Measures of Work-Family Conflict Predict Sickness Absence From Work

Objective: To examine the relation between work family conflict and sickness absence. Methods: The BELSTRESS III study comprised 2983 middle-aged workers. Strain-based work-home interference (WHI) and home-work interference (HWI) were assessed by means of self-administered questionnaires. Prospective data of registered sickness absence during 12-months follow-up were collected. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted. Results: HWI was positively and significantly related to high sickness absence duration (at least 10 sick leave days) and high sickness absence frequency (at least 3 sick leave episodes) in men and women, also after adjustments were made for sociodemographic variables, health indicators, and environmental psychosocial factors. In multivariate analysis, no association between WHI and sickness absence was found. Conclusions: HWI was positively and significantly related to high sickness absence duration and frequency during 12-months follow-up in male and female workers. (J Occup Environ Med. 2009;51:879-886)