Absenteeism of shift and day workers: A study of six types of shift system in 29 organizations

Abstract

Taylor, P. J., Pocock, S. J., and Sergean, R. (1972).Brit. J. industr. Med.,29, 208-213. Absenteeism of shift and day workers. Previous evidence on the effects of shift work upon absence behaviour is conflicting, this being due in part to the variety of shift systems in use. A study is described in which absence records over two years were obtained for 965 matched pairs of shift and day workers from 29 organizations. Six types of shift system were involved, providing comprehensive coverage of shift work in the United Kingdom. Matching was achieved for sex, age, workplace, and occupation. Absence records included certified sickness, short sickness, and non-medical absence. The overall results showed that shift workers had less absence of all three types than their colleagues on day work, this difference being most marked in the numbers of men having several episodes. No significant differences were found in the diagnostic pattern of certified absence. Comparisons between day work and each of the six types of shift work did not provide any definite conclusions as to their relative merits as far as absence is concerned. The results from the different organizations were not wholly consistent, but a substantial majority followed the general trend.

Sickness absenteeism and associated factors among horticulture employees in lume district, southeast Ethiopia

“…In this and other studies employees who worked for greater than 48 h per week were more likely to experience sickness absenteeism than those who did not [ 5 , 19 ]. This is true for employees who engaged in overtime work [ 20 ]. The reason could be that working above normal working hours would affect muscular activities and caused mental fatigue which might lead employees to increased risk of accidents.…”

Workplace Psychosocial Factors Associated with Work-Related Injury Absence: A Study from a Nationally Representative Sample of Korean Workers

“…Male gender and lower education levels are known to be main risk factors for workplace injury and work absence in many studies [41, 48, 49]. Similar to workers in other counties, Korean workers involved in a shift/night work schedule exhibited an increased risk of work absence [8, 50–52]. Job type/title/occupation has been shown to be a gross risk category for injuries, sickness absence and health status [53–56] [13].…”

Does evening work predict sickness absence among female carers of the elderly?

“…It is expected that long-time absence could be more prevalent among evening and night workers than among day workers, since evening and night work is not only suspected to cause shortterm sickness, but also severe and chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and metabolic disturbances, as well as an increased risk of trauma and severity of trauma due to accidents (5,6). On the other hand, pioneer studies found that day workers had more sickness absence than shift workers in a chemical plant in Norway 7, and in 29 organizations in the United Kingdom (8,9). Some studies suggest that shift workers have either higher sickness absence rates or more or longer absences than day workers (10)(11)(12)(13).…”