Teachers returning to work after sick leave for mental disorders

The present study evaluates the perception of the meaning of the return to work process in public school teachers following sick leave for mental and behavioral disorders. It was a qualitative study conducted with 20 elementary school teachers in activity or undergoing retraining. Data was obtained thru individual interviews, focus groups and a questionnaire, which included socioeconomic data and work conditions, during 2011 and 2012. Data was analyzed by means of thematic categorization. Most participants are women, average age of 44 years old, and 43.2 work hours per week. Among those who were active teachers, return to work was associated with the reasons that led to the sick leave, their ability to accomplish actual work and the possibility to be valued at work. Regarding teachers undergoing retraining, the meanings of return to work included conflicts of return to classroom or be away from it. It was paramount to discuss the professional identity in order to understand the return to work process of the teachers under retraining. Two themes were common to both groups of teachers: the role of the managerial school team during the return to work process and the prejudice they faced in the work environment. It was not possible to approach return to work without discussing the sick leave process. The performed analyses, by the point of view of the participants, revealed a number of topics to understand the sick leave and return to work process, living and working conditions of the teachers.