| Individuals with unreported addictions increase employer costs through absenteeism. The implementation of effective disability management strategies (DMS) could potentially contribute to reducing those costs. Researchers have focused on 12 DMS that have been proposed, but not evaluated. An important gap in the current literature exists regarding whether the proposed strategies are perceived to be effective, and more importantly, would be supported by employees if management implemented them. The purpose of this study was to assess the perceived effectiveness (PE) and willingness to support (WS) specific DMS. Colloaborative, motivation, and disability management theories provided the theoretical basis for designing a within-group, quantitative study surveying participants in one teacher's union. In an initial 13x2 Chi square analysis, a significant relationship between DMS strategies and perceived effectiveness was found while subsequent post hoc analyses identified seven specific strategies perceived to be effective in reducing absenteeism. A follow up 7x2 Chi square analysis found a significant relationship between the 7 DMS perceived effective and employee willingess to support implementation of the strategy. Implications for positive social change include identifying specific union-supported strategies percieved to be effective in reducing absenteeism possible strattegies to potentially reduce employer costs, and assisting employees in resolving unreported addictions. |
