Work-family interference and long-term sickness absence: a longitudinal cohort study

Abstract

Alongside work environment factors, interference between work and domestic life has been proposed as an important explanation for long-term sickness absence, particularly for women. The aim was to investigate the association between work-to-family interference, family-to-work interference and long-term sickness absence among women and men in different family- and work-related settings. The study population was a random sample of 2867 gainfully employed adults in Sweden aged 25-50. In 2004, telephone interview data were collected that included questions about family, work and health. The outcome measure was having at least one spell of long-term sickness absence (>14 days) in 2005 based on social insurance register data. Associations were analysed by logistic regression. Work-to-family interference was more common than family-to-work interference and more often reported by women. The overall associations with long-term sickness absence were weak. However, after adjustment for age and self-reported health, work-to-family interference was associated with long-term sick leave among men with higher socioeconomic status (odds ratio 2.87; 95% CI 1.36-6.07), and there was also a tendency to association among women bearing the main responsibility for housework and family (1.59; 0.99-2.54). These findings suggest that work-to-family interference is associated with long-term sickness absence in the working population, but in a gender- and situation-specific manner. Hence, extensive work responsibilities for men, and probably extensive family responsibilities for women, could hamper the balance between work and family and increase the risk of long-term sick leave. Further studies are warranted within this area.