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This study explores how doctoral graduates weigh considerations of employment sectors and cities in their career decision‐making processes. Guided by Social Cognitive Career Theory and a Four‐quadrant Model, researchers analysed interviews from 40 STEM doctoral graduates in China. Findings demonstrate that self‐efficacy, outcome expectations and goal‐setting were factors in participants' interests and selections of academic careers. Three types of doctoral graduates were identified: (1) highfliers, (2) academic loyalists and (3) city pickers. While participants prioritize employment sectors and cities differently, cities played a significant role in their career choices which intersected with gender and class factors. Female doctoral graduates were more inclined to follow their partners, while those from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds tended to prioritize cost of living factors at the expense of pursuing opportunities in top‐tier cities. Implications suggest that factors undergirding doctoral graduates' career choices rely on the interaction between geographical locations and employment sector opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personal perspective concerning work demands directly impacts quality health care and patient satisfaction. Little is known about job satisfaction amongst dietitians and nutritionist, while workload has not previously been studied in this population. A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed using an online questionnaire. Data were collected on sociodemography. Job satisfaction was measured with Spector's Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) (including an added subscore for resource availability) and workload with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX). Respondents (n = 238) had a median age of 32.0 years (IQR: 27−39 years); 92.4% were female; 95.7% were dietitians, 2.4% were nutritionists and 18.9% had a postgraduate degree. Respondents had practised the profession for a median of 8 years (IQR 3−15 years), and 225 were in dietetic and nutrition-related jobs. Median scores indicated that they were slightly satisfied with their jobs (n = 224) and experienced slightly high workload (n = 224). Most respondents were moderately satisfied with the nature of their work and found it rewarding. The median scores for salaries, promotion opportunities, work environment and availability of resources were low. Total JSS was higher in older and more experienced dietitians and nutritionists than in younger ones (p < 0.05). Those employed in the government sector (n = 100) experienced higher physical demands and levels of frustration, and had lower JJS than those employed elsewhere (n = 124), particularly regarding promotion opportunities and resources availability. Despite being generally positive towards practising their profession, South African dietitians and nutritionists, particularly in the public health sector, experienced only slight job satisfaction, related to salary and promotion issues and lack of resources, and were slightly overworked. Understanding the factors that shape perceptions of work within nutrition and dietetics may assist managers in recruiting and retaining a highly skilled workforce, particularly in developing countries with overburdened healthcare systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the relationships between social capital, education, income, and job stability in Chinese migrant workers, an under-researched area. Our findings reveal strong positive links between social capital, formal education duration, income, and job stability for migrant workers. Importantly, we distinguish between male and female migrants, unveiling gender-specific differences in the impact of social capital and education on income and job stability. Male migrant workers benefit from both social capital and formal education, while female migrant workers primarily gain from formal education. Regarding job stability, only the formal education duration of female migrant workers demonstrates a noteworthy correlation. Additionally, our analysis examines generational disparities, showing that formal education positively affects all migrant workers, with more pronounced advantages among younger individuals. Furthermore, our study emphasizes the role of social capital in increasing income for migrant workers in the manufacturing and construction sectors, while also enhancing job stability among those in the construction and service sectors. Formal education emerges as a positive factor for both income and job stability across manufacturing, construction, and service domains among migrant workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies examining occupational class differences in burnout symptoms across employment sectors are scarce. The aim of this study was to examine whether occupational class is associated with emotional exhaustion, and whether there are differences in the examined associations between employment sectors. A further aim was to examine to which extent psychosocial working conditions may explain these associations. Survey data were collected in 2017 among 19–39-year-old employees of the City of Helsinki (4630 women and 1267 men, response rate 51.5%). Occupational class included four classes: 1. manuals, 2. routine non-manuals, 3. semi-professionals, 4. managers and professionals. Employment sector was classified into three groups: 1. health and social care, 2. education and 3. 'other'. Linear regression analysis and IBM SPSS 25 statistical program were used. The analytical sample included 4883 participants. The highest occupational class, i.e. managers and professionals, reported the highest emotional exhaustion. In terms of the sector, those working in education had the highest scores of emotional exhaustion. The associations between occupational class and emotional exhaustion differed somewhat between the sectors. Adjustment for job demands attenuated the differences in emotional exhaustion between occupational classes, whereas adjustment for job control and job strain widened the differences. Attention should be paid to occupations with excess mental demands, and to employees in the education sector, who showed the highest risk of emotional exhaustion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education is one of the necessary conditions for employment. Often, getting an education requires significant expenses, so not everyone can afford to pay for college. Universities implement support programs for students to give them wider opportunities for obtaining an education. In addition, although students are classified as a non-working population, they sometimes engage in activities for which they receive wages, so they can be considered part-time workers. Previous research suggests that tuition assistance may reduce students' incentives to work and increase their consumer spending, making part-time job a secondary priority for economic reasons. This study aims to analyze the opportunities for part-time jobs for students who receive tuition assistance with the variables used, namely the tuition assistance scheme, gender, consumption expenditure, employment status, and employment sector. Sriwijaya University is the oldest university in South Sumatra, with students receiving tuition assistance in 2022 amounted to 4569 students. The sample used in this research is 100 students who receive tuition assistance. The data used for the analysis are primary data collected by the questionnaire method. The analysis technique used in this study uses a binary logistic regression model using the SPSS 22 analysis tool. The results showed that the variables of assistance schemes, consumption expenditures, and jobs in the service sector had a significant effect on students' part-time job decisions. The type of work in the service sector is the dominant factor for students working part-time. The results of this study can be used in developing government policies for part-time workers and students regarding time management.

