Managing work absence, whether the health condition is work or non-work related, often follows the medical model.  That is, the doctor makes the diagnosis and certifies the person fit or unfit for work.

This study undertaken in Denmark assesses whether psychosocial factors at work influence sick leave in people with and without depression.

Denmark does an extraordinary amount of research on the general population by following groups of people over time.  For this particular study, researchers assessed just over 5,500 employees in the year 2000, and over 8,000 employees in 2005.

They asked these employees about symptoms of depression and workplace psychosocial factors, including:

• Support from colleagues;
• Leadership at work; and
• The flexibility they had in making decisions at work.

This information was cross-referenced against sick leave over a two-year period. 

The researchers found that the quality of leadership in the workplace was associated with less sick leave.  This was noted more in those with moderate depressive symptoms than those without depressive symptoms.

They also found that when people had the ability to make decisions at work, they were less likely to take sick leave.  This was more notable for those without depression than those with depressive symptoms.

In workplaces where people are taking substantial amounts of time off, it may be time to move away from trying to influence the doctor.  Time and energy may be better spent trying to influence line managers and senior management, particularly in organisations where work absence secondary to mental health is a major component of sick leave.

Authors

Munir F. Burr H. Hansen JV. Rugulies R. Nielsen K. .

Authors Full Name

Munir, Fehmidah. Burr, Hermann. Hansen, Jorgen Vinslov. Rugulies, Reiner. Nielsen, Karina. .

Institution

Work and Health Research Centre, School of Sports, Exercises, and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, UK.

Title

Do positive psychosocial work factors protect against 2-year incidence of long-term sickness absence among employees with and those without depressive symptoms? A prospective study.

Source

Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 70(1):3-9, 2011 Jan.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study sought to examine the influence of protective work factors on long-term sickness absence among employees reporting different levels of depressive symptoms in a representative sample of the Danish workforce. Copyright A[copyright sign] 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

METHODS: Questionnaire data were collected from a random sample of members of the Danish workforce aged between 18 and 64 years using information from two surveys with baselines in 2000 and 2005. From the year 2000 baseline, questionnaires from 5510 employees (2790 males and 2720 females) were included; from the 2005 baseline, questionnaires from 8393 employees (3931 males and 4462 females) were included. Baseline data were collected on depressive symptoms, leadership, colleague support, and decision latitude. Information on 2-year incidence of sickness absence was derived from an official register. Copyright A[copyright sign] 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

RESULTS: Stratified analyses on depressive symptom scores (none, moderate, and severe) indicate that quality of leadership was associated with reduced sickness absence to a somewhat stronger degree for those with moderate depressive symptoms (adjusted hazard ratio=0.88, 95% confidence interval=0.78-0.98) than for those without depressive symptoms and that high decision latitude was associated with reduced sickness absence to a somewhat larger degree for those without depressive symptoms (adjusted hazard ratio=0.91, 95% CI=0.85-0.97) than for those with depressive symptoms. However, quality of leadership and decision latitude did not interact significantly with depressive symptom status. Copyright A[copyright sign] 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

CONCLUSIONS: Quality of leadership may protect against long-term sick leave to a certain degree in those with moderate depressive symptoms. Possible interactions between psychosocial working conditions and depression status should be investigated in larger populations. Copyright A[copyright sign] 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PubMed Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21193095