Determinants of the duration of sick leave due to occupational injuries: evidence from Spanish manufacturing
Introduction: Despite the significant economic impact of occupational injuries on companies and society, studies focused on analyzing the determinants of workdays lost due to sick leave remain scarce and incomplete. This paper contributes to this issue by (a) analyzing the drivers of sick leave dura...
| Autores: | , |
|---|---|
| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2023 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad Pública de Navarra |
| Repositorio: | Academica-e. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Pública de Navarra |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:academica-e.unavarra.es:2454/46728 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2454/46728 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Absenteeism Moral hazard Recovery time Work-related injuries Working days lost |
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oai:academica-e.unavarra.es:2454/46728 |
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Determinants of the duration of sick leave due to occupational injuries: evidence from Spanish manufacturing Arocena Garro, Pablo García-Carrizosa, Laura M. Absenteeism Moral hazard Recovery time Work-related injuries Working days lost Introduction: Despite the significant economic impact of occupational injuries on companies and society, studies focused on analyzing the determinants of workdays lost due to sick leave remain scarce and incomplete. This paper contributes to this issue by (a) analyzing the drivers of sick leave duration, distinguishing factors that explain the health recovery time from those that could lead workers to a voluntary extension of the absence period, and (b) formulating and empirically testing the effect of gender, citizenship, temporary work, job tenure, amount of disability benefit, and size of the injured worker's firm on the number of days the employee is off work after the injury. Method: Hypotheses are tested on a comprehensive dataset that includes all nonfatal occupational injuries causing sick leave that occurred in the manufacturing sector in Spain during 2015¿2019, with more than 400,000 injuries. We conduct ordinary least squares and count data regression models in which the number of days off work is regressed on employees and work characteristics while accounting for a set of variables to control the injury's nature and severity. Results: The results show that after considering the intrinsic characteristics of the injury and the severity of the worker's injuries, women, native workers, workers with more seniority, workers with higher salaries, and those working in larger companies have longer periods of sick leave. The results suggest that moral hazard considerations significantly impact the time to return to work after an occupational injury. Practical applications: Based on the findings, several insights for company managers and public decision-makers are discussed. Specifically, interventions aimed at improving the organization of work and the working conditions of workers in manufacturing industries are highlighted, as well as the need to improve control and supervision mechanisms during the recovery process of injured workers. The authors acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Grant PID2020-114460GB-C32 funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033. Open access funding provided by Universidad Pública de Navarra. Elsevier https://hdl.handle.net/2454/46728 |
| title |
Determinants of the duration of sick leave due to occupational injuries: evidence from Spanish manufacturing |
| spellingShingle |
Determinants of the duration of sick leave due to occupational injuries: evidence from Spanish manufacturing Arocena Garro, Pablo Absenteeism Moral hazard Recovery time Work-related injuries Working days lost |
| title_short |
Determinants of the duration of sick leave due to occupational injuries: evidence from Spanish manufacturing |
| title_full |
Determinants of the duration of sick leave due to occupational injuries: evidence from Spanish manufacturing |
| title_fullStr |
Determinants of the duration of sick leave due to occupational injuries: evidence from Spanish manufacturing |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Determinants of the duration of sick leave due to occupational injuries: evidence from Spanish manufacturing |
| title_sort |
Determinants of the duration of sick leave due to occupational injuries: evidence from Spanish manufacturing |
| author |
Arocena Garro, Pablo |
| author_facet |
Arocena Garro, Pablo García-Carrizosa, Laura M. |
| author_role |
author |
| author2 |
García-Carrizosa, Laura M. |
| author2_role |
author |
| topic |
Absenteeism Moral hazard Recovery time Work-related injuries Working days lost |
| topic_facet |
Absenteeism Moral hazard Recovery time Work-related injuries Working days lost |
| description |
Introduction: Despite the significant economic impact of occupational injuries on companies and society, studies focused on analyzing the determinants of workdays lost due to sick leave remain scarce and incomplete. This paper contributes to this issue by (a) analyzing the drivers of sick leave duration, distinguishing factors that explain the health recovery time from those that could lead workers to a voluntary extension of the absence period, and (b) formulating and empirically testing the effect of gender, citizenship, temporary work, job tenure, amount of disability benefit, and size of the injured worker's firm on the number of days the employee is off work after the injury. Method: Hypotheses are tested on a comprehensive dataset that includes all nonfatal occupational injuries causing sick leave that occurred in the manufacturing sector in Spain during 2015¿2019, with more than 400,000 injuries. We conduct ordinary least squares and count data regression models in which the number of days off work is regressed on employees and work characteristics while accounting for a set of variables to control the injury's nature and severity. Results: The results show that after considering the intrinsic characteristics of the injury and the severity of the worker's injuries, women, native workers, workers with more seniority, workers with higher salaries, and those working in larger companies have longer periods of sick leave. The results suggest that moral hazard considerations significantly impact the time to return to work after an occupational injury. Practical applications: Based on the findings, several insights for company managers and public decision-makers are discussed. Specifically, interventions aimed at improving the organization of work and the working conditions of workers in manufacturing industries are highlighted, as well as the need to improve control and supervision mechanisms during the recovery process of injured workers. |
| publishDate |
2023 |
| format |
article |
| status_str |
publishedVersion |
| url |
https://hdl.handle.net/2454/46728 |
| eu_rights_str_mv |
openAccess |
| publisher |
Elsevier |
| institution |
Universidad Pública de Navarra |
| collection |
Academica-e. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Pública de Navarra |
| reponame_str |
Academica-e. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Pública de Navarra |
| instname_str |
Universidad Pública de Navarra |
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1878732792089542656 |
| publishDateSort |
2023 |
| author_browse |
Arocena Garro, Pablo García-Carrizosa, Laura M. |
| publisherStr |
Elsevier |
| score |
6.8972664 |