Self-reported mould and long-term sickness absences from work.

Abstract

Aims: The impact of indoor mould on employees’ long-term absence from sickness (more than 10 days of absence) is poorly understood. This paper examines whether self-reported mould was related to long-term absences from work between 1 and 3 years later. Methods: By using negative binomial modelling, we analysed a representative sample of the working-age population in Finland (N = 16,084) from the Finnish Quality of Work Life Surveys in 1997, 2003, 2008 and 2013 combined with the register-based follow-up data of participants’ long-term sickness absences covering a period of 1 to 3 years after the Finnish Quality of Work Life Surveys was collected. Results: After all necessary background, work- and health-related factors were included in the model, employees who reported mould in their work had 1.20 higher rates of long-term sickness absence than those who did not report mould (mould: estimated marginal mean = 13.45 days; no mould: estimated marginal mean = 11.23). If employees perceived that mould caused strain, they had 1.30 higher rates of long-term absence than those who did not report such strain (mould caused strain: estimated marginal mean = 14.64 days; mould did not cause strain: estimated marginal mean = 11.25). In total, 10% (N=1628) of employees reported mould in their workplace and 6% (N=987) reported that mould caused strain. Conclusions: Supervisors, occupational physicians and other authorities need to take employees’ complaints of mould in the workplace seriously.