Descriptive baseline characteristics of group no/short sickness absence (employees with no sickness absence/absence of 1–7 days), sickness absence of 8–29 days, sickness absence of 1–3 months (30–89 days), sickness absence of 3–6 months (90–179 days), and sickness absence of at least 6 months (180 days and more) for employees who indicated having visited the OP and/or GP in relation to work during the past 4 months at baseline (total n=1271)
| Sickness absence | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | No/short sickness absence (n=488) Frequency/mean (SD) | 8–29 days (n=326) Frequency/mean (SD) | 1–3 months (n=250) Frequency/mean (SD) | 3–6 months (n=131) Frequency/mean (SD) | ⩾6 months (n=76) Frequency/mean (SD) |
| *p<0.05 difference compared to score in group NO/SHORT SICKNESS ABSENCE; | |||||
| **p<0.01 difference compared to score in group NO/SHORT SICKNESS ABSENCE; | |||||
| ***p<0.001 difference compared to score in group NO/SHORT SICKNESS ABSENCE. | |||||
| GHQ = 12 item General Health Questionnaire; CIS = Checklist Individual Strength; JCQ = Job Content Questionnaire. | |||||
| Demographic | |||||
| Gender: % male | 76.8% | 78.5% | 68.4%* | 74.8% | 64.9%* |
| Age (y) | 41.0 (9.6) | 40.2 (9.0) | 40.4 (9.3) | 40.4 (9.9) | 42.1 (10.1) |
| Highest level of education | |||||
| Low | 28.2% | 29.5% | 33.8% | 36.0% | 33.8% |
| Medium | 46.1% | 51.4% | 55.0% | 52.8% | 47.9% |
| High | 25.6% | 19.0% | 11.3%*** | 11.2%** | 18.3% |
| Indicators of health problems | |||||
| Presence of at least one long term disease (% yes) | 36.5% | 37.1% | 47.6%** | 55.0%*** | 61.8%*** |
| Likeliness of mental illness; GHQ-Likert total score | 26.3 (6.7) | 26.0 (6.4) | 26.8 (6.9) | 26.2 (5.9) | 28.9 (7.4)** |
| Fatigue; CIS total score | 68.5 (24.2) | 69.7 (24.4) | 69.2 (24.2) | 70.5 (23.9) | 82.2 (24.0)*** |
| Psychosocial work environment | |||||
| JCQ total score per scale | |||||
| Job demands | 34.6 (6.2) | 34.6 (5.8) | 35.1 (6.0) | 35.2 (6.3) | 35.9 (6.5) |
| Decision latitude | 69.8 (12.6) | 66.7 (12.3)** | 65.6 (13.2)*** | 64.5 (12.4)*** | 62.7 (11.7)*** |
| Social support | 21.8 (3.6) | 21.4 (3.4) | 21.2 (3.5)* | 20.9 (3.9)* | 20.7 (3.7)** |
| Low job satisfaction | 17.0% | 20.2% | 25.5%** | 27.9%** | 32.0%** |