Rückkehr in die Arbeit bei psychischen Erkrankungen. Herausforderungen für das Betriebliche Eingliederungsmanagement

Mental illnesses constitute an ever-growing share of factors relating to incapacity to work, and their importance in company health policy is increasing. The article analyses the possibilities and challenges of reintegration into work for those employees who had been diagnosed with mental disorders and had received treatment. It is based on a qualitative study of employees who had undergone therapy in psychosomatic clinics and of expert interviews with participants in Company Integration Management (BEM). It can be shown that a particular challenge, especially in the case of mental illnesses, is the fear of stigmatisation. It can hold back the affected individuals from participating in the BEM or from openly discussing their experiences of psychological burdens. The logics of actions of the different actors lead to a tendency to individualise BEM. On the one hand this enables appropriate action for each and every individual case, but on the other hand it implies that BEM loses sight of the psychological burden stemming from the general structure of the work situation itself. The BEM does, however, offer the potential to act as an instrument of situational prevention, if it is linked with other institutions of company health policy, especially risk assessment.