Maintaining the employability of employees
Gradual reintegration in a large German chemical company
Objectives:
Gradual reintegration is a measure in the return-to-work process and is part of the occupational health management at BASF SE, which is the responsibility of Corporate Health Management. This article aims to describe the gradual reintegration of employees of BASF SE in Ludwigshafen in the years 2016 to 2021.
Methods:
Data on the start and end of the gradual reintegration, the results of reintegration and the duration of previous incapacity for work, including relevant diagnoses, was entered into the electronic patient file (AMEDIS) by the responsible occupational physicians and supplemented by information on age, gender, working time system and occupational group as well as occupational health screening data on smoking status, weight and height.
Results:
From 2016 to 2021, 3260 gradual reintegrations were carried out on 2826 people at BASF SE’s main site in Ludwigshafen. The participants were on average 49 years old and 18 percent were female. More than 90 percent of the reintegrations were successfully completed (with or without health restrictions). Ill-health retirement was required for less than 1 percent (n = 11). Participants were unable to work for 137 days (median; IQR: 92–218) prior to the start of reintegration. The most common diagnosis groups were mental and behavioural disorders and diseases of the musculoskeletal system, followed by cardiovascular diseases, injuries and cases of poisoning. A successful gradual reintegration took a median of 27 days (IQR: 23–40) to complete.
Conclusions:
Gradual reintegration is well established as a successful tool for maintaining employability after prolonged incapacity for work. Occupational physicians bring their knowledge of the jobs and the organisational structure within the company and are thus able to shape the gradual reintegration individually and according to requirements.
