| 1. |
- Lindfors, Petra, et al.
(author)
-
Stress in paid and unpaid work as related to salivary cortisol measures and subjective health complaints in women working in the public sector
- 2017
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: From a biopsychosocial approach, moderate intensity and variation between demands of different life domains are central to health. Focusing on different aspects of work and non-work demands, we investigated how total workload (TWL) and work-family conflict (WFC) related to the stress marker cortisol and to subjective health complaints (SHC) among women working in the public sector. Overall, we hypothesized that more TWL and WFC would be reflected in poorer health.Design/methodology: Data came from a study of 250 women working within the health care sector. All provided self-reports in questionnaires on time spent on TWL and associated stress perceptions, WFC and SHC. A subsample of 68 women provided salivary samples during one workday. These samples were analyzed for cortisol and used to compute aggregate cortisol measures. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed to investigate how TWL and WFC were related to cortisol and SHC respectively.Results: TWL stress from unpaid work was associated with cortisol. Also, stress from both paid and unpaid work, and TWL-stress, were related to SHC. Importantly, number of hours spent on paid and unpaid work were not linked to any health-related measure. Instead, stress perceptions were associated with both cortisol and SHC. This underscores the importance of individuals’ experiences of demands from different life domains for different health-related measures.Limitations: We included only women.Research/practical implications: Time use data are insufficient meaning that self-reports of individual experiences are needed.Originality/value: Combining biomarker data with self-reports is an obvious strength.
|
|
| 2. |
- Svedberg, Pia, et al.
(author)
-
A twin study of work-home interference and the risk of future sickness absence with mental diagnoses
- 2016
-
In: European Journal of Public Health, Volume 26 Issue suppl_1. - : Oxford University Press (OUP).
-
Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- BackgroundWork-home interference has been proposed as an important explanation for sickness absence (SA). Previous studies show mixed results, and have not accounted for genetics and shared everyday environment (familial factors), or investigated diagnosis specific SA. The aim was to study if work-home interference predicts SA due to stress-related mental diagnoses, or SA due to other mental diagnoses, among women and men, when adjusting for various confounders and familial factors.MethodsThis prospective cohort study included 11,916 twins, 19-47 years (49% women).Data on work-to-home and home-to-work conflicts and relevant confounders were derived from a 2005 survey, and national register data on SA spells until 2013 were obtained. Odds Ratios (ORs) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) were calculated. Discordant twin pair design was applied to adjust for familial factors.ResultsFor women, each one unit increase in work-to-home and home-to-work conflicts was associated with SA due to stress-related mental diagnoses and to SA due to other mental diagnoses, when adjusting for sociodemographic factors (ORs 1.15-1.31). With further adjustments for work, health-related or familial factors, none of the associations remained. For men, each one unit increase in work-to-home conflicts was associated with SA due to stress-related diagnoses (ORs 1.23-1.35), independently of confounders.ConclusionsWork-to-home conflict was independently associated with future SA due to stress-related diagnoses among men only. Health and familial factors are important confounders to consider when researching work-home interference and SA, especially among women. Not including such confounders involves risking drawing incorrect conclusions.
|
|
| 3. |
- Svedberg, Pia, et al.
(author)
-
Are time pressure and sleep problems due to thoughts about work risk factors for future sick leave?
- 2017
-
In: European Journal of Public Health. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1101-1262 .- 1464-360X. ; 27:S3, s. 252-252
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Previous research indicates that long working hours, time pressure and overtime work relate to a range of adverse outcomes including poor recovery and health complaints. But, findings are inconclusive and limited, especially regarding the associations to sick leave. The aim was to study if time pressure or sleep problems due to thoughts about work were associated with future sick leave, when adjusting for confounders including familial factors, and stratifying by occupational sector. Methods: The study sample included 23,777 twin individuals (54.5% women), aged 19-47 years who participated in a survey in 2005 including questions on time pressure, sleep, work and health. Register data on sick-leave spells lasting >14 days were obtained from the National Social Insurance Agency. Individuals were followed from date of survey response until 12/31/2013. Associations between time pressure, sleep problems due to thoughts about work and future sick leave were investigated using logistic regression analyses to assess Odds Ratios (OR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI). Results: Thirty-five percent of the individuals had an incident sick leave spell during the 8-years of follow-up. Sleep problems due to thoughts about work once a month or more often were associated with sick leave in the fully adjusted model (OR 1.22, CI 1.10-1.36). Stratified by sector, the highest estimate was shown for state employees (OR 1.54, CI 1.11-2.13). Familial factors did not seem to influence the associations. We found no statistically significant associations between time pressure and sick leave. No sex differences were found. Conclusions: Results indicate that sleep problems due to thoughts about work is a risk factor for future sick leave. This follows previous research showing that sleep length and disturbances, regardless of their reasons, are associated with sick leave. But, experiences of work-related time pressure seem not to be associated with sick leave.
|
|
