Psychosocial working conditions and future sick leave and disability pension trajectories in Sweden

Abstract Background Psychosocial working conditions such as job demands and job control have been found to be associated with employee health and well-being, but studies on the associations with sickness absence (SA) and disability pension (DP) are scarce. We examined 11-year SA/DP trajectories and the association between psychosocial working conditions and subsequent SA/DP trajectories in the Swedish workforce. Methods Using a prospective cohort study with microdata we explored SA/DP trajectories among female and male employees, respectively, aged 30-53 years in 2001 in Sweden (1,076,042 women; 1,102,721 men). Group-based trajectory analysis was used to model annual mean SA/DP net days trajectories in 2002-2012. Based on a Swedish Job Exposure Matrix (JEM), individuals were assigned an age-, sex- and occupation-specific mean score for demands and control, respectively. Mean scores were categorized into tertiles and categorised into 3x3 combinations of exposure categories. Using multinomial regression we predicted trajectory group memberships for the JEM. Results The highest rate of women were in occupations with low demands and control (24.8%), while the highest rate of men (22.9%) was in occupations with high demands and control. We found three SA/DP trajectories for women (low, medium, high increasing) and two for men (low, high increasing). In fully adjusted models, those in occupations with low demands and low control were at higher risk of belonging to the high increasing SA/DP trajectory compared to those in occupations with high job demands and control in both women (OR 3.86; 95% CI: 3.75-3.97) and men (OR 3.0; 2.99-3.16). Conclusions Low job demands and low job control were associated with more high increasing future SA/DP trajectories compared to high job demands and job control in both women and men. Key messages In Sweden, women are more often in occupations characterized by low job demands and low job control and men are more often in occupations with high job demands and high job control. Occupations with low job demands and low job control were associated with more adverse SA/SP trajectories compared to occupations with high job demands and high job control in both women and men.

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Health behaviours and psychosocial working conditions as predictors of disability pension due to different diagnoses: a population-based study

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-020-09567-8 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Annina Ropponen ◽

Jurgita Narusyte ◽

Karri Silventoinen ◽

Pia Svedberg

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽

Working Conditions ◽

Disability Pension ◽

Job Demands ◽

Health Behaviours ◽

Population Based ◽

Job Control ◽

Psychosocial Working Conditions ◽

Unit Increase

Abstract Background To investigate whether the clustering of different health behaviours (i.e. physical activity, tobacco use and alcohol consumption) influences the associations between psychosocial working conditions and disability pension due to different diagnoses. Methods A population-based sample of 24,987 Swedish twins born before 1958 were followed from national registers for disability pension until 2013. Baseline survey data in 1998–2003 were used to assess health behaviours and psychosocial Job Exposure Matrix for job control, job demands and social support. Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results During follow-up, 1252 disability pensions due to musculoskeletal disorders (5%), 601 due to mental diagnoses (2%) and 1162 due to other diagnoses (5%) occurred. In the models controlling for covariates, each one-unit increase in job demands was associated with higher (HR 1.16, 95%CI 1.01–1.33) and in job control with lower (HR 0.87, 95%CI 0.80–0.94) risk of disability pension due to musculoskeletal disorders among those with unhealthy behaviours. Among those with healthy behaviours, one-unit increase of social support was associated with a higher risk of disability pension due to mental and due to other diagnoses (HRs 1.29–1.30, 95%CI 1.04–1.63). Conclusions Job control and job demands were associated with the risk of disability pension due to musculoskeletal disorders only among those with unhealthy behaviours. Social support was a risk factor for disability pension due to mental or other diagnoses among those with healthy behaviours. Workplaces and occupational health care should acknowledge these simultaneous circumstances in order to prevent disability pension.

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Job demands and control and sickness absence, disability pension and unemployment among 2,194,692 individuals in Sweden

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1177/1403494819846367 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 125-133 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jan Norberg ◽

Kristina Alexanderson ◽

Elisabeth Framke ◽

Reiner Rugulies ◽

Kristin Farrants

Keyword(s):