Background: Personal perspective concerning work demands directly impacts quality health care and patient satisfaction. Little is known about job satisfaction amongst dietitians and nutritionist, while workload has not previously been studied in this population. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed using an online questionnaire. Data were collected on sociodemography. Job satisfaction was measured with Spector’s Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) (including an added subscore for resource availability) and workload with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX). Results: Respondents (n = 238) had a median age of 32.0 years (IQR: 27−39 years); 92.4% were female; 95.7% were dietitians, 2.4% were nutritionists and 18.9% had a postgraduate degree. Respondents had practised the profession for a median of 8 years (IQR 3−15 years), and 225 were in dietetic and nutrition-related jobs. Median scores indicated that they were slightly satisfied with their jobs (n = 224) and experienced slightly high workload (n = 224). Most respondents were moderately satisfied with the nature of their work and found it rewarding. The median scores for salaries, promotion opportunities, work environment and availability of resources were low. Total JSS was higher in older and more experienced dietitians and nutritionists than in younger ones (p

In many countries around the world, the number of new doctorate recipients graduating from universities has grown sharply in the past few decades, but the implications of this expansion for the employment situation of doctorate recipients remain largely unexplored in longitudinal studies. In Germany, as in various other countries, the expansion of doctoral education coincided with other changes in higher education that may have had a relevant impact on the careers of doctorate recipients. We explore the labour market outcomes of more than 98,000 doctorate recipients who graduated between 1995 and 2013. Focusing on differences among 19 annual graduation cohorts, we find that, beginning in the mid-2000s, newly graduating doctorate recipients had lower rates of full-time employment and were less likely to earn high incomes than graduates of the 1995–2000 period. At the same time, rates of inter-regional mobility have declined, and more new doctorate recipients remain employed in the academic sector. Differences across cohorts are robust to disaggregation along gender and disciplinary lines and persist for at least five years after graduation. We relate these findings to a stronger socialisation of doctoral students towards academic 'excellence', new employment options in university administration and management as well as increasing fixed-term employment in research projects. Our findings indicate that the expansion of doctoral education, as well as potential reforms in the training of doctoral candidates, must be analysed in the context of the respective university system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of COVID-19 on labor income changes of employees in Serbia. The research was conducted on a representative sample of 3,044 individuals from Serbia, using the CATI method, whereby 1,464 of them were included in the analyses as they provided the complete data needed for this study. Employees' labor income was recorded by collecting data on wages before and nine months after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. To obtain the difference, we calculated the percentage change in wages, accounting for the nominal values. There was no significant gender difference in the percentage change of income, while there was a difference regarding education level. Employees with primary education experienced an average percentage increase in wages of 7.6%, whereas those holding secondary and tertiary education had a negligible increase (1.84%) and a decrease (-0.78%), respectively. The analysis revealed a significant interaction between gender and education, indicating that men with primary education had an average increase of 12.8%. Our results showed that employees who could not perform their jobs from home had an average percentage increase of 2.9% in wages. The employment sector also had an effect on percentage changes in wages. The construction and agriculture, forestry, and fishery sectors had an average percentage wage increase of 12.6% and 11.5%, respectively, while employees in the sector of other service activities experienced an average percentage decrease of 7.9%. