The Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Sociol Health Illn. 2024 Jul;46(6):1083-1099. doi: 10.1111/1467-9566.13754. Epub 2024 Jan 30.
Over recent decades, sickness absence due to common mental disorders has increased among young workers. The phenomenon is mostly understood on the basis of epidemiological research, and knowledge regarding the viewpoints of young workers themselves is lacking. Our study explored the explanations for mental health-related sickness absence in the narrative accounts of young workers in high-risk health and social care occupations. Semi-structured narrative interviews were conducted with 23 Finnish young workers (aged 21-34), with self-reported sickness absence related to common mental disorders over the previous year. Our analysis identified three narrative explanations for the onset of mental health problems leading to sick leave: work as the sole cause, work as an additional cause and work as a trigger. These findings indicate that mental health-related sickness absences form a complex phenomenon related to various life and work-related circumstances. More comprehensive preventive measures are needed in the health and social care sector to help tackle mental health problems among young workers.
近几十年来，年轻工人因常见精神障碍导致的病假有所增加。这一现象主要基于流行病学研究来理解，缺乏对年轻工人自身观点的了解。我们的研究探讨了高风险健康和社会护理职业中年轻工人叙述中与心理健康相关的病假的解释。对 23 名芬兰年轻工人（年龄 21-34 岁）进行了半结构化叙述性访谈，这些工人在过去一年中因常见精神障碍请过病假。我们的分析确定了导致心理健康问题导致请病假的三个叙述性解释：工作是唯一原因、工作是附加原因和工作是触发原因。这些发现表明，与心理健康相关的病假是一个复杂的现象，与各种生活和工作相关的情况有关。健康和社会护理部门需要采取更全面的预防措施，以帮助解决年轻工人的心理健康问题。
