Affiliations: Institute for Work and Health, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada | Department of Economics, McMaster University,
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of
Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Emile Tompa, PhD, Institute for Work
and Health, 481 University Avenue, Suite 800, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2E9,
Canada. Tel.: +1 416 927 2027 ext 2113; Fax: +1 416 927 4167; E-mail: etompa@iwh.on.ca
Abstract: Objective: This study investigates the impact of temporary
employment on all-cause sickness absence of one week or more with a focus on
how this relationship is moderated by factors related to social protection (job
tenure, union membership and firm size). Participants: A sample of 5,307
individuals who experienced 9,574 distinct job episodes was drawn from a
longitudinal Canadian labour market survey (2000–2004). Methods: Duration analysis was undertaken to model the time from the start of a job to
the first sickness absence. Specifically, a proportional hazard model was
estimated using a complementary log-log function for continuous time processes. Results: Findings showed that temporary employment was associated with a
lower rate of sickness absence after controlling for tenure, prior health
status, and several other individual and job characteristics. Conclusions: The results suggest that the lack of social protection in
temporary jobs is a powerful determinant of absence taking, even in the case of
serious health conditions that require an absence of one week or more.
Keywords: Sickness absence, temporary work, work injury
