Occupational Medicine Advance Access originally published online on September 4, 2008
Occupational Medicine 2008 58(8):567-571; doi:10.1093/occmed/kqn113
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Job satisfaction and sickness absence: a questionnaire survey
1 ArboNed Zwolle, PO Box 158, 8000 AD Zwolle, The Netherlands
2 Department of Health Sciences, University Medical Center, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
3 ArboNed Groningen, PO Box 141, 9700 AC Groningen, The Netherlands
4 ArboNed Leeuwarden, PO Box 132, 8900 AC Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
Background When dissatisfaction with work precedes sickness absence, screening for satisfaction levels might usefully detect workers at risk of sickness absence.
Aim To investigate whether job satisfaction was associated with subsequent sickness absence days or episodes.
Methods A sample of workers was randomly drawn from a population of employees who had an episode of absence between January and April 2003. Job satisfaction was measured using a validated single question with a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 7 (very satisfied). Job satisfaction levels were linked to the number of recorded sickness absence days and episodes in 2003, distinguishing between short (1–7 days) episodes and long (>7 days) episodes.
Results Of 898 questionnaires distributed, 518 (58%) were returned. The mean ± standard deviation job satisfaction level was 5.1 ± 1.4 and negatively related to the number of sickness absence days. Job satisfaction was also negatively related to the number of short episodes and long episodes of absence, but these associations were not significant.
Conclusions Job satisfaction was significantly related to total sickness absence duration. The association with the number of sickness absence episodes was weak and just below the level of statistical significance. Assessing work satisfaction levels might usefully identify those workers most likely to have the greatest sickness absence duration.
Keywords Job satisfaction; sickness absence days; sickness absence episodes
Correspondence to: Corné A. M. Roelen, ArboNed N.V., PO Box 158, 8000 AD Zwolle, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 38 4554700; fax: +31 58 4537272; e-mail: corne.roelen{at}arboned.nl