Supervisors’ Views Reveal What Helps and Hinders Work Ability Management in Public Health Care

Researchers have developed a checklist and a set of recommendations to help public social and health care organizations implement work ability management, based on a mixed-methods study of supervisors’ perspectives published in BMC Health Services Research. The study applied the COM-B model for behavior change, which examines capability, opportunity, and motivation, to understand how supervisors as key implementers carry out work ability management within the health services system.

The motivation for the work lies in pressures facing public social and health care organizations: high rates of sickness absence related to mental health and musculoskeletal problems, an aging workforce, and financial constraints. The researchers note a gap between knowledge and practice, indicating that work ability management is often implemented inefficiently. Their study had two aims: to identify facilitators and barriers to implementation, and to develop a checklist and recommendations to support implementation in these organizations.

Methodologically, the study combined qualitative and quantitative data, drawing on two surveys, focus group interviews, and co-development workshops. This design allowed the team to capture supervisors’ experiences and then work with them to translate findings into practical tools.

The results identified facilitators and barriers reflecting supervisors’ capability, opportunity, and motivation to implement work ability management across five themes: knowledge-based management, models and practices, collaboration and support, information flow, and organizational culture. These themes were operationalized and mapped onto the COM-B model, yielding 24 co-developed checklist statements and 10 recommendations that outline responsibilities, actions, and monitoring needs. Together, the tools are intended to help organizations assess the current state of work ability management from the supervisors’ perspective and plan targeted development actions.

The conclusion highlights an asymmetry in how the five themes operate. Supervisors’ self-evaluation of their own motivation and capabilities was experienced as a facilitator of implementation, whereas organizational structures that shape implementation opportunities were viewed as barriers. Strengthening communication and collaboration structures was described as essential.

According to the authors, several actions are crucial for successful implementation: enhancing supervisors’ capabilities, improving implementation opportunities by strengthening knowledge-based management practices, ensuring support, and establishing clear objectives and feedback. Because social and health care organizations are large and contextually varied, the authors suggest that considering this contextual variation could help ensure the checklist and recommendations are implemented consistently across such organizations.

The team also emphasizes that the checklist is not yet a validated instrument. Further research is needed to validate it, examine its applicability across different organizations, identify potential modification requirements, and assess its impact on organizational outcomes. Until such studies are completed, the checklist and recommendations should be understood as co-developed planning tools grounded in supervisors’ perspectives rather than as proven interventions.

Subject of Research: Facilitators and barriers to implementing work ability management from supervisors' perspectives in public social and health care organizations

Article Title: Implementing work ability management: a mixed-methods study from supervisors’ perspectives in public social and health care organizations

Article References: Anttilainen, J., Henriksson, M., & Pehkonen, I. (2026). Implementing work ability management: a mixed-methods study from supervisors’ perspectives in public social and health care organizations. BMC Health Services Research. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-16006-8

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12913-026-16006-8

Keywords: work ability management, supervisors, public health care, social services, COM-B model, implementation, mixed methods, checklist, organizational culture, sickness absence, knowledge-based management, Implementing