Association of psychosocial work characteristics with sickness absence among Korean workers

Objectives: This study was conducted to identify the association between long-term sickness absence and psychosocial work characteristics among Korean workers. Methods: We used the First Korean Working Conditions Survey conducted in 2006. The participants were a representative sample of economically active working population in Korea. We excluded employers and self-employees, and workers who worked for less than 1 year, resulting in a total of 5,662 (Male: 3,225, Female: 2,437). The long-term sickness absence group included participants with more than 5 days of sickness absence during the last year, and the workers with 0-5 days of sickness absence were used as the reference group. Multiple logistic regressions were conducted to identify risk factors affecting long-term sickness absence, such as work intensity, job autonomy, work satisfaction, and work-family balance. Results: The proportion of long-term sickness absence was 5.7% (Male: 6.1%, Female: 5.2%). Work intensity (OR= 1.48, 95%C.I.=1.08-2.04), job dissatisfaction (OR=1.43, 95%C.I.=1.03-1.99), and high work-family imbalance (OR=1.90, 95%C.I.=1.38-2.63) were associated with long-term sickness absence among male workers after adjusting for age, ergonomic risk, job type, company size, education, smoking, alcohol consumption, and household chores. Similarly, female workers with high work intensity (OR=1.89, 95%C.I. = 1.25-2.84), job dissatisfaction (OR=1.43, 95% C.I.= 1.03-1.99), high work-family imbalance (OR=1.75, 95%C.I. = 1.17-2.62) were more likely to experience long-term sickness absence. Conclusion: This is the first study of large and representative sample of Korean employees to show a long-term sickness absence associated with psychosocial work characteristics.