Medical causes of female sickness absence during economic transition in Poland

The current transformation of property relations and economic restructuring, along with many other factors, influence the health condition of workers. The present study was undertaken to investigate the trends in the rate and causes of female sickness absence during the period of economic transition in Poland, based on the absence analysis in one of the largest (before the process of restructuring) plants of the motor car industry. Vital for the current trends in the workers' absenteeism is the reduction in the rate of employment. The group investigated was composed of 3215 women and 5373 men employed during the years 1989-94. The main variable examined was the reason for the worker's discharge: (1) quitting the job because of health problems, (2) retirement, (3) termination of work contract due to economic problems of the plant, (4) change of affiliation agreed between the former and present employers. The structural transformations in the plant under study brought about the discharge of about 77% of workers during the period between 1989 and 1994, mostly owing to the termination of work contracts for economic reasons, and earlier retirement. The increase in the rate of sickness absence involved to a higher extent female workers; it amounted to 30% compared to 12% for male workers. Among the workers quitting employment, the rate of sickness absence was twice as high as that for the workers still under employment. The largest differences were noted for the female population; they concerned cardiovascular diseases, neoplasms and complications of pregnancy, delivery and the puerperium. The economic transformation processes make a considerable impact on the occurrence of sick absenteeism in workplaces. Workers leaving their jobs because of health problems, as well as those discharged for economic reasons belong to the highest risk group.