Work demands, job insecurity and sickness absence from work. How productive is the new, flexible labour force?

Abstract

Background: We investigate one aspect

The impact of mental health symptoms on heavy goods vehicle drivers’ performance

“…Increased working hours and high work demands negatively impact work-life balance (Franche et al, 2006) and may in themselves worsen mental health (D'Souza et al, 2006;Niedhammer et al, 1998;Stansfeld et al, 1999). The survey results show that the HGV drivers are, on average, working 62 h per week.…”

Psychosocial predictors of failure to return to work in non-chronic non-specific low back pain: a systematic review

“…Anxiety and stress have been closely linked to depression,57 58 72 – 74 and the increase in time pressure and job intensification in today’s workforce has been shown to have an impact on the mental health of workers 57 72 73. High levels of stress and anxiety could further delay return to work as increased fatigue and high work demands may impact negatively on the worker’s self-assessed ability to perform work tasks effectively,57 72 a major motivator when returning to work 75 76. Despite the potential for stress and anxiety to predispose a worker to longer work disability, stress and anxiety are not predictive of a poor work outcome in the non-chronic phase of NSLBP.…”

Is poor mental health a risk factor for retirement? Findings from a longitudinal population survey

“…Advocates of this perspective often assume that decisions to discontinue employment in the presence of poor health are made by employers. Such decisions are unlikely to be overt acts of discrimination [13,14], rather, health difficulties that lead to lower productivity [45] or greater absences from work [46] may identify individuals for redundancy or the discontinuation of non-permanent employment contracts [14,47]. However, the agency of individuals in job departure cannot be discounted.…”