LOWER BACK DISABILITY IN OCCUPATIONAL SETTINGS: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE FROM A HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT VIEW

Five avenues (job design, selection, training, compensation, and organizational climate) through which human resource researchers and practitioners can influence lower back disability are identified.

Abstract

Lower back disability (LBD) is a widespread phenomenon that has dramatic impacts on individuals' lives, as well as employers' costs. Despite this fact, specialists in the area of human resources have paid little attention to this critical, work‐related outcome. The need for human resource professionals to learn more about LBD has become even more urgent due to the recent passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Although the treatment of lower back pain falls within the domain of physicians, this paper adopts a bio‐psycho‐social approach and reviews the existing empirical literature on variables related to LBD at the preventative and rehabilitation stages. We identify five avenues (job design, selection, training, compensation, and organizational climate) through which human resource researchers and practitioners can influence lower back disability.