Improving work psychosocial factors may reduce mental health sick leave
Workers with high job demands and job strain are at increased risk of sick leave due to mental disorders, reports a study in the August Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).
Lisa Mater, MMSc, of Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, and colleagues used data from a Swedish national twin study to examine how rates of sick leave for mental health reasons are affected by psychosocial factors at work. On five-year follow-up of nearly 12,000 workers, the rate of sick leave due to mental disorders was about eight percent. Three-fourths of workers with mental health sick leave were women.
Workers with high job demands were at greater risk of sick leave due to mental disorders. Risk was also increased for workers with job strain, defined as high job demands with low control; and "iso-strain," defined as high demands and low control plus low levels of social support at work.
Workers with multiple unhealthy behaviors also had higher rates of mental health sick leave. Smoking was a significant risk factor, but alcohol use was not. High physical activity level was a protective factor.