Work environment and health determinants in employees with no sick-leave

Introduction
Analyses of "healthy work" factors in diverse workforces are required. The aim was to identify workhealth characteristics in a working population (n=1961) with 11 occupational groups at a publicservice television broadcasting company and a radio symphony orchestra.

Methods
Companyfile data on occupation, sickleave, age, gender, and questionnaire responses regarding work organisation, environment, health, sociodemography, lifestyle were collected. Employees with no sickleave were compared with employees with short to mediumterm sickleave (1-182 days, mean 25 days). Occupations were compared.

Results
Employees with no sickleave were characterised by having less "sicknesspresenteism", workrelated pain,
workrelated stress, sleep disturbances, worry about own health, monotonous work, bent and twisted working positions, and disturbing noise than those with short to mediumterm sick leave (p<0.001). On the other hand there was more perceived good health, support from superiors, influence on working hours and presence of evening and weekend work, working hours per week (p<0.001), and traces of more regular physicaltraining in the group with no sickleave (p<0.005). Daily physical activity did not show significance. Sociodemography were of less importance than gender, the influence of which was strong. Differences between occupations were shown.

Discussion
There were fewer betweengroup differences found regarding sociodemography and lifestyle than in earlier publications on no sicklisting compared to sicklisting. Workhealth was characterised by less stress, sleep disturbances, worry about own health, pain in neck, shoulder, back, and sickpresenteism at work, and more support from superiors, influence on working hours, long and irregular working hours. Significant differences between 11 occupational groups regarding workorganisation and environment, work health, sociodemography, lifestyle and no sickleave also showed differences from some other earlier studies. Conclusion: Less stress, sleep disturbances, worry about own health, pain in neck, shoulder, back, sickpresenteism at work, and more support from superiors and influence on working hours, also when long and irregular, characterised workhealth.