FSD2540 Active Sick Leave 2003

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

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Study description in other languages

in Finnish

Related files

Questionnaire (PDF file, Finnish)

Study title

Active Sick Leave 2003

Dataset ID Number

FSD2540

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2540
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd2540

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

Lehikoinen, Tuula (Rehabilitation Foundation)
Puumalainen, Jouni (Rehabilitation Foundation)
Vuorinen, Helena (Rehabilitation Foundation)

Abstract

The survey studied staff opinions on the so-called active sick leave. Active sick leave enables people with reduced work ability to combine partial sick leave with working part-time. The evaluation was based on the respondents' own experiences of long-term sick leave.

The respondents were asked whether they used occupational health care provided by the employer, what was the longest period they had been on continuous sick leave, and if they had been on sick leave for more than 3 weeks, the reason for the sick leave. Opinions were charted on whether working conditions had had an effect on their sick leave, whether the length of the leave had been appropriate, and whether they had regained work ability. The respondents were presented with a number of statements and asked whether they had felt the same during their sick leave (for instance, 'I had an opportunity to get sufficient rest', 'I felt guilty about my absence', 'I got bored at home', 'I returned to work as soon as I could'). Further questions investigated whether the respondents had returned to their normal tasks and whether they would have liked less demanding tasks.

All respondents were asked whether they would like to be contacted by the workplace during long-term sickness absence and by whom. Views were probed on whether the respondents could imagine returning to work after sick leave to work part-time or to lessened workload, and what working arrangements they would consider important in that case. Working arrangements mentioned included, among others, easier travel to and from work, shorter working day or week, flexible working time, more breaks, better working atmosphere. Other topics pertained to the level of income required (wage plus partial sick leave benefit) and general attitude to partial sick leave.

The respondents in a supervisory role were asked how many people work in their unit, how occupational health care was organised in their workplace, and if a person went on sick leave was someone else was hired to fill in, and how long the sick leave had to be for someone else to be hired. Supervisors were also asked whether they would be willing to arrange part-time work or modified tasks for someone returning from sick leave, whether they would be willing to pay partial wage to someone on part-time sick leave, whether special arrangements (adjustments to tasks or working hours) would at all be possible in their unit, and whether they considered it important that the person off sick would keep in contact with the workplace.

Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, vocational education, status in employment, working time, and employment sector.

Keywords

occupational health care; rehabilitation; sick leave; sick pay; working conditions

Topic Classification

Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
Health care services and policies (CESSDA Topic Classification)
Occupational health (CESSDA Topic Classification)
Working conditions (CESSDA Topic Classification)
Social welfare systems/structures (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

Lehikoinen, Tuula (Rehabilitation Foundation)
Puumalainen, Jouni (Rehabilitation Foundation)
Vuorinen, Helena (Rehabilitation Foundation)

Data Producers

Rehabilitation Foundation
Finnish Work Environment Fund

Time Period Covered

2003

Collection Dates

2003-02-20 – 2003-05

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland, South Karelia

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Staff in 11 organisations in South Karelia. The organisations selected to the survey represented the three biggest employment sectors in Finland: industry, trade and services.

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Mixed probability and non-probability

The eleven organisations participating in the survey employd altogether over 6,000 persons. The number of persons selected to the sample was greater for the biggest employment sectors than for smaller ones. One selected organisation was dropped from the study because of small size and low number of sick leaves.

The proportion of public sector employees in the sample was similar to their proportion of the employed in Finland in general. Researchers determined the sample size for each selected organisation and conducted the sampling in co-operation with the personnel administration of the organisation. Total sample was used when there were under 30 people working in the organisation. In organisations with over 30 people the participants were selected using simple random sampling. Organisations selected included both rural and urban locations, with the personnel size varying between less than 10 to over 3,000.

Altogether 554 persons received the questionnaire which they could fill in anonymously. Initial response rate was 55% and, after a follow-up procedure, the final response rate rose to 70% and the number of respondents to 388.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Data Version

2.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Variables identifying the person, municipality or organisation have been removed from the data. Some categorised open-ended variables have been included but otherwise responses to open-ended questions have been removed.

Weighting

There are no weight variables in the data.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Lehikoinen, Tuula (Rehabilitation Foundation) & Puumalainen, Jouni (Rehabilitation Foundation) & Vuorinen, Helena (Rehabilitation Foundation): Active Sick Leave 2003 [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2018-07-19). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2540

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Materials

Vuorinen, Helena & Puumalainen, Jouni & Lehikoinen, Tuula (2003). Sairaana töissä? Kysely työpaikoille osasairauslomista. Helsinki: Kuntoutussäätiö. Kuntoutussäätiön työselosteita; 25.

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