Job stress among middle-aged health care workers and its relation to sickness absence

The aim of this study is to examine differences between the perception of job stress by Flemish health care workers (HCW), aged between 35 and 59 years, and a control group of employees with a similar education and of the same age and gender (controls). This perception was prospectively related to sickness absence. This study is based on the Belstress study, a larger epidemiological survey on perceived job stress and health. The study group consists of 315 nurses (55 men and 260 women) from two public hospitals. The control group consists of 612 non-nurses (110 men and 502 women). Perception of job stress is measured with the scales of the job demand-control-support (JDCS)' model of R. Karasek. Perception of job stress showed an increased score for 'job demand' and a decreased score for 'decision latitude' among HCW in comparison with controls. The combination of these two factors resulted in a higher proportion of subjects in the job strain category in comparison with the controls. In contrast to controls we found among HCW an important positive association between absenteeism and job demand and a clear negative association between sickness absence and social support. Copyright (C) 2003 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.