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the diverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on labor income, emphasizing the importance of considering gender, education, remote work possibilities, and the employment sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the influence of unobserved individual characteristics in explaining the effects of work-related factors on full (fSA) and part-time sickness absence (pSA). METHODS: We used register-based panel data for the period 2005–2016 on a 70% random sample of the Finnish working-age population. The relationships between employment sector and occupational exposures (% exposed to physically heavy work and job control score based on job exposure matrices) and the annual onset of fSA and pSA were investigated among men and women. First, random effects (RE) models were applied controlling for observed sociodemographic factors and then fixed effects (FE) models that examine within-individual changes over time and thereby further account for unobserved time-invariant individual characteristics. RESULTS: In the RE analyses, public employment sector, physically heavy work and lower job control each increased the use of fSA and pSA among both genders. When unobserved individual characteristics were controlled for with the FE models, the effects on fSA attenuated. For pSA, the effects of employment sector and physical heaviness of work among women even reversed. The effect of lower job control on pSA remained especially among women. CONCLUSIONS: The role of individuals’ unobserved characteristics in explaining the effects of work-related factors on SA should not be neglected. The effects of work-related factors are likely to be overestimated when using traditional approaches that do not account for unobserved confounding, ie, selection of individuals with a high likelihood of SA into particular work environments.

The membership profile of Finnish trade unions has changed from male-dominated industrial workers to female-dominated service and public sector workers who are more highly educated. The Finnish labour market is strongly divided into female and male occupations and sectors, and these intersectional differences play an important part in the differentiation of developmental paths. The erosion of membership is mainly due to the rapid growth of the independent unemployment fund (YTK) competing with unemployment funds associated with trade unions. YTK has been much more successful in recruiting private sector male workers than women. Men's decisions not to join the union are related to the shift in the motivation to unionise from social custom to instrumental reasons. Along with the gender majority shift, union identification has changed, and unions need to carry out 'identity work' to attain members. The shift in gender proportions has also had consequences for the collective bargaining system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective We aimed to investigate the influence of unobserved individual characteristics in explaining the effects of work-related factors on full (fSA) and part-time sickness absence (pSA). Methods We used register-based panel data for the period 2005-2016 on a 70% random sample of the Finnish working-age population. The relationships between employment sector and occupational exposures (% exposed to physically heavy work and job control score based on job exposure matrices) and the annual onset of fSA and pSA were investigated among men and women. First, random effects (RE) models were applied controlling for observed sociodemographic factors and then fixed effects (FE) models that examine within-individual changes over time and thereby further account for unobserved time-invariant individual characteristics. Results In the RE analyses, public employment sector, physically heavy work and lower job control each increased the use of fSA and pSA among both genders. When unobserved individual characteristics were controlled for with the FE models, the effects on fSA attenuated. For pSA, the effects of employment sector and physical heaviness of work among women even reversed. The effect of lower job control on pSA remained especially among women. Conclusions The role of individuals' unobserved characteristics in explaining the effects of work-related factors on SA should not be neglected. The effects of work-related factors are likely to be overestimated when using traditional approaches that do not account for unobserved confounding, ie, selection of individuals with a high likelihood of SA into particular work environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Guanxi is a fundamental, but controversial, feature of Chinese society. This article examines public attitudes about the fairness of guanxi and how Chinese market reform is affecting these attitudes. The reciprocity-laden and tie-sensitive nature of guanxi conflicts with the efficiency-oriented goal of a market economy. Disapproval of guanxi is thus increasing as marketization progresses. Results from the 2008 Chinese General Social Survey show that guanxi is more likely to be viewed as unfair in places with higher levels of marketization. The educational gradient decreases with marketization, and change is more pronounced among people working in the market sector than it is among people working in the state sector. My findings suggest that Chinese market reform increases public disapproval of guanxi.

