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What Challenges Manual Workers’ Ability to Cope with Back Pain at Work, and What Influences Their Decision to Call in Sick?

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Abstract

Introduction Although back pain (BP) is a very common cause for sickness absence, most people stay at work during BP episodes. Existing knowledge on the factors influencing the decision to stay at work despite pain is limited. The aim of this study was to explore challenges for coping with BP at work and decisive factors for work attendance among workers with high physical work demands. Methods Three focus groups (n = 20) were conducted using an explorative inductive method. Participants were public-employed manual workers with high physical work demands. All had personal BP experience. Thematic analysis was used for interpretation. Results were matched with the Flags system framework to guide future recommendations. Results Workers with BP were challenged by poor physical work conditions and a lack of supervisor support/trust (i.e. lack of adjustment latitude). Organization of workers into teams created close co-worker relationships, which positively affected BP coping. Workers responded to BP by applying helpful individual adjustments to reduce or prevent pain. Traditional ergonomics was considered inconvenient, but nonetheless ideal. When pain was not decisive, the decision to call in sick was mainly governed by workplace factors (i.e. sick absence policies, job strain, and close co-workers relationships) and to a less degree by personal factors. Conclusion Factors influencing BP coping at work and the decision to report sick was mainly governed by factors concerning general working conditions. Creating a flexible and inclusive working environment guided by the senior management and overall work environment regulations seems favourable.

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Acknowledgments

We are most grateful to the participants of the focus groups for sharing their experiences. Special thanks to the participating municipalities. Finally, special thanks to Sebastian Werngreen Nielsen for reviewing the manuscript. Funding was provided by The Danish Working Environment Research Fund (Arbejdsmiljøforskningsfonden), The Danish Rheumatism Association (Gigtforeningen), and Glostrup University Hospital.

Conflict of interest

Authors Pernille Frederiksen, Tom Bendix, and Mette Marie V. Karsten are employed at Glostrup University Hospital, which is one of the funders of this project. Author Aage Indahl declares that he has no conflict of interest. Neither contributing municipalities nor funders interfered in the scientific or publication process.

Ethical standard

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 [19]. Informed consent was obtained from all participants for being included in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Copenhagen Center for Back Research (COPE BACK), Centre for Rheumatology and Spine Diseases, Glostrup University Hospital, Ndr. Ringvej 57, 2600, Glostrup, Denmark

    Pernille Frederiksen, Mette Marie V. Karsten & Tom Bendix

  2. Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Pernille Frederiksen & Tom Bendix

  3. Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Mette Marie V. Karsten

  4. Department of Research and Development, Clinic Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vestfold Hospital Trust, Stavern, Norway

    Aage Indahl

  5. Uni Health, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Aage Indahl

Authors
  1. Pernille Frederiksen
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  3. Aage Indahl
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  4. Tom Bendix
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Correspondence to Pernille Frederiksen.

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Frederiksen, P., Karsten, M.M.V., Indahl, A. et al. What Challenges Manual Workers’ Ability to Cope with Back Pain at Work, and What Influences Their Decision to Call in Sick?. J Occup Rehabil 25, 707–716 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-015-9578-1

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