Exploring the link between perceived job insecurity and sickness absence for common mental disorders.

Perceived job insecurity is associated with poor mental health, but whether it affects sickness absence is not well understood. The present study examines the association between perceived job insecurity and sickness absence due to common mental disorders and whether changes in perceived job insecur...

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Published in:European Journal of Public Health Vol. 35; no. 4; pp. 650 - 657
Main Authors: Blomqvist, Sandra, Högnäs, Robin S, Farrants, Kristin, Friberg, Emilie, Hanson, Linda L Magnusson
Format: research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Oxford University Press / USA Aug2025
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Aug2025
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      pub: Oxford University Press / USA
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        atl: Exploring the link between perceived job insecurity and sickness absence for common mental disorders.
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          Blomqvist, Sandra
          Högnäs, Robin S
          Farrants, Kristin
          Friberg, Emilie
          Hanson, Linda L Magnusson
        affil: Division of Psychobiology and Epidemiology, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
      sug:
        subj:
          Mental Disorders
          Absenteeism
          Sick Leave
          Job Security
          Employee Attitudes Evaluation
          Human
          Correlational Studies
          Acute Disease
          Occupational Health
          Sweden
          Surveys
          Prospective Studies
          Logistic Regression
          Odds Ratio
          Confidence Intervals
          Relative Risk
          Descriptive Statistics
          Male
          Female
          Adult
          Middle Age
          Funding Source
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Middle Aged: 45-64 years
          Male
          Female
      ab: Perceived job insecurity is associated with poor mental health, but whether it affects sickness absence is not well understood. The present study examines the association between perceived job insecurity and sickness absence due to common mental disorders and whether changes in perceived job insecurity affects the risk of sickness absence due to common mental disorders. Data are from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health and include those who participated at least once between 2010 and 2020 (n  = 24 049). Two different types of analyses were conducted: (1) logistic regression with adjustments for baseline covariates and (2) pooled logistic regression with inverse probability weights, across 5 emulated target trials assessing onsets and/or offsets of job insecurity versus stable security or stable insecurity, on the risk of sickness absence for common mental disorders. Perceived job insecurity was associated with increased odds of sickness absence for common mental disorders over a 2-year period (odds ratio = 1.38, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.13-1.68). We found no statistically significant associations for an onset of job insecurity versus being stably secure (risk ratio (RR) 1.484, 95% CI 0.913-2.055) nor for offset versus stable insecurity (RR 0.855, 95% CI 0.308-1.402). The findings from our emulated target trials were, however, uncertain. Findings suggest that perceived job insecurity increases the risk of sickness absence for common mental disorders. The study implies that efforts to increase employee's sense of security may help reduce rates of sickness absence for common mental disorders if job insecurity is reduced long-term.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
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        tables/charts
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      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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