JOEM: Psychosocial Working Conditions and Subsequent Sickness Absence (June 2022)-JOEM: Psychosocial Working Conditions and Subsequent Sickness Absence (June 2022)

JOEM: Psychosocial Working Conditions and Subsequent Sickness Absence (June 2022)

Pdf Summary

This study investigated the associations between psychosocial working conditions and sickness absence (SA) in a population-based twin sample, with a focus on the role of pain and common mental disorders (CMDs). The study included survey data on pain and CMDs, register data on SA, and data on psychosocial working conditions. The sample consisted of 28,916 twin individuals followed from 2005 to 2016 for first incident SA. The study found almost no statistically significant associations between psychosocial working conditions and SA. Pain had a minor effect on the associations, but the effect varied depending on the SA measure. The study also looked at the role of familial factors in the associations and found that familial confounding could not be ruled out. The results suggest that the associations between psychosocial working conditions and SA may not vary depending on the definition of SA, but rather on other population characteristics. The study highlights the importance of early detection of pain for prevention of SA and the need to assess psychosocial stressors at work for interventions. However, further research is needed to confirm and clarify the findings.

Keywords

psychosocial working conditions

sickness absence

pain

common mental disorders

twin sample

familial factors

early detection of pain

psychosocial stressors at work

interventions