RESEARCH REPORT

Psychosocial factors and work related sickness absence among permanent and non-permanent employees

David Gimeno^1,2, Fernando G Benavides¹, Benjamin C Amick, III^2,3,4, Joan Benach¹ and José Miguel Martínez¹

¹ Occupational Health Research Unit, Department of Experimental Sciences and Health, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
² School of Public Health, University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center, Houston, USA
³ Texas Program for Society and Health, Rice University, Houston, USA
⁴ Institute for Work and Health, Toronto, Canada

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr D Gimeno
Occupational Health Research Unit, Department of Experimental Sciences and Health, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, C/Dr. Aiguader 80, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; david.gimeno{at}upf.edu

Study objective: To examine the association between psychosocial work factors and work related sickness absence among permanent and non-permanent employees by sex.

Design: A cross sectional survey conducted in 2000 of a representative sample of the European Union total active population, aged 15 years and older. The independent variables were psychological job demands and job control as measures of psychosocial work environment, and work related sickness absence as the main outcome. Poisson regression models were used to compute sickness absence days’ rate ratios.

Setting: 15 countries of the European Union.

Participants: A sample of permanent (n = 12 875) and non-permanent (n = 1203) workers from the Third European Survey on Working Conditions.

Results: High psychological job demands, low job control, and high strain and passive work were associated with higher work related sickness absence. The risks were more pronounced in non-permanent compared with permanent employees and men compared with women.

Conclusions: This work extends previous research on employment contracts and sickness absence, suggesting different effects depending on psychosocial working conditions and sex.

Keywords: occupational health; psychological job demands; job control; job strain; temporary work; self reported sickness absence

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