Work-family conflicts and sickness absence due to mental disorders among female municipal employees – a register-linked study comparing health and social care employees to employees in other sectors

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine (i) if work-to-family conflicts (WtFC) and family-to-work conflicts (FtWC) are associated with sickness absence due to mental disorders and (ii) whether these associations are different among health and social care (HSC) employees compared to other municipal e...

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Main Authors: Jaakko Harkko, Aino Salonsalmi, Noora A Heinonen, Tea Lallukka, Anne Kouvonen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nordic Association of Occupational Safety and Health (NOROSH) 2024-12-01
Series:Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health
Subjects:
Online Access: https://www.sjweh.fi/article/4191
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author Jaakko Harkko
Aino Salonsalmi
Noora A Heinonen
Tea Lallukka
Anne Kouvonen
author_facet Jaakko Harkko
Aino Salonsalmi
Noora A Heinonen
Tea Lallukka
Anne Kouvonen
author_sort Jaakko Harkko
collection DOAJ
description OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine (i) if work-to-family conflicts (WtFC) and family-to-work conflicts (FtWC) are associated with sickness absence due to mental disorders and (ii) whether these associations are different among health and social care (HSC) employees compared to other municipal employee sectors. METHODS: The Helsinki Health Study survey data collected in 2017 among 19–39-year-old female municipal employees (N=2557) were prospectively linked to administrative Social Insurance Institution of Finland register data on long-term sickness absence due to mental disorders (SA-MD) covering a follow-up of up to five years. The associations of WtFC and FtWC and SA-MD were analyzed using Cox regression models stratified by employment sector (HSC, education, other), adjusting for sociodemographic and health-related covariates. RESULTS: Of HSC employees, 16% had SA-MD during the follow-up, which surpassed the figures for employees in education (12%) and other (11%) sectors. In the HSC sector, the youngest employees had the highest prevalence of SA-MD and, among HSC employees, prior SA-MD was the most common. In Kaplan–Meier curves, the steepest increase in SA-MD was observed for HSC employees. WtFC [hazard ratio (HR) 1.84, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.39–2.45] and FtWC (HR 1.78, 95% CI 1.32–2.40) were associated with SA-MD among HSC employees. The associations were rather similar for employees in education and other sectors. Adjusting for work-related factors and health history somewhat attenuated the associations. CONCLUSIONS: Better possibilities to combine work and family life might aid in preventing SA-MD in all employment sectors.
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language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
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spelling doaj-art-45fa3b61f62d411abff6a2b6914191222024-11-28T09:19:15ZengNordic Association of Occupational Safety and Health (NOROSH)Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health0355-31401795-990X2024-12-0150863164010.5271/sjweh.41914191Work-family conflicts and sickness absence due to mental disorders among female municipal employees – a register-linked study comparing health and social care employees to employees in other sectorsJaakko Harkko0Aino Salonsalmi1Noora A Heinonen2Tea Lallukka3Anne Kouvonen4Department of Public Health University of Helsinki, PO Box 20 (Tukholmankatu 8 B), 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland.Orcid ID: 0000-0002-3939-2844.Department of Public Health University of Helsinki, PO Box 20 (Tukholmankatu 8 B), 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland.Orcid ID: 0000-0002-3939-2844.Department of Public Health University of Helsinki, PO Box 20 (Tukholmankatu 8 B), 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland.Orcid ID: 0000-0002-3939-2844.Department of Public Health University of Helsinki, PO Box 20 (Tukholmankatu 8 B), 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland.Orcid ID: 0000-0002-3939-2844.Department of Public Health University of Helsinki, PO Box 20 (Tukholmankatu 8 B), 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland.Orcid ID: 0000-0002-3939-2844.OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine (i) if work-to-family conflicts (WtFC) and family-to-work conflicts (FtWC) are associated with sickness absence due to mental disorders and (ii) whether these associations are different among health and social care (HSC) employees compared to other municipal employee sectors. METHODS: The Helsinki Health Study survey data collected in 2017 among 19–39-year-old female municipal employees (N=2557) were prospectively linked to administrative Social Insurance Institution of Finland register data on long-term sickness absence due to mental disorders (SA-MD) covering a follow-up of up to five years. The associations of WtFC and FtWC and SA-MD were analyzed using Cox regression models stratified by employment sector (HSC, education, other), adjusting for sociodemographic and health-related covariates. RESULTS: Of HSC employees, 16% had SA-MD during the follow-up, which surpassed the figures for employees in education (12%) and other (11%) sectors. In the HSC sector, the youngest employees had the highest prevalence of SA-MD and, among HSC employees, prior SA-MD was the most common. In Kaplan–Meier curves, the steepest increase in SA-MD was observed for HSC employees. WtFC [hazard ratio (HR) 1.84, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.39–2.45] and FtWC (HR 1.78, 95% CI 1.32–2.40) were associated with SA-MD among HSC employees. The associations were rather similar for employees in education and other sectors. Adjusting for work-related factors and health history somewhat attenuated the associations. CONCLUSIONS: Better possibilities to combine work and family life might aid in preventing SA-MD in all employment sectors. https://www.sjweh.fi/article/4191 sick leavemental healthsickness absencemunicipal employeework–family conflictmental disorderregister-linked studyhealthcare workersocial carework–family interface
spellingShingle Jaakko Harkko
Aino Salonsalmi
Noora A Heinonen
Tea Lallukka
Anne Kouvonen
Work-family conflicts and sickness absence due to mental disorders among female municipal employees – a register-linked study comparing health and social care employees to employees in other sectors
Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health
sick leave
mental health
sickness absence
municipal employee
work–family conflict
mental disorder
register-linked study
healthcare worker
social care
work–family interface
title Work-family conflicts and sickness absence due to mental disorders among female municipal employees – a register-linked study comparing health and social care employees to employees in other sectors
title_full Work-family conflicts and sickness absence due to mental disorders among female municipal employees – a register-linked study comparing health and social care employees to employees in other sectors
title_fullStr Work-family conflicts and sickness absence due to mental disorders among female municipal employees – a register-linked study comparing health and social care employees to employees in other sectors
title_full_unstemmed Work-family conflicts and sickness absence due to mental disorders among female municipal employees – a register-linked study comparing health and social care employees to employees in other sectors
title_short Work-family conflicts and sickness absence due to mental disorders among female municipal employees – a register-linked study comparing health and social care employees to employees in other sectors
title_sort work family conflicts and sickness absence due to mental disorders among female municipal employees a register linked study comparing health and social care employees to employees in other sectors
topic sick leave
mental health
sickness absence
municipal employee
work–family conflict
mental disorder
register-linked study
healthcare worker
social care
work–family interface
url https://www.sjweh.fi/article/4191
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