School of Business and Science, University of Akureyri, Solborg v/Nordurslod, 600 Akureyri, Iceland.
Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, University of Iceland, Iceland.
Soc Sci Med. 2015 May;132:95-102. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.03.023. Epub 2015 Mar 14.
This article focuses on sickness and sickness absence among employees of 20 municipalities in Iceland who remained at work after the economic crisis in October 2008. The aim was to examine the impact of economic crisis on sickness and sickness absence of "survivors" working within the educational system (primary school teachers and kindergarten teachers) and the care services (elderly care and care of disabled people) operated by the municipalities. The study was based on mixed methods research comprising a balanced panel data set and focus groups. An online survey conducted three times among 2356 employees of 20 municipalities and seven focus group interviews in two municipalities (39 participants). The generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to analyze the quantitative data, and focused coding was used to analyze the qualitative data. The main finding showed that the economic crisis had negative health implications for the municipal employees. The negative effects grew stronger over time. Employee sickness and sickness absence increased substantially in both downsized and non-downsized workplaces. However, employees of downsized workplaces were more likely to be sick. Sickness and sickness absence were more common among younger than older employees, but no gender differences were observed. The study demonstrates the importance of protecting the health and well-being of all employees in the wake of an economic crisis, not only those who lose their jobs or work in downsized workplaces. This is important in the immediate aftermath of a crisis, but also for a significant time thereafter. This is of practical relevance for those responsible for occupational health and safety, as most Western countries periodically go through economic crises, resulting in strains on employees.
本文关注的是 2008 年 10 月经济危机后仍留在工作岗位上的冰岛 20 个城市的员工的疾病和病假情况。目的是研究经济危机对教育系统（小学教师和幼儿园教师）和市政运营的护理服务（老年人护理和残疾人护理）中“幸存者”的疾病和病假的影响。该研究基于混合方法研究，包括平衡面板数据集和焦点小组。在 20 个城市的 2356 名员工中进行了三次在线调查，并在两个城市进行了七次焦点小组访谈（39 名参与者）。使用广义估计方程（GEE）分析定量数据，使用聚焦编码分析定性数据。主要发现表明，经济危机对市政员工的健康产生了负面影响。随着时间的推移，负面影响越来越大。在裁员和非裁员的工作场所，员工的病假和病假都大幅增加。然而，裁员工作场所的员工更容易生病。病假和病假在年轻员工中比老年员工更为常见，但没有观察到性别差异。该研究表明，在经济危机后，不仅要保护失业或在裁员工作场所工作的员工的健康和福祉，还要保护所有员工的健康和福祉。这在危机发生后立即是重要的，而且在其后的很长一段时间内也是重要的。这对于负责职业健康和安全的人员具有实际意义，因为大多数西方国家都会周期性地经历经济危机，导致员工的压力。
