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This thesis compares sickness absence in Belgium, West-Germany and The Netherlands. The comparison was restricted to sickness absence in greatly similar groups of private sector employees in these countries (observation period 1980, 1981). For a more recent observation period (1983-1987) rates are adapted and calculated from benefits administrations. Most sickness absence investigations regard the effects of personal and organizational factors, which operate within a given national context. After having assessed the weight of some of these factors, the further inquiry has been focussed on macro-level differences. Macro-level differences taken together with some related organization-level differences show to be highly relevant for our understanding of the international differences observed in sickness absence rates.