Investing in employability interventions? : methodological challenges and economic evaluation results

At some point, we will all experience work limitations due to health issues. In some cases, these limitations can lead to a reduction in work efficiency or absenteeism. In the Netherlands, the cost of absenteeism weighs most heavily on employers, who are expected to pay 70% of the absent employee’s salary for a maximum of two years. Various employability interventions have been developed to help minimise costs and facilitate reintegration. Interventions that focus on cooperation are the most cost-effective and therefore the most recommended. These include interventions that focus on the prevention and early detection of work-related health problems by encouraging an active role by company doctors and interventions that focus on employee-employer cooperation with the help of a mediator.