Sickness absence: self-reported and objective risk factors

Absence from work in the Netherlands is partly caused by the work itself and therefore work-related interventions could be part of the solution. Such interventions should not only be aimed at risk factors highlighted by employees themselves, but should also focus on those factors that are found to be important in a more objective and evidence-based way. For instance, employees may be reluctant to attribute sickness absence to emotionally demanding factors or intimidation by colleagues or superiors, and are more likely to overestimate the psychological and physical demands of the job. Since 2003, TNO Work and Employment has been carrying out the Netherlands Working Conditions Survey (Nationale Enquête Arbeidsomstandigheden , NEA) every second year (Van den Bossche and Smulders, 2004). In 2003, nearly 24,000 employees were invited to participate, and almost 10,000 did, representing a 42% response rate. Part of the survey aimed to investigate the impact of work-related risk factors on absence from work. Knowing the cause of illness may help in designing interventions to prevent high rates of absenteeism. De Vroome, Smulders and Van Vuuren present an analysis of the survey results in their 2005 publication, Absence as a result of working conditions or self-reported reasons