Sickness Absence: a Pan-European Study

Livanos, Ilias and Zangelidis, Alexandros (2010): Sickness Absence: a Pan-European Study.

Abstract

This study, using the EU-LFS, examines the determinants of sickness absence in 26 EU countries. The analysis highlights the importance of demographic and workplace characteristics and of institutional and societal conditions. Female workers aged 26-35 exhibit higher absenteeism, possibly reflecting the level of high household labour pressure. Increased job insecurity, captured by temporary contracts, and labour market uncertainty, reflected in higher unemployment rates, have a negative effect on absenteeism. Finally, individual sickness absence is lower in countries with higher proportion of dependent/out of the labour market individuals, probably because of the increasing pressure labour active people may experience.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Absenteeism, sickness, EU, Labour Force Survey
• Subjects: J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor > J28 - Safety ; Job Satisfaction ; Related Public Policy; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J3 - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs > J32 - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits ; Retirement Plans ; Private Pensions; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor > J22 - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

References

Allen, S. (1981). Compensation, Safety, and Absenteeism: Evidence from the Paper Industry. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 34, 207–218.

Audas, R., and J. Treble. (2001). “Household Work and Market Work: Towards a New Theory of Worker Absenteeism.” In The Expansion of Economics Towards a More Inclusive Social Science, edited by S. Grossbard-Schechtman and C. Clague, 140–161.

Barmby, T.A., M.G. Ercolani, and J.G. Treble (1999). Sickness Absence in Britain: New Quarterly and Annual Series from the GHS and the LFS 1971-1997. Labour Market Trends, August, 405-415.

Barmby, T.A., M.G. Ercolani, and J.G. Treble (2002). Sickness Absence: An International Comparison. Economic Journal, 112, F315-F331.

Barmby, T.A., M.G. Ercolani, and J.G. Treble (2004). Sickness Absence in the UK: 1984-2002. Swedish Economic Policy Review, 11, 65–88.

Bliksvär, T. and A. Helliesen (1997). Sickness absence: a study of 11 LES countries. NOVA (Norwegian Social Research), mimeo.

Bonato, L. and L. Lusinyan (2004). Work Absence in Europe. IMF Working Paper No. 04/193.

Boone, J. and C.J. van Ours (2006). Are Recessions Good for Workplace Safety? Journal of Health Economics, 25, 1069-1093.

Brown, S. (1994). Dynamic Implications of Absence Behaviour. Applied Economics, 26, 1163-1175

Drago, R. and M. Wooden (1992). The Determinants of Labor Absence: Economic Factors and Workgroup Norms across Countries. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 45, 764-778.

Dunn, L. F., and S.A. Youngblood (1986). Absenteeism as a Mechanism for Approaching an Optimal Labor Market Equilibrium: An Empirical Study. Review of Economics and Statistics, 68, 668–674.

Engellandt, A. and R.T. Riphahn (2005). Temporary Contracts and Employee Effort. Labour Economics, 12, 281–299.

Ercolani, M.G. (2006). UK Employees' Sickness Absence: 1984-2005. Discussion Papers 06-02, Department of Economics, University of Birmingham.

EUROSTAT (2006). EU Labour Force Survey database User guide.

Frick, B. and M. Malo (2008). Labor Market Institutions and Individual Absenteeism in the European Union: The Relative Importance of Sickness Benefit Systems and Employment Protection Legislation, Industrial Relations, 47, 505-529.

Gründemann, R.W.M. and C.V. Vuuren (1997). Preventing Absenteeism at the Workplace (European research report), European Foundation for the Improvement of Working and Living Conditions, Dublin.

Heywood, J.S. and U. Jirjahn (2004). Teams, Teamwork and Absence. Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 106, 765-782.

Heywood, J.S., U. Jirjahn, and X. Wei (2008). Teamwork, Monitoring and Absence. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 68, 676-690.

Kenyon, P., and P. Dawkins (1989). A Time Series Analysis of Labour Absence in Australia. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 71, 232-239.

Leigh, J.P. (1985). The Effects of Unemployment and the Business Cycle on Absenteeism. Journal of Economics and Business, 37, 159–170.

Markham, S.E. (1985). An Investigation of the Relationship between Unemployment and the Absenteeism: a Multi-Level Approach, Academy of Management Journal, 28, 229-234.

OECD (2003). The Sources of Economic Growth in OECD countries, OECD, Paris.

Puhani, P.A. and K. Sonderhof (2010). The Effects of a Sick Pay Reform on Absence and on Health-Related Outcomes. Journal of Health Economics, forthcoming.

Shapiro, C., and J. Stiglitz (1984). Equilibrium Unemployment as a Worker Discipline Device. American Economic Review, 74, 433–444.