The mediating role of recovery opportunities on future sickness absence from a gender- and age-sensitive perspective

Abstract

A lack of sufficient recovery during and after work may help to explain impaired health in the long run. We aimed to increase knowledge on the mediating role of recovery opportunities (RO) during and after work on future sickness absence from a gender- and age-sensitive perspective. We used data on RO from a Swedish national survey in 2011 and linked these to sickness absence (>14 days) two years later among the general working population (N = 7,649). Mediation of the relationship between gender and sickness absence by exposure to RO was studied through linear regression. We conducted separate analyses for RO during and after work and for three different age groups (16–29; 30–49; 50–64). The sample consisted of 3,563 men and 4,086 women. Sickness absence was higher among the women than among the men (11 days vs 5 days, p<0.001). Men reported statistically significantly more positive on their RO than women. RO during (ß 0.3–1.8) and after work (ß 0.4–0.6) mediated the relationship between gender and sickness absence. Mediation effects existed across age groups, with the strongest effects of RO during work found among the age group between 50 and 64 years of age (attenuation 36%). Our results indicate that gender inequality is also reflected in worse RO among women. This partially explains the increased risk of future sickness absence, particularly among those above 50 years of age. These findings show that RO during work deserve more attention in working life research.

A case‐crossover study of age group differences in objective working‐hour characteristics and short sickness absence

“…We focused on short sickness absences (i.e. 1–3 days usually available by self‐reports) since we expected them to reflect difficulties to recover that can be due to sleep debt, fatigue or poor detachment from work (Boschman, Noor, Sluiter, & Hagberg, 2017; Marmot et al, 1995; Vedaa et al, 2017). However, these short absences can also be a form of self‐control over working times to support recovery (Ala‐Mursula, Vahtera, Kivimäki, Kevin, & Pentti, 2002).…”

The Quick Exposure Check (QEC) — Inter-rater reliability in total score and individual items

“…Various risk factors for sickness absence, apart from disease, have been explored and identified, including old age, being a woman, low socioeconomic status, poor self-rated health and previous history of sickness absence [88,89]. Factors at work, such as non-strenuous work and recuperation, have both been linked to lower levels of sickness absence and higher work ability [51,90,91].…”

Perceived Causes of Work-Related Sick Leave Among Hospital Nurses in Norway: A Prepandemic Study

“…Therefore, the gender differences in sick leave rates, which show higher rates for female employees, receive much political attention. Much of the research reporting large gender differences in sick leave rates has not controlled for systematic gender differences in the labor market in terms of education, occupation, and working conditions [ [9] , [10] , [11] , [12] ]. In this study, we compared female and male nurses employed within the same sector.…”

“…Gender is an important variable when studying sick leave. Female employees have a higher probability of sick leave than male employees [ [9] , [10] , [11] , [12] ]. The percentage of male nurses ranges from 10 to 11% in the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, and Norway [ 13 ] to 16% in Germany [ 14 ] and to over 20% in Italy and some other countries [ 15 ].…”