Objective: To compare the prevalence and reasons for presenteeism in occupations in three branches defined as employees handling people, handling things or handling symbols. Method: A cross-sectional population-based cohort study was conducted. The study group was drawn from a representative sample (n = 6230) aged 16–64, who had been interviewed in 2015 or in 2017 for the Swedish Work Environment Surveys (SWES). The odds ratios (ORs) stratified by occupational category for reasons of presenteeism, with 95% confidence intervals (CI), were estimated using binomial multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: The study showed that presenteeism was more common among employees handling people (74%), when compared to employees handling things (65%) or handling symbols (70%). The most common reason for presenteeism among employees handling people was "I do not want to burden my colleagues", while "Because nobody else can carry out my responsibilities" was most common in the other two categories. After control for socio-demography, work environments and health, the differences in reasons mostly remained significant between the three occupational categories. Conclusion: The differences between occupational categories are important for prevalence and reasons for presenteeism. As presenteeism affects the future health of employees and the productivity of the work unit, attempts to reduce presenteeism may be important. Because the reasons vary between occupations, customized preventive measures should be applied in different occupational settings. Among employees handling people, covering up for absence in work team is relevant, while among employees handling symbols and handling things the corresponding focus could be on shared responsibilities for specific tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guanxi is a fundamental, but controversial, feature of Chinese society. This article examines public attitudes about the fairness of guanxi and how Chinese market reform is affecting these attitudes. The reciprocity-laden and tie-sensitive nature of guanxi conflicts with the efficiency-oriented goal of a market economy. Disapproval of guanxi is thus increasing as marketization progresses. Results from the 2008 Chinese General Social Survey show that guanxi is more likely to be viewed as unfair in places with higher levels of marketization. The educational gradient decreases with marketization, and change is more pronounced among people working in the market sector than it is among people working in the state sector. My findings suggest that Chinese market reform increases public disapproval of guanxi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This data article presents the impact of parents' socioeconomic status on undergraduate students’ academic achievements at a Malaysian higher education institution. The eastern parts of Peninsular Malaysia are populated by low-income citizens compared to the national average. The survey was conducted in Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. The targeted population is final year social science students. The total size of the target population is 965 students. Using Krejcie and Morgan's sampling method, a sample size of 333 students was surveyed. A descriptive research design was adopted in this study. Data were obtained from stratified random sampling comprising a total of 333 respondents in Universiti Malaysia Terengganu from 14 states across Malaysia. The data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using tables and figures. The findings revealed that most of the students stated that a parent's socioeconomic status does not influence their academic achievement.

At time of COVID-19 pandemic, not only isolation and loneliness were increasing, but injustice was increasing, as well. Scholars argue, workplace is quite unjust toward women in general suggesting salary, benefits, little value to their voice, career growth and it shows COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates injustice at work moreover. The aim of the contribution was to analyze the character of relationship between women's sensitivity to injustice, emotions, employment sector and coping with injustice at work during COVID-19. 208 women with the average age of 26.08 years (SD = 7.39) answered the questions measuring sensitivity to injustice by Justice Sensitivity Inventory (Schmitt et al., 2010; Slovak version - Lovaš, 1995), emotions by Positive Affect Scale and Negative Affect Scale (Džuka & Dalbert, in Džuka, 2019) and coping by Brief COPE (Carver, 1997; Slovak version - Ficková, 1992). The results showed that women were sensitive to injustice at work (M = 4.49; SD = .89), felt anger mostly (M = 4.35; SD = 1.31) and used adaptive coping strategies more than maladaptive coping strategies (t(207) = 15.47, p < .001). The analysis of character of relationship between selected variables showed that negative affect and employment sector were predictors of coping with injustice at work. Specific results are part of the contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has found that public and nonprofit employees volunteer at a higher rate than their for-profit-sector counterparts, with the disparity typically explained as a behavioral consequence of their higher public service motivation (PSM). This article considers an alternative explanation that public and nonprofit jobs might offer greater formal avenues for participation, and hence that differences in volunteering might simply be an indicator of ease of access to such opportunities, rather than of inherent prosocial orientation. Examining whether individuals in different sectors use different pathways to access volunteer roles may improve our understanding of sectoral differences in prosocial behavior. This study accordingly examines how public, nonprofit, and for-profit private-sector employees access organizational volunteer roles. The results show a few significant differences in