Due to copyright issues, an electronic copy of the thesis must be ordered from the faculty. For the faculty to have time to process the order, the order must be received by the faculty at the latest 2 days before the public defence. Orders received later than 2 days before the defence will not be processed. After the public defence, please address any inquiries regarding the thesis to the candidate.
Trial Lecture – time and place
See Trial Lecture.
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Senior researcher Thomas Lund, Holbæk Hospital
- Second opponent: Professor Stein Atle Lie, University of Bergen
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Associate professor Cecilie Dahl, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Professor emeritus Dag Bruusgaard, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Senior Physician and Researcher Ingrid Sivesind Mehlum, STAMI
Summary
This PhD thesis in occupational epidemiology investigates occupational differences in labour market participation and exit from work in Nordic countries.
Using nationwide register data from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, three studies were conducted. The first paper analysed the one-year incidence of prolonged sickness absence (≥30 days) across occupations among seven million employees in all four countries. The second paper estimated the time expected to be in work and the reasons for working years lost in Denmark, Finland, and Norway. The third paper applied a Norwegian job exposure matrix to study the associations between biomechanical and psychosocial work exposures at age 62 and withdrawal from paid employment in Norway, stratified by gender.
Across the Nordic countries, managers, professionals, and technicians were expected to spend the most time in work between ages 30 and 65, whereas service, care, manual, and elementary occupations had a higher incidence of prolonged sickness absence and more working years lost.
Some occupations showed consistently poor labour market outcomes across all countries. Country-specific patterns were also observed: sickness absence was an important pathway out of work in Norway, while unemployment played a greater role in Finland.
Among older workers, detrimental occupational exposures were associated with an increased risk of early withdrawal from paid employment. Gender differences were evident, with particularly large disparities for monotonous work, high psychological demands, and work with hands above shoulder height.
Overall, the findings show consistent occupational differences in work participation and exit from work across Nordic countries. These results highlight the need for targeted workplace interventions and policies to promote sustainable working lives, particularly for occupational groups with persistently low work participation or high exit risk across countries.
Additional information
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