ArticleThe international journal of occupational and environmental medicine2015
A 'Balanced' Life: Work-Life Balance and Sickness Absence in Four Nordic Countries.
Article in The international journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed.
- Sickness absence due to mental disorders among young adults: A register-based comparison of Finnish and Swedish speakers in Finland.Scandinavian journal of public health · 2026Article
- Latent class patterns of work-life balance changes among Korean SME workers during COVID-19 based on organizational support and psychosocial health.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Determinant factors influencing stunting prevention behaviors among working mothers in West Java Province, Indonesia: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Psychosocial well-being index and sick leave in the workplace: a structural equation modeling of Wittyfit data.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Gender and educational differences in work participation and working years lost in Norway.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2024Article
- Part-time work and sickness absence - an organization-level analysis.BMC public health · 2023Article
- The Predictive Validity of the Danish Psychosocial Work Environment Questionnaire With Regard to Onset of Depressive Disorders and Long-Term Sickness Absence.Annals of work exposures and health · 2023Article
- Work-life interference and physician-certified sick leave: a prospective study of a general working population.European journal of public health · 2023Article
- Different Influence of Negative and Positive Spillover between Work and Life on Depression in a Longitudinal Study.Safety and health at work · 2021Article
- Work-life balance predicted work ability two years later: a cohort study of employees in the Swedish energy and water sector.BMC public health · 2021Article
- Occupational and Individual Determinants of Work-life Balance among Office Workers with Flexible Work Arrangements.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Work-Life Imbalance and Musculoskeletal Disorders among South Korean Workers.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2017Article
- Factors influencing improved attendance in the UK fire service.Occupational medicine (Oxford, England) · 2016Article
- Work-Life Balance: How Can We Achieve It within the Work Environment?Frontiers in pediatrics · 2016Review
- The Association of Work Characteristics With Ovarian Cancer Risk and Mortality.Psychosomatic medicineArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLittle attention has been given to the relationship between work-life balance and sickness absence.
objectiveTo investigate the association between poor work-life balance and sickness absence in 4 Nordic welfare states.
methodsMultivariable logistic regression analysis was performed on pooled cross-sectional data of workers aged 15-65 years from Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway (n=4186) obtained from the 2010 European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS). Poor work-life balance was defined based on the fit between working hours and family or social commitments outside work. Self-reported sickness absence was measured as absence for ≥7 days from work for health reasons.
resultsPoor work-life balance was associated with elevated odds (OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.80) of self-reported sickness absence and more health problems in the 4 Nordic countries, even after adjusting for several important confounding factors. Work-related characteristics, ie, no determination over schedule (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.53), and job insecurity (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.21 to 2.02) increased the likelihood of sickness absence, and household characteristics, ie, cohabitation status (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.96) reduced this likelihood. The associations were non-significant when performed separately for women and men.
conclusionSickness absence is predicted by poor work-life balance. Findings suggest the need for implementation of measures that prevent employee difficulties in combining work and family life.
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