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Innovative Work Practices and Sickness Absence: What Does a Nationally Representative Employee Survey Tell?

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  • Böckerman, Petri
  • Johansson, Edvard
  • Kauhanen, Antti

Abstract

The paper examines the effect of innovative work practices on the prevalence of sickness absence and accidents at work. We focus on several different aspects of workplace innovations (self-managed teams, information sharing, employer-provided training and incentive pay) along with the bundles of those practices. We use nationally representative individual level data from the Finnish Quality of Work Life Survey from 2008. Using single equation models, we find that innovative work practices increase short-term sickness absence for blue-collar and lower white-collar employees. In two-equation models that treat innovative workplace practices as endogenous variables we do not find relationship between innovative work practices and