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The influence of household work and of having children on sickness absence among publicly employed women in Sweden

Section of Personal Injury Prevention, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala Universitet, Uppsala, Sweden, margaretha.voss{at}ki.se

Malin Josephson

Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala Universitet, Uppsala, Sweden

Stefan Stark

Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala Universitet, Uppsala, Sweden

Marjan Vaez

Section of Personal Injury Prevention, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Kristina Alexanderson

Section of Personal Injury Prevention, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Lars Alfredsson

Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, Centre of Public Health, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden

Eva Vingård

Section of Personal Injury Prevention, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala Universitet, Uppsala, Sweden

Aim: To investigate whether family obligations influence the risk of sickness absence among female municipal employees in Sweden. Methods: A 1-year prospective cohort study of 1464 female municipal employees <50 years of age in Sweden in 2000 was conducted using questionnaire responses and absence data from the employers' personnel records. The relative risk of having children <16 years of age in the home, marital status, household work, financial situation, working hours and work—family conflicts for repeated sick-leave spells (4 spells) and long-term sickness absence (28 days) were calculated by applying Poisson regression models. Results: Women reporting financial strain or work—family conflicts were at elevated risk for long-term sickness absence. Having children was not a risk factor for repeated sick-leave spells or long-term sickness absence among married/cohabiting women. Single women with children had a two-fold greater risk of repeated sick-leave spells than single women without children. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the combination of gainful employment and children does not influence the risk of repeated sick-leave spells or long-term sickness absence among married/cohabiting publicly employed women. However, this was not true for single women with children, which indicates that their circumstances are particularly strained.

Key Words: Children • female municipal employees • financial situation • household work • marital status • sick-leave • work— family conflict • working hours

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, Vol. 36, No. 6, 564-572 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1403494807088459


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