Unwanted sexual attention at work and long-term sickness absence: a follow-up register-based study.

Annie Hogh,Hermann Burr,Thomas Clausen,Paul Maurice Conway,Ida Elisabeth Huitfeldt Madsen

doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3336-y

Abstract

BackgroundThe current understanding of the relationship between unwanted sexual attention at work and long-term sickness absence (LTSA) is limited for three reasons: 1) the under-researched role of unwanted sexual attention perpetrated by individuals outside the work organization; 2) a widespread use of self-reported measures of sickness absence, with an unclear identification of sickness absence episodes of long duration; 3) the cross-sectional design of most existing studies. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the relationship between self-reported unwanted sexual attention at work and subsequent LTSA (≥3 weeks), stratifying by gender and source of exposure (i.e., colleagues, managers and/or subordinates vs. clients/customers/patients).MethodsThis prospective study is based on a pooled sample of 14,605 employees from three Danish surveys conducted in 2000, 2004 and 2005, providing a total of 19,366 observations. A single questionnaire-based item was used to assess exposure to unwanted sexual attention. The pooled dataset was merged with Danish register data on LTSA. The risk of first-onset episode of LTSA (up to 18 months after baseline) in connection with unwanted sexual attention was examined using Cox proportional hazards models. We estimated Hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI) adjusted for age, influence at work, work pace, occupational group and mode of data collection. We also adjusted for repeated measures from individual respondents by stratifying the Cox models by wave of survey.ResultsUnwanted sexual attention from colleagues, managers and/or subordinates predicted LTSA among men (HR 2.66; 95 % CI 1.42-5.00). Among women, an elevated but non-statistically significant risk of LTSA (HR 1.18; 95 % CI 0.65-2.14) was found. Unwanted sexual attention from clients/customers/patients did not predict LTSA, neither among men nor among women.ConclusionsThe findings indicate a significantly elevated risk of LTSA, among men only, in relation to exposure to unwanted sexual attention from colleagues, managers and/or subordinates. This study therefore suggests both individual and organizational costs associated with unwanted sexual attention at work. Due to the low prevalence of unwanted sexual attention, larger studies with more statistical power are needed to confirm (or disconfirm) the present findings.

Highlights

The current understanding of the relationship between unwanted sexual attention at work and long-term sickness absence (LTSA) is limited for three reasons: 1) the under-researched role of unwanted sexual attention perpetrated by individuals outside the work organization; 2) a widespread use of self-reported measures of sickness absence, with an unclear identification of sickness absence episodes of long duration; 3) the cross-sectional design of most existing studies
The present study aims to contribute in this direction by investigating the under-researched role of being exposed to unwanted sexual attention at work, a common form of workplace sexual harassment [4], as a risk factor for long-term sickness absence (≥3 weeks)
We note that unwanted sexual attention from clients/customers/patients was reported by office workers (0.4 %), manual workers (0.4 %) and primary sector workers (0.6 %), to a lower extent than those participants working with customers (2.1 %) and clients (2.7 %)

Summary

Introduction

The current understanding of the relationship between unwanted sexual attention at work and long-term sickness absence (LTSA) is limited for three reasons: 1) the under-researched role of unwanted sexual attention perpetrated by individuals outside the work organization; 2) a widespread use of self-reported measures of sickness absence, with an unclear identification of sickness absence episodes of long duration; 3) the cross-sectional design of most existing studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between self-reported unwanted sexual attention at work and subsequent LTSA (≥3 weeks), stratifying by gender and source of exposure (i.e., colleagues, managers and/or subordinates vs clients/customers/patients). The present study aims to contribute in this direction by investigating the under-researched role of being exposed to unwanted sexual attention at work, a common form of workplace sexual harassment [4], as a risk factor for long-term sickness absence (≥3 weeks). This relationship will be examined stratified by gender and for two different sources of unwanted sexual attention, i.e., colleagues, managers and/or subordinates or clients/customers/patients. Exposure to sexual harassment is more prevalent among women and in sectors where employees are more in contact with clients or customers, such as healthcare, wholesale and retail [9, 10]

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