Work-related health problems

A third of working men and two-fifths of working women in Estonia have jobs that are stressful and offer little autonomy. This type of work produces the greatest psychological stress among employees. Analyses show that women have to do more sedentary jobs than men and that they are absent from work due to illness less often than men; however, they feel overtired more often.

In 2005, a survey, Health behaviour among the Estonian adult population (1.5Mb pdf, in Estonian and English), was published, continuing a series of studies since 1990. Among other topics, it gives information about physical working conditions, absenteeism and fatigue in the workplace. In 2004, the study was financed by the Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs (in Estonian) and conducted by the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics of the National Institute for Health Development.

Physical working conditions and physical activity

There has been an increase in the proportion of people whose jobs require sitting for most of the time, particularly among women. In 1996, 25% of men had sedentary jobs, and this indicator did not change significantly in 2002. However, for women, this figure has grown from 35% to 41%. During the same period, the percentage of people whose jobs demand a lot of movement has remained at practically the same level (26%).

In 2002, the proportion of women doing mainly sedentary work was highest (55.8%) in the 16-24 year age group, while women doing both sedentary and standing work were most commonly found (45.5%) in the 55-64 year age group. Jobs involving a lot of walking or heavy manual work were more prevalent among men.

At the same time, the percentage of people doing physical exercise more often than once a week has remained relatively stable, fluctuating at around 30% (see Figure 1). Women whose jobs require sitting most of the time tend to be less active in their spare time, though the proportion doing exercise more than once a week was higher than that for men in 2002. Overall, the total proportion of people doing physical exercise has increased over time. Young women aged 16-24 years are more active than older women, but less active than men of the same age.

The pace of working life has become more hectic and, as noted, women in general have to do more sedentary jobs than men. To counter this, they should engage in more physical exercise. A physically active lifestyle can partly ease the problems of being overtired on working days, as it helps to relax and think less about one’s everyday problems.

Absenteeism and fatigue

The survey also counts the days of absence from work during the last 12 months. The percentage of people with no sick days increased in 2002 (66%) compared with 1990 (53%). In general, women tend to be absent due to sickness less often than men.

When asked about being overtired on working days during the last 12 months, the most frequent answers were ‘quite often’ (37% of all respondents) and ‘seldom’ (48.6%) in 2004. Although they take less sick leave, women answered more often than men that they are often or almost always overtired on working days (see Figure 2). Nonetheless, the complaint of being overtired decreased between 1990 and 2004.

Survey methodology

The Health behaviour among the Estonian adult population survey has been conducted every second year since 1990. It forms part of the Finbalt Health monitor, a coordinated system for monitoring health-related behaviour, practices and lifestyles in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The coordinator of the Finbalt study is the Finnish National Public Health Institute.

The survey is based on nationally representative samples and self-administered mailed questionnaires. In 2004, a simple random sample was taken from the Estonian population aged 16 to 64 years. The sample size was 5,000 individuals and the adjusted response rate was 63%. The response rate was higher in rural areas and also among women and older people. In 1990, the survey started with 1,500 questionnaires and the response rate was 72.3%.

References

Helasoja, V., Prättälä, R., Dregval, L., Pudule, I. and Kasmel, A., ‘Late response and item non-response in the Finbalt Health Monitor Survey’, European Journal of Public Health , Vol. 12, No. 2, 2002, pp. 117-23.

Kasmel, A., Lipand, A., Markina, A. and Kasmel, K., Health behaviour among the Estonian adult population: spring 2002 , Tallinn, Estonian Centre for Health Education and Promotion, 2003.

Kiivet, R. and Harro, J., Health in Estonia 1991-2000 , Tartu, Estonian Centre of Behavioral and Health Sciences, Tartu, 2002.

Lipand, A., Kasmel, A., Kivilo, M., Tasa, E., Puska, P., Berg, M-A. and Peltoniemi, J., Health behaviour among the Estonian adult population: spring 1990 , Helsinki, 1992.

Rahu, M., Tekkel, M. and Veideman, T., Health behaviour among the Estonian adult population, 2004 , Tallinn, National Institute of Health Development, 2005.