Heavy work, absenteeism and physical disorders
Published: 25 October 2005
According to a report by Statistics Sweden and the Swedish Work Environment Authority, about 33% of all employed men and 29% of all employed women have jobs that involve heavy work (for a definition of heavy work, refer to ‘About the study’ below). This represents, since 1995, a slight decrease for women by two percentage points and an increase by one percentage point for men.
About one third of the Swedish workforce are employed in jobs involving physically heavy work, a recently published report reveals. Injuries to muscles, joints and tendons, and, in particular, back problems are frequently cited as reasons for sick leave within professions where heavy work is common.
According to a report by Statistics Sweden and the Swedish Work Environment Authority, about 33% of all employed men and 29% of all employed women have jobs that involve heavy work (for a definition of heavy work, refer to ‘About the study’ below). This represents, since 1995, a slight decrease for women by two percentage points and an increase by one percentage point for men.
Men and women were studied separately in the report, and heavy work has been considered to be common in professions where more than 40% of women or more than 55% of men regard their work as heavy. The report identifies heavy work as common in 12 professions where mainly women work, and in 15 professions where men predominantly work (see table below).
It finds that men and women generally experience different types of heavy work. Men, to a larger extent than women, report that they must lift heavy loads, while the majority of women report that their work is physically heavy, but that they do not have to lift heavy loads. Difficult work postures are also frequently reported. Some 70% of assistant nurses/hospital ward assistants, mail carriers/sorting clerks, plumbers and painters, building structure cleaners etc report that they have to work in strained postures. The report concludes that difficult work postures are a contributing factor to the respondents’ view of their work as heavy.
| Professions where women work | % | Professions where men work | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assistant nurses, hospital ward assistants | 73 | Crop and animal producers | 80 |
| Home-based personal care and related workers | 68 | Carpenters and joiners | 79 |
| Skilled agricultural, fishery, gardening and forestry workers | 66 | Plumbers | 71 |
| Helpers in restaurants | 58 | Rail and road construction workers | 70 |
| Cooks | 58 | Mail carriers and sorting clerks | 69 |
| Shop salespersons - food stores | 58 | Other craft and related trade workers | 69 |
| Helpers and cleaners in offices, hotels and other establishments | 55 | Metal moulders, welders and related trades workers | 67 |
| Stock clerks and store keepers | 51 | Painters, building structure cleaners, etc | 66 |
| Childcare workers | 50 | Stock clerks and store keepers | 66 |
| Machine operators and assemblers | 49 | Heavy truck and lorry drivers | 63 |
| Medical care nurses | 45 | Motor vehicle mechanics and fitters | 62 |
| Crafts and related trades workers | 40 | Market gardeners and crop growers | 61 |
| Assemblers - Mechanic machinery, metal/ rubber/plastic products | 61 | ||
| Blacksmiths, toolmakers, etc | 57 | ||
| Elementary occupations | 57 |
Source: Swedish Work Environment Authority and Statistics Sweden, 2005. Classifications of professions according to Swedish Standard Classification of Occupations (SSYK)
Physical disorders
Physical disorders (back pain, pains in arms, shoulders, hips and feet) are more widespread in several of the professions identified as commonly involving heavy work, than among the total working population. Of the total working population, 41% of women and 25% of men report pain in the upper part of the back and back of the neck. Among female salespersons in food stores, stock clerks/storekeepers, machine operators/assemblers and crafts and related trades workers, around 50% report such pain; 42% of male mail carriers and sorting clerks do so.
Long-term absenteeism
Professions where heavy work is common generally have a higher percentage of people on long-term absenteeism due to work-related disorders than is the case among all those who are employed (here, ‘long-term’ is defined as five weeks or more). Among the total working population, 6.8% of women and 3.8% of men were long-term absent due to a work-related disorder over a 12-month period. Among professions where physically heavy work is common, 11% of women working as machine operators/assemblers or cooks have been long-term absent. Plumbers and painters have the highest long-term absenteeism among men, at 7% and 8% respectively.
One exception is medical care nurses: they have less psychological disorders and lower absenteeism rates than among employed females in general. They are also the only group reporting that they have good possibilities to progress and to access supplementary training. Also noteworthy is the difference between assistant nurses and medical care nurses, where 8.1% of the former and 3.7% of the latter have been long-term absent.
The study examines possible factors for long-term absenteeism due to work-related back problems, using a multivariate regression model. Heavy work (as defined in the report) gives a risk factor of 1.6. Very heavy work is associated with a risk factor of 2.7. Another factor is age, where the risk increases with age for both men and women. The relationship between risk and age is more marked for women than for men. Other risk factors identified in the model include, for example, awkward work postures and low control over the pace of work.
About the study
The report Heavy lifting and other physically heavy work has been published by Statistics Sweden in cooperation with the Swedish Work Environment Authority. It is based on national work environment studies carried out by Statistics Sweden and the Swedish Work Environment Authority between 1989 and 2003, and on national studies of work-related disorders between 2000 and 2004.
The aim of the report is to describe several aspects of the working environment for occupations with heavy work, and to analyse the correlation between the work environment, work-related disorders and absence.
Professions where heavy work is common have been selected and analysed. Heavy work has been defined as lifting heavy loads (over 15 kg) several times a day or when the respondent fully/partially agrees that the work is strenuous. Very heavy work is defined as a combination of lifting heavy loads (over 15 kg) and fully agreeing that the work is strenuous.
Reference
Heavy lifting and other physically heavy work , Information on the education and labour market 2005:1, Swedish Work Environment Authority and Statistics Sweden, 2005.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2005), Heavy work, absenteeism and physical disorders, article.
