Related Experiment Videos
Associations between work stress, alcohol consumption and sickness absence
R M Vasse1, F J Nijhuis, G Kok
1Department of Health Education and Promotion, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands. r.vasse@gvo.unimaas.nl
Addiction (Abingdon, England)
|June 13, 1998
Summary
Workplace stress increases sickness absence risk for abstainers, not heavy drinkers. Stress mediates the link between stressors and alcohol use or sickness absence, with stressors also directly predicting absence.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Workplace stressors are linked to negative health outcomes.
- Understanding the interplay between stress, alcohol consumption, and sickness absence is crucial for employee well-being.
- Previous research has not fully elucidated the interactional model in diverse workforces.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the associations between work stressors, perceived stress, alcohol consumption, and sickness absence.
- To test an interactional model examining these relationships in blue- and white-collar workers.
- To identify mediating and direct effects within the proposed model.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 471 blue- and white-collar workers in the Netherlands.
- Data collected included socio-demographics, work stressors, perceived stress, alcohol consumption, and sickness absence.
- Regression analyses were employed to examine the relationships between variables, with work-site type and smoking as covariates.
Main Results:
- Abstinence from alcohol significantly increased sickness absence risk in the presence of stress, compared to moderate drinking.
- No significant relationship was found between excessive drinking and sickness absence.
- Perceived stress acted as a mediator between work stressors and both alcohol consumption and sickness absence; stressors also directly predicted sickness absence.
Conclusions:
- The elevated sickness absence risk among abstainers may be due to underlying medical conditions or poor stress-coping skills.
- The lack of a significant effect of excessive drinking might stem from a low threshold for defining excessive consumption or insufficient statistical power.
- Further prospective studies are recommended to establish causal relationships between these variables.