Sickness absence and psychosocial work conditions: a multilevel study

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Psychology
• Sociology

Background:

• Psychosocial work conditions, especially psychological job demands, show inconsistent links to sickness absence.
• Individual-level assessments may reflect personal perceptions rather than objective workplace demands.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between sickness absence and psychosocial work conditions.
• To investigate these associations at both individual and workplace levels.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 395 insurance employees across four departments.
• Individual-level data collected via self-completed questionnaires (psychological job demands, job control, job support).
• Workplace-level data gathered through interviews with supervisors and employees by an occupational psychologist.

Main Results:

• Individual self-assessments of job demands and control did not correlate with sickness absence.
• Departments with high demands and low control at the workplace level exhibited higher rates of short and long sickness absence episodes.
• Discrepancies noted between individual quantitative scores and workplace qualitative data for job control.

Conclusions:

• The association between psychosocial work conditions and sickness absence is dependent on the assessment level.
• Multilevel research is crucial for a clearer understanding of the complex relationship between workplace factors and employee absence.