Charlotte Brøgger Bond

What is the title of your thesis?

Stress in Working Life: An Effect and Realist Evaluation of a Stress-Management Intervention for Patients with Work-Related Stress.

At which department and/or research unit did you complete your PhD?

I completed my PhD at the Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, in collaboration with the Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Odense University Hospital.

Who was your principal supervisor?

My principal supervisor was Louise Fleng Sandal, Associate Professor at the Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark.

What question did you aim to answer with your thesis?

I investigated whether a work-focused stress management intervention (MARS) can help people experiencing work-related stress return to work, and how it works (or does not work), for whom, and under what conditions.

What did you find?

I found that participation in the MARS programme was associated with fewer weeks of sickness absence and a faster, sustainable return to work. I also found that the programme does not work in the same way for everyone.

It appears to be particularly effective when participants are both able to engage actively with the programme and receive support that is not merely well-intentioned, but enables them to act differently in practice.

How did you do it?

I used a combination of methods. First, I analysed register data to examine whether participants in the MARS programme returned to work more quickly and had lower levels of sickness absence.

I then used interviews, observations, and supplementary questionnaire and register data to investigate how the programme works, for whom it works best, and under what conditions.

How can your research be applied (in the clinic, society, etc.)?

The research can be used to make interventions for work-related stress more targeted and effective. It suggests that individual stress programmes can be beneficial, but that their effectiveness depends on support from, for example, the workplace, managers, and close personal relationships.

The findings can therefore be applied both in clinical practice and in efforts to better support employees in returning to work.