Does unbalanced gender composition in the workplace influence the association between psychosocial working conditions and sickness absence?

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:Earlier research has shown that bad psychosocial working conditions contribute to sick-leave. Some theorists argue that skewed gender composition can be one of the factors contributing to bad psychosocial working conditions. OBJECTIVES: We examine whether workplace gender composition has an effect on the association between job strain and sick-leave. METHODS AND PARTICIPANTS: Associations were assessed using a case-control study with Swedish data collected in 2008 (n = 5595). RESULTS: Results indicated that there was an association between high strain jobs and sickness absence among both women (Adj. OR 2.04, CI95% 1.62-2.57) and men (2.24, 1.67-3.01). Furthermore, both women (2.87, 1.34-6.26) and men (2.53, 1.74-3.69) in male-dominated workplaces had the highest risk for sickness absence due to high strain jobs. Male-dominated workplaces were, in general adverse for both women and men. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that a minority position strengthens job strain for women while it weakens the association for men. Using modern gender theories, we could argue that some of these results might be explained by the general use of masculinity as the social norm in the labor market. However, findings from this study need to be validated by further research.

Workplace gender composition and psychological distress: the importance of the psychosocial work environment

“…Previous research has suggested an influence of gender composition on the association between high strain jobs and sickness absence for both women and men [10]. Our results indicate that when the outcome is self-reported psychological distress rather than sickness absence, gender composition does not influence the association between the psychosocial work environment and the outcome in a corresponding way.…”

“…The degree of contact among workers within the same occupation at a workplace can vary, making both occupations and workplace gender composition valid units of analysis. The few studies that have focused on workplaces have analysed gender composition in relation to sickness absence and self-rated health [7-10], whereas mental health remains unexplored. Although mental illness accounts for a substantial part of the sickness absence in Sweden, especially for women [11], there is also a need for studies that focus on the mental ill- health aspects of the gender composition.…”

“…For men, one study showed no differences in sickness absence in relation to workplace gender composition [7], and another study showed poorer self-rated health among men at workplaces with a majority of women [9]. In addition to the token hypothesis, a work environment hypothesis has been suggested that states that the health consequences of the psychosocial work environment are contextual and therefore dependent on the gender composition of the workplace [10]. Previous research has shown, for example, that high strain jobs at male-dominated workplaces are associated with higher odds of sickness absence for both women and men compared to high strain work in other gender compositions [10].…”

“…In addition to the token hypothesis, a work environment hypothesis has been suggested that states that the health consequences of the psychosocial work environment are contextual and therefore dependent on the gender composition of the workplace [10]. Previous research has shown, for example, that high strain jobs at male-dominated workplaces are associated with higher odds of sickness absence for both women and men compared to high strain work in other gender compositions [10]. However, the associations between psychosocial work environment and mental ill-health at workplaces with different types of gender compositions have, to our knowledge, not been studied before.…”

Occupational gender composition and mild to severe depression in a Swedish cohort: The impact of psychosocial work factors

“…Previous research on gender segregation and health has often been based on the hypothesis of tokenism, which suggests that due to a number of group processes, individuals in minority groups are at a higher risk than others of developing ill health. Empirical evidence has, however, not shown increased risks of ill health or sickness absence for the gender in minority, and thus this hypothesis has received very little empirical support [9][10][11][12]. An alternative explanation is that different health-related cultures may develop at workplaces with different gender compositions [13,14].…”