access to volunteer roles by occupation sector. The implications of these findings for voluntary management, corporate social responsibility research, and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I investigated the effects of adolescents' attitudes toward risk on their choice of employment sector in adulthood. I employed a joint model of employment sector choice and three-dimensional background characteristics to demonstrate that employment preference is an inverse function of the degree of relative risk aversion. Empirical data was obtained from longitudinal data, and a logit model was applied to estimate the effects of the three-dimensional background characteristics on the risk-taking attitudes and employment choices. I observed that individuals with a higher tendency to engage in risky experiences exhibit low risk aversion, and thus, tend to choose a riskier employment sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have argued that engineering practice should be understood in its societal context, including the political contexts in which engineers perform. However, very few research studies have systematically explored the political and moral backgrounds of engineering professionals, who would be the main agents in the political contexts. This paper reports our exploratory study of the political ideologies and moral foundations of engineers in the United States. Based on survey responses from 515 engineers, we conducted generalized ordinal logistic regression analyses and multiple linear regression analyses to examine how engineers' political ideologies are associated with their moral foundations and how engineers' political ideologies and moral foundations vary across their employment sectors, organizational positions, and demographic attributes. We found that engineers in the manufacturing sector are more politically conservative than engineers in the computer/electronics/IT sector. Additionally, engineers in higher positions in their organizations are more politically conservative than engineers in lower positions, and female engineers are more politically liberal than male engineers. We also found that engineers' endorsement of the five moral foundations differs by sector and demographic attributes. Moreover, engineers' moral foundations substantially explain engineers' political ideologies, consistent with previous studies using the Moral Foundations Theory. • Engineers in the manufacturing sector are more conservative than those in the computer/electronics/IT sector. • Engineers in higher positions are more conservative than those in lower positions. • Female engineers are more liberal than male engineers. • Engineers' moral foundations differ by sector and demographic attributes. • Moral foundations substantially explain engineers' political ideologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: to assess the association between the occupational sector and respiratory mortality in the metropolitan longitudinal studies of Rome and Turin., Design: retrospective cohort study., Setting and Participants: the 2011 census cohorts of residents of Rome and Turin aged 30 years and older who had worked for at least one year in the private sector between 1970s and 2011 was analysed. The individuals included in the study were followed from 9 October 2011 to 31 December 2018. Occupational history was obtained from archives of private sector contributions at the National Social Insurance Agency (INPS) and then was linked to data from the longitudinal studies., Main Outcome Measures: the study outcome was non-malignant respiratory mortality. The exposure of interest was whether or not individuals had worked in one of the 25 occupational sectors considered (agriculture and fishing, steel industry, paper and printing, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, textile, energy and water, food and tobacco industry, non-metal mining, glass & cement industry, metal processing, electrical construction, footwear and wood industry, construction, trade, hotel and restaurants, transportation, insurance, healthcare, services, laundries, waste management, hairdressing, cleaning services, and gas stations). The association between the occupational sector and respiratory mortality, adjusted for potential confounders (age, marital status, place of birth, educational level), was estimated using Cox models. All analyses were stratified by sex and city., Results: a total of 910,559 people were analysed in Rome and 391,541 in Turin. During the eight years of follow-up, 4,133 people in Rome and 2,772 people in Turin died from respiratory causes. The sectors associated with high respiratory mortality in both cities among men were footwear and wood industry (adjusted HR for age: 1.37 (95%CI 1.07-1.76) and 1.48 (95%CI 1.08-2.03) in Rome and Turin, respectively), construction (HR: 1.31 (95%CI 1.20-1.44) in Rome and 1.51 (95%CI 1.31-1.74) in Turin), hotel and restaurant sector (HR: 1.25 (95%CI 1.07-1.46) in Rome and 1.68 (95%CI 1.20-2.33) in Turin), and cleaning services (HR: 1.57 (95%CI 1.19-2.06) in Rome and 1.97 (95%CI 1.51-2.58) in Turin). Some sectors had high respiratory mortality only in one of the two cities: in Rome, the food& tobacco industry, and gas stations, while in Turin, the metal processing industry. Among female workers, the cleaning services sector was associated with higher respiratory mortality in both Rome and Turin (HR: 1.52, 95%CI 1.27-1.82, e 1.58, 95%CI 1.17-2.12, respectively)., Conclusions: the data confirm the previously known associations between occupational sectors and respiratory mortality for exposures characteristic of specific sectors, such as construction, hotel and restaurant sector, and cleaning services. The differences reported between the two cities reflect the different composition of the workforce and the size of the two study populations. Administrative social insurance data can provide helpful information for epidemiological studies of occupational exposure.

This paper analyses the spatial patterns and driving forces of uneven dual-track urbanisation in Fujian province using an approach based on the employment sector. It is found that uneven dual-track urbanisation is driven by four major driving forces, including the administrative force, the general internal market force, the specific internal market force, and the external force. Four area types based on employment structure have different levels of dual-track urbanisation. The relatively balanced levels of state-sponsored and spontaneous urbanisation are found in state-led urbanised areas and less developed areas. However, the levels of two urbanisation tracks in state-led urbanised areas far exceed other areas. Their high level of state-sponsored urbanisation is backed up by a large state-owned sector. There is also significant spontaneous urbanisation owing to the rising private sector and inflow of migrant workers to main urban centres. Coastal developed areas have a high level of spontaneous urbanisation but a relatively low level of state-sponsored urbanisation. Less developed areas have low levels of both state-sponsored and spontaneous urbanisation. The Fujian case shows that the two tracks of urbanisation have beenadvancing despite the relative decline of the employment share of state-owned and collective-owned sectors. The economic sectors other than state-owned and collective-owned sectors have contributed to both tracks of urbanisation. The results shed new light on the relationship between the employment sectors and dual-track urbanisation in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effects of stability in employment and migration on rural migrants' access to social insurance. Special attention is given to the interaction between the employment contract and the employment sector and between the employment contract and the migrants' local–nonlocal rural hukou status. Using data from the 2009 Rural-Urban Migration survey in China, the analysis reveals that having a stable contract and high job stability are positively correlated with social insurance coverage among rural migrants, whereas a stable migration experience and the intention to settle in the host city do not increase the likelihood of having social insurance coverage. Having a stable contract plays an important role in closing and even reversing the coverage gap between local and non-local rural migrants by significantly boosting the latter's chances of obtaining social insurance. However, the beneficial effects derived from having a stable contract in improving the likelihood of obtaining social insurance have been significant in the state sector but quite limited in the non-state sector. Astonishingly, this has unintendedly increased the coverage disparity between the two employment sectors, except for the housing provident fund. The policy implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ASEAN Globalization Level issues a strict commitment between ASEAN countries, regarding the agreement of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The agreement that leads to competition in the various sectors, one of which focuses on the labor sector, is a major requirement in service factors. The concept of Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) is an applicable norm in the recognition of skilled and certified labors. Judging at the competitiveness of the employment data availability and the growing number of Indonesian labors, then implications are made for the regions. The present research is aimed at the readiness of the Yogyakarta City Government’s employment sector in the face of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) competition in 2016

Objectives: Women have higher sickness absence rate than men, but less is known of changes in this difference over time. We examined gender differences in sickness absence trends focusing on gender segregation in the labour market. Methods: We used large nationwide register data on Finnish wage earners aged 25-59 and generalized estimation equations based on repeated logistic regression to estimate the annual risk of sickness absence lasting at least 2 weeks. Results: Between 2005 and 2013, the age-adjusted proportion (%) of employees with all-cause sickness absence decreased from the initial levels of 10.6 among men and 15.1 among women by 16.7 and 13.6%, respectively. Among both genders, the largest decrease in sickness absence coincided with the peak of the economic recession in 2009. In sickness absence due to all causes and musculoskeletal diseases, also the excess decrease among men mainly occurred in 2009, and in sickness absence due to mental disorders 2 years later. In sickness absence due to all causes and musculoskeletal diseases, the increasing gender difference was mainly attributable to a larger decrease in sickness absence at the time of the recession in male-dominated groups, such as in manual and manufacturing work, than in other sectors and occupational classes. In mental disorders, the increasing gender difference was partly attributable to a later smaller decrease in sickness absence among female-dominated lower non-manual and lower income employment groups. The increasing gender differences did not result from differential distributional changes in employment or sociodemographic factors among the employed male and female populations. In fact, widening of the gender gap in sickness absence due to all causes and musculoskeletal diseases would have been even larger without faster increase among women in the educational level and in non-manual employment. Conclusions: Sickness absence decreased especially in male-dominated employment groups, resulting in a larger decrease in absences among men compared with women. More research is needed to ascertain whether these differential changes are attributable, for example, to reduced willingness to seek medical advice or increased presenteeism in male-dominated groups, or to increased work pressures in female-dominated groups. Selection mechanisms, i.e. men's increased ill-health-related exit from work through other routes than sickness absence, also cannot be ruled out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]