal of Managerial Psychology · 2005 · 1,029 citations
• Cost of Lost Productive Work Time Among US Workers With Depression · JAMA · 2003 · 1,004 citations
• Presenteeism in the workplace: A review and research agenda · Journal of Organizational Behavior · 2009 · 983 citations
• Health and Well-Being in the Workplace: A Review and Synthesis of the Literature · Journal of Management · 1999 · 974 citations
• Sick but yet at work. An empirical study of sickness presenteeism · Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health · 2000 · 950 citations
• The second version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire · Scandinavian Journal of Public Health · 2009 · 926 citations

Most recent work

• Personalized AI for workplace health promotion: performance management and healthcare worker engagement through digital analytics · Frontiers in Public Health · 2026
• Controlled role of gender and age between work fatigue and job performance in healthcare managers · Management Decision · 2026
• Using an Adapted Job Demands–Resources Model to Examine the Use of Legal, Prescription, and Illegal Drugs for Cognitive Enhancement in the Working Population in Germany · Sociological Inquiry · 2026
• Occupational and Psychosocial Risk Factors for Depression Among Truck Drivers: A Systematic Review · Issues in Mental Health Nursing · 2026
• How policy implementation impacts employee suffering at work: An exploration of medical leaves of absence. · Journal of Applied Psychology · 2026
• Investigating the paradoxes of workplace well-being: a systematic realist review of workplace wellness intervention · Work & Stress · 2026
• Does psychological distress always impair work performance? Insights from Vietnamese construction employees · Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology · 2026
• Network analysis of workplace mobbing, work–family conflict, and mental health in adults from the general population · Frontiers in Sociology · 2026
• Australian population norms for paid work productivity and exploratory estimates for unpaid work productivity · Social Science & Medicine · 2026
• The Anatomy of U.S. Sick Leave Schemes: Evidence from Public School Teachers · The Review of Economics and Statistics · 2026

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