What determines people's decisions whether or not to report sick?

Swedish employees who are temporarily absent from work are compensated for the loss of income from the governmentally regulated sickness insurance. During the 1990s, when the societal costs for covering sickness absence raised dramatically, the sickness insurance underwent several changes, which raised questions about how people reacted to the changes made. This article is based on a survey where individuals were asked several questions about whether they would go to work or report sick, given that they actually felt ill. Respondents were asked the same questions under different hypothetical compensations. The results indicated strong effects of factors related to the financial loss of being absent on the propensity to report sick.