Sickness Absence ◽

Disability Pension ◽

Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽

Job Demands ◽

Job Control ◽

Paid Work ◽

Job Exposure Matrix ◽

High Control ◽

And Control

Background: Knowledge is needed on associations between job demands and job control and long-term sickness absence (SA) and unemployment. We explored associations of job demands and job control with SA/disability pension (DP) and unemployment among women and men in paid work. Methods: We included all 2,194,694 individuals living in Sweden in 2001, aged 30–54 years, and in paid work. The Swedish Job Exposure Matrix (JEM) was used to ascertain levels of job demands and job control. Individuals were categorized into nine groups based on combinations of high, medium, or low values on both demands and control. Using multinomial logistic regression, we estimated odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association of job demands and job control with risk of long-term SA/DP (>183 net days) and long-term unemployment (>183 days). Results: Regarding SA/DP, among women the risk was highest for those in occupations with low demands and low control (OR=1.32; 95% CI: 1.28–1.36), whereas among men the risk was highest among those in occupations with high demands and low control (OR=1.22; 1.11–1.34). Regarding unemployment, among women the risk was highest among those in occupations with low demands and medium control (OR=1.30; 1.24–1.37), whereas among men the risk was highest for those in occupations with low demands and high control (OR=1.54; 1.46–1.62). Conclusions: Using a JEM among all in a population rather than for specific occupations gives a more comprehensive view of the associations between job demands/job control and long-term SA/DP and unemployment, respectively.

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Well-being in open space offices: The role of office features and psychosocial working conditions

Work ◽

10.3233/wor-203378 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-16

Author(s):

Sarah S. Lütke Lanfer ◽

Cathrin Becker ◽

Anja S. Göritz

Keyword(s):

Working Conditions ◽

Open Space ◽

Job Demands ◽

Well Being ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Psychosocial Working Conditions ◽

Office Size ◽

Job Demands And Resources

BACKGROUND: There has been a trend to implement open space offices: wide-spread office floors with modern and colourful furniture. However, there is limited scientific knowledge on the effects of Open Space Offices (OSO). Studies are scare and show heterogeneous results. OBJECTIVE: By using the Job Demands-Resources model as a conceptual framework, the present study aimed at investigating the influence of subjective and objective features of the OSO (i.e., office size, desk-sharing, openness) next to classical psychosocial working conditions (i.e., demands, resources) on irritation and subjective well-being. METHODS: Cross-sectional and longitudinal data out of four different organisations (490 participants, 43.73 years of age, SD = 12.02) were used. RESULTS: Results showed that both features of the OSO and working conditions play a role in well-being at work. In line with current studies, job demands and resources contributed more to irritation and subjective well-being than features of the OSO. CONCLUSION: The influence of traditional psychosocial working conditions has so far been neglected in research on OSOs. However, their contribution to employees’ well-being next to features of the OSO could explain the heterogeneous findings of the existing research on well-being in OSOs. Thus, when implementing OSOs, employees’ well-being can only be enhanced if working conditions are targeted in parallel.

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Process of Work Disability: From Determinants of Sickness Absence Trajectories to Disability Retirement in A Long-Term Follow-Up of Municipal Employees

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18052614 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (5) ◽

pp. 2614

Author(s):

Päivi Leino-Arjas ◽

Jorma Seitsamo ◽

Clas-Håkan Nygård ◽

Prakash K.C. ◽

Subas Neupane

Keyword(s):

Working Conditions ◽

Work Disability ◽

Disability Pension ◽

Sleep Problems ◽

Respiratory Morbidity ◽

Multinomial Regression ◽

Permanent Disability ◽

Municipal Employees ◽

Exercise Effect ◽

Knowledge Intensive

Work disability may originate early during work history and involve sickness absences (SA) and eventually permanent disability. We studied this process over 15 years. Questionnaire data collected in 1981 on health, working conditions, and lifestyle of Finnish municipal employees aged 44–58 years (n = 6257) were linked with registers on SA (≥10 workdays), disability pension, and death from the period 1986–1995. Trajectory analysis was used to assess development in SA (days/year) over 5 years (1981–1985). We analyzed determinants of the trajectories with multinomial regression, while trajectory membership was used as a predictor of disability pension (DP) during the subsequent 10 years in survival analysis. Three SA trajectories emerged: increasing (women: 6.8%; men: 10.2%), moderate (21.2%; 22.7%), and low. In a mutually adjusted model, the increasing trajectory in women was associated with baseline musculoskeletal (MSD), mental and respiratory disorders, injuries, obesity, sleep problems, and low exercise (effect sizes OR > 2), and in men with MSD, sleep problems, smoking, low exercise, and non-satisfaction with management. The moderate trajectory associated with MSD, ‘other somatic disorders’, sleep problems, and awkward work postures in both genders; in women, also overweight, cardiovascular and respiratory morbidity, and (inversely) knowledge-intensive work, and in men, smoking and mental disorders were thus associated. Ten-year risks of DP contrasting increasing vs. low SA were more than 10-fold in both genders and contrasting moderate vs. low SA 3-fold in women and 2-fold in men. These findings emphasize the need for early identification of workers with short-term problems of work ability and interventions regarding lifestyle, health, and working conditions, to help prevent permanent disability.

