Sickness absence in Finnish municipalities

The monitoring of sickness absence makes it possible to reduce and shorten sickness absence. A set of indicators by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health demonstrates the development of sickness absence in the 2000s.

Description

The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health’s Kunta10 study is the most long-term and extensive municipal personnel study in Finland. The work life quality and well-being of more than 90,000 municipal employees is followed up with a survey that is conducted every two years in 11 municipalities. The survey responses are also combined with register data about sickness absence, for instance.

What the indicators describe

The monitoring of sick days of the participants of the Kunta10 study is performed directly in the municipalities’ personal data files. The calculation method is consistent: the number of sick days divided by person-years. A separate figure is calculated for each subgroup (e.g. the occupation). The calculation covers full-time municipal employees. Only the days of absence that are due to the person’s own illness are included.

The data is updated at one-year intervals. The sickness absence data in 2021 from one municipality and from another in 2022 are missing.

The Work-Life Knowledge service also offers article about the survey: Significant differences in sickness absence between occupational groups in the municipal sector during the first COVID-19 pandemic year.