Høverstad T, Kjølstad S
Dept of Occupational Health, Tandberg Data A/S, Oslo, Norway.
J Occup Med. 1991 Oct;33(10):1046-50.
Reasons for sick leaves are often complex and influenced by nonmedical factors. We have used focus groups, a qualitative research method, to study the relationship between working conditions and absenteeism due to illness in both an industrial company and an insurance company. We organized 10 focus groups within each company, with participants randomly selected from departments having similar work tasks within each company. According to the groups, the most important working conditions that influenced absenteeism were (a) feeling of well-being at work (mainly defined as security in social relations), (b) the organization of the work, and (c) the department leader. Factors considered to be less important included: number of employees, male/female ratios, group norms for absenteeism, age distribution, work-related illness, substance abuse, and work loads. There was substantial agreement between the groups, indicating that our findings may be relevant to other companies.
病假原因通常很复杂，且受非医学因素影响。我们运用焦点小组这一定性研究方法，研究了一家工业公司和一家保险公司的工作条件与因病缺勤之间的关系。我们在每家公司组织了10个焦点小组，参与者从每家公司内具有相似工作任务的部门中随机选取。根据这些小组的反馈，影响缺勤的最重要工作条件包括：（a）工作中的幸福感（主要定义为社会关系中的安全感），（b）工作组织，以及（c）部门领导。被认为不太重要的因素包括：员工数量、男女比例、缺勤的群体规范、年龄分布、与工作相关的疾病、药物滥用和工作量。各小组之间存在很大程度的共识，这表明我们的研究结果可能适用于其他公司。