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Job demands, job control, psychological climate, and job satisfaction

Journal of Organizational Effectiveness People and Performance ◽

10.1108/joepp-02-2017-0012 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 238-255 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Maria Karanika-Murray ◽

George Michaelides ◽

Stephen J. Wood

Keyword(s):

Job Satisfaction ◽

Organizational Context ◽

Job Demands ◽

Job Design ◽

Job Control ◽

Psychological Climate ◽

Employee Outcomes ◽

Content Type ◽

Dissonance Theory ◽

And Control

Purpose Research into job design and employee outcomes has tended to examine job design in isolation of the wider organizational context, leading to calls to attend to the context in which work is embedded. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of the interaction between job design and psychological climate on job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach Cognitive dissonance theory was used to explore the nature of this relationship and its effect on job satisfaction. The authors hypothesized that psychological climate (autonomy, competence, relatedness dimensions) augments favorable perceptions of job demands and control when there is consistency between them (augmentation effect) and compensates for unfavorable perceptions when they are inconsistent (compensation effect). Findings Analysis of data from 3,587 individuals partially supported the hypotheses. Compensation effects were observed for job demands under a high autonomy and competence climate and for job control under a low competence climate. Augmentation effects were observed for job demands under a high relatedness climate. Practical implications When designing jobs managers should take into account the effects of psychological climate on employee outcomes. Originality/value This study has offered a way to bridge the job design and psychological climate fields and demonstrated that the call for more attention to the context in which jobs are embedded is worth heeding.

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Job control and risk of disability pension in the nationwide Danish Work Life Course Cohort

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckz185.166 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽

Author(s):

A Svane-Petersen ◽

E Framke ◽

J K Sørensen ◽

R Rugulies ◽

I E H Madsen

Keyword(s):

Life Course ◽

Disability Pension ◽

Job Control ◽

Work Life ◽

Self Report ◽

Reporting Bias ◽

Job Exposure Matrix ◽

Transfer Payments ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Selection Of

Abstract Background A large number of studies have found job control to be consistently associated with an increased risk of disability pension. However, most previous studies have measured job control by self-report, introducing possible reporting bias inflating the risk estimates. Furthermore, previous studies have not accounted for the potential selection of individuals with pre-existing risk factors for disability pensioning into low control jobs. Methods We analyzed data from the nationwide register-based Danish Work Life Course Cohort (DAWCO; n = 960,562 with approx. 6 million person-years). We measured job control annually by a job exposure matrix, based on a scale of five self-reported items from The Danish Work Environment Cohort Study, and disability pension using registers on public transfer payments. To account for potential selection into occupations with lower levels of job control, we included numerous life course confounders, including parental socioeconomic position and psychiatric and somatic diagnoses. Results Employees in jobs with lower levels of job control had increased risk of disability pensioning. The association attenuated after adjustment for confounders but was not explained by selection into job groups with lower levels of job control (hazard ratio: 1.16 (95% CI: 1.03-1.31). Conclusions Our findings suggest that lower levels of job control are associated with an increased risk of disability pension, and that this association is explained by neither reporting bias nor a selection of individuals with an increased risk of disability pensioning into job groups with lower levels of job control. Key messages Lower levels of job control appear associated with an increased risk of disability pension independent of life course confounders. Further research is needed on preventive measures in occupations with low levels of job control.

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Core Self-Evaluations

European Psychologist ◽

10.1027/1016-9040.13.2.96 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 96-102 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Geir Scott Brunborg

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Job Stress ◽

Interaction Effect ◽

Job Demands ◽

Job Control ◽

Job Outcomes ◽

Southern Norway ◽

And Control ◽

Core Self ◽

Main Effects

Core self-evaluations (CSE), a personality construct underlying self-esteem, locus of control, generalized self-efficacy, and neuroticism, has previously been found to relate strongly to job satisfaction. While previous research has shown relationships between personality traits and various adverse psychosocial job outcomes, no published studies have looked at the relationship between CSE and job stress. A study was conducted to test the effects of job demands, job control, and social support, as hypothesized in the job demand control support (JDCS) model, and the effect of CSE on job stress. Two hundred and twelve employees from 12 work places in southern Norway filled in a questionnaire consisting measures of job demands, job control, social support, CSE, and job stress. Initially, the results from hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed significant main effects of demands and control on job stress. However, when social support was included in the analysis, control was no longer significant. In addition, ANOVA showed that the two-way job demands × job control interaction effect, and the three way job demands × job control × social support interaction effect, as predicted by the JDCS model, were nonsignificant. The results showed a strong positive main effect of CSE on perceived job stress, and that CSE accounted for a large proportion of the variance in job stress. This is in accordance with studies that have shown relationships between other personality measures and job stress. The present study confirms the relevance of CSE for further research on links between personality and job stress.

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