TY - JOUR

T1 - Impact of the psychosocial work environment on registered absence from work

T2 - A two-year longitudinal study using the IPAW cohort

AU - Nielsen, Martin L.

AU - Rugulies, Reiner

AU - Christensen, Karl B.

AU - Smith-Hansen, Lars

AU - Bjorner, Jakob B.

AU - Kristensen, Tage S.

PY - 2004/10/1

Y1 - 2004/10/1

N2 - During the Intervention Project on Absence and Well-being (IPAW), a 5-year project conducted in Denmark, we investigated psychosocial work environment factors as independent predictors of the number of absence days per year. The present two-year longitudinal study used the IPAW cohort, but was not intended to study intervention effects, which will be reported later. Data were derived from baseline questionnaires and employers' registers of absence for 1919 participants (1305 women, 614 men, mainly in low-skilled jobs) in different occupations from 52 workplaces. These workplaces included municipal care, municipal technical services and a large pharmaceutical company. Analyses were performed by Poisson regression accounting for over-dispersion. After controlling for age, family type, health behaviours and physical work environment variables, we found that high levels of decision authority predicted low absence rates in both women and men. We tested two new psychosocial constructs developed for this study: Predictability (relating to being informed on future events at work) and Meaning of Work (relating to how meaningful and useful the work is perceived to be). Higher Predictability was a significant predictor of lower absence rates in men. This study adds to the body of evidence that the psychosocial working environment influences absence and should therefore be considered to be an important target for intervention.

AB - During the Intervention Project on Absence and Well-being (IPAW), a 5-year project conducted in Denmark, we investigated psychosocial work environment factors as independent predictors of the number of absence days per year. The present two-year longitudinal study used the IPAW cohort, but was not intended to study intervention effects, which will be reported later. Data were derived from baseline questionnaires and employers' registers of absence for 1919 participants (1305 women, 614 men, mainly in low-skilled jobs) in different occupations from 52 workplaces. These workplaces included municipal care, municipal technical services and a large pharmaceutical company. Analyses were performed by Poisson regression accounting for over-dispersion. After controlling for age, family type, health behaviours and physical work environment variables, we found that high levels of decision authority predicted low absence rates in both women and men. We tested two new psychosocial constructs developed for this study: Predictability (relating to being informed on future events at work) and Meaning of Work (relating to how meaningful and useful the work is perceived to be). Higher Predictability was a significant predictor of lower absence rates in men. This study adds to the body of evidence that the psychosocial working environment influences absence and should therefore be considered to be an important target for intervention.

KW - Decision authority

KW - Predictability

KW - Prospective study

KW - Psychosocial work environment

KW - Sickness absence

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=11144250763&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/02678370412331324806

DO - 10.1080/02678370412331324806

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:11144250763

VL - 18

SP - 323

EP - 335

JO - Work and Stress

JF - Work and Stress

SN - 0267-8373

IS - 4

ER -