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The prevalence and multi-system nature of post-COVID-19 symptoms warrants clearer understanding of their work ability implications within the working age population. An exploratory survey was undertaken to provide empirical evidence of the work-relevant experiences of workers recovering from COVID-19.

A bespoke online survey based on a biopsychosocial framework ran between December 2020 and February 2021. It collected quantitative ratings of work ability and return-to-work status, qualitative responses about return-to-work experiences, obstacles and recommendations, along with views on employer benefits for making accommodations. A sample of 145 UK workers recovering from COVID-19 was recruited via social media, professional networks and industry contacts. Qualitative data was subject to thematic analysis. Participants were mainly from health/social care (50%) and educational settings (14%).

Just over 90% indicated that they had experienced at least some post-COVID-19 symptoms, notably fatigue and cognitive effects. For 55%, symptoms lasted longer than six months. Only 15% had managed a full return-to-work. Of the 88 who provided workability ratings, just 13 and 18% respectively rated their physical and mental workability as good or very good. Difficulties in resuming work were attributed to symptom unpredictability, their interaction with job demands, managing symptoms and demands in parallel, unhelpful attitudes and expectations. Manager and peer support was reported as variable.

Workplace health management characterised by flexible long-term collaborative return-to-work planning, supported by more COVID-centric absence policies and organisational cultures, appear pivotal for sustaining the return-to-work of the large segments of the global workforce affected by post-COVID-19 symptoms.

The workplace offers an ideal setting for facilitating physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviours. Understanding employees’ current health behaviours is required to inform appropriate, tailored, health promotion interventions. The purpose of this paper is to compare the physical activity and sedentary behaviours over 12 months of employees within and across five UK organisations. The paper also explores the association of these health behaviours with objective and self-reported health outcomes; and investigates the association between physical activity and sedentary behaviours.

Self-reported physical activity and sedentary behaviours were recorded at four time points (baseline, three, six, 12 months). BMI, per cent body fat, waist circumference, blood pressure and resting heart rate were collected in health checks (baseline, 12 months). Well-being and health were collected via questionnaire.

Low physical activity and high sedentariness were evident. Sitting levels varied by occupational role and organisation. More activity was associated with improved health outcomes; no association was evident for sedentary behaviour. No direct effects of occupational role or organisation on health outcomes emerged after accounting for physical activity/sedentary behaviours. Physical activity and sedentary levels were weakly associated.

The low activity levels are of particular concern as linked to health outcomes for this sample. The weak association between behaviours suggests worksite interventions should target both behaviours.

This study provides insight into both the physical activity and sedentary behaviours of employees of large UK employers across different occupational sectors over 12 months; importantly it is informed by the most recent guidance for these health behaviours.

This paper aims to consider the opportunities for embedded methodologies for research into children’s social care and the ethics of this method.

This study draws upon embedded research from a two-year study into developing children’s social work approaches to extra-familial risk. Findings draw upon personal reflections from field notes, case reviews, practice observations and reflections.

Two findings are presented. Firstly, that embedded research provides numerous opportunities to develop child protection systems and practice. Secondly, a number of ethical questions and challenges of the methodology are presented.

This paper draws upon personal reflections from one study and is not intended to be representative of all approaches to embedded research methods.

Two practical recommendations are presented. Firstly, this paper outlines a number of recommendations to university researchers and host organisations on the facilitative attributes for embedded researchers. Secondly, questions are raised to support university ethics boards to assist ethical frameworks for embedded research.

This paper contributes original empirical data to the limited literature on embedded research in children’s services.

This paper studies a Swedish municipality that wants to go beyond its own operations, involving the local industry in saving energy to improve the environment. The paper aims to analyse the experiences and practical implications of using policy networks for implementing energy-efficiency measures in private industrial companies.

The researchers closely followed a Swedish municipality and its work to engage the local industry in energy-efficiency activities. Participatory observations of meetings and workshops and semi-structured interviews with involved actors were conducted.

The study examines a Swedish municipality that has started addressing energy efficiency in local businesses by creating a network involving 60 companies. This network was tested in relation to four hypotheses on how policy networks develop. The study finds that the network has too broad a problem definition, which does not help unify the involved actors. The companies’ involvement is based on passive participation in which they are receivers of information. The network has been unable to use a social control mechanism because there have been few company-to-company meetings. In conclusion, for a network to be an efficient policy tool, its structure is as important as the ideas for action and clear goals.

This case study of one Swedish municipality allows for analytical but not statistical generalization.

The paper uniquely calls for reflection on whether municipalities and local authorities have enough competence to drive industrial energy efficiency.

Annotation is a practice that is familiar to many of us, and yet it is a practice so natural that it is hard to pin down its characteristics, to find where its edges are, and identify what it does for us. In this piece, we use reflections on the practices of annotation in four fields of work: academia, software engineering, medical sonography and visual art as a point of departure to theorise annotation as a set of practices that bridge reading, writing and thinking. We think about annotation being performative and consider what and how it brings into being. Revealing hidden practices in our working lives, such as annotation, helps us to understand how knowledge comes to be created, disseminated, legitimated and popularised. To this end, we make the practices of annotation involved in writing the present piece visible in an effort to write differently in management and organisation studies, unpicking and exposing it as ever dialogical and unfinished.