Labor reintegration: A nonlinear process

Abstract

Abstract The objective of this article is to present a reading of the labor reintegration process. This study addresses the labor reintegration process of people who return to work after having been disabled for long periods of time regardless of the origin (common or work). This phenomenon has received different names in Spanish: reincorporation, return and reintegration. Thus, it has been difficult to understand. In some studies, it has been viewed as a result, while in others, it has been viewed as a process. Method: A qualitative study was conducted using the biographical method and the discursive interview technique with 11 participants. Content analysis and narrative lines were used. Results: Labor reintegration is a complex, multidimensional, multitemporal and multidirectional phenomenon. It is not a single process. It can entail multiple processes, since it depends on the experiences of those who live it, the contexts and the organizations where it is developed in a regulatory-administrative process that begins with the end of the period of labor inability, whose onset occurs with the same health-disease event. Conclusion: The phenomenon must be understood in terms of the psychosocial aspect and transcend the normative reading related to safety and health at work. It must shift from being a model focused on insurability to a model focused on workers’ health.