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Occupational Medicine Advance Access originally published online on July 23, 2007
Occupational Medicine 2007 57(7):499-504; doi:10.1093/occmed/kqm065
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Job demands, health perception and sickness absence

Corne A. M. Roelen1,2, Petra C. Koopmans1,3, Jan H. de Graaf2, Johannes W. van Zandbergen4 and Johan W. Groothoff1

1 Department of Social Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
2 ArboNed Corporate Accounts, Zwolle, The Netherlands
3 ArboNed, Groningen, The Netherlands
4 ArboNed, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

Background Investigation of the relations between job demands, health and sickness absence is required to design a strategy for the prevention of absence and disability.

Aim To study the relationships between (physical and psychological) job demands, health perception and sickness absence.

Methods Prospective study of 414 male employees working in two organizations with low company absence levels. Job demands and health were examined using the Basic Occupational Health Questionnaire. Sickness absence was followed for 1 year thereafter. The number of days and episodes of absence were counted.

Results The questionnaires of 247 workers (60%) were suitable for statistical analysis. Physical job demands (r = 0.41; P <0.01) and, to a lesser extent, psychological job demands (r = 0.16; P = 0.01) were related to the number of health complaints. Short (1–7 days) duration absence was neither related to job demands nor to the number of health complaints. Longer (>7 days) duration absence was positively related to psychological job demands and to the number of health complaints.

Conclusions Job demands, particularly physical demands, correlated with perceived health. Poor health predicted long-term sickness absence. Early recognition of poor health should be the basis of a strategy that prevents long-term sickness absence.

Keywords      Occupational health; psychological job demands; physical job demands; sickness absence; working conditions

Correspondence to: Corne A. M. Roelen, ArboNed N.V, PO Box 132 8900, AC, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 58 2339233; fax: +31 58 2131823; e-mail: corne.roelen{at}arboned.nl


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