Introduction The working environment may contribute strongly to the development and manifestation of health problems leading to reduced work participation. To maintain high workforce participation, it is important to target workplace interventions to occupational groups at high risk of sickness absence (SA).

Objectives To identify occupational groups with excessive SA and develop occupation-specific knowledge about the contribution of work-related factors to SA and the potential for prevention.

Methods We performed a register-based study on employees aged 25–59 in 2013 (N=1,331,547) and calculated gender- and occupation-specific (4-digit ISCO codes) one-year incidence of all-cause and cause-specific SA. We selected the following job exposures: heavy physical work, high job demands and low job control, assessed by a Job Exposure Matrix and compared the gender-specific risk of SA among exposed workers to non-exposed workers. Lastly, we compared the gender-specific risk of SA in ten occupational groups to professionals (reference), controlling for (i) age and (ii) age and job exposures. We used Cox proportional hazards model for all analyses.

Results Workers exposed to heavy physical work or low job control had higher risk of SA (RR=3.65; 95% CI 3.54–3.78 and RR=1.41; 95% CI 1.39–1.42, respectively). The ten selected occupational groups all had higher risk of SA, relative to professionals. The relative risk was particularly high among male drivers and mobile plant operators (RR=2.57; 95% CI 2.49–2.64) and female personal care workers (RR=1.43; 95% CI 1.41–1.45). Adjusting for job exposures resulted in attenuation of the RR estimates, most for male building and related trade workers (37% attenuation) and female personal care workers (84%).

Conclusion We identified occupational groups with high risk of SA and the selected job exposures. Excess risk of SA in ten selected occupational groups, as compared to professionals, could partly be attributed to the job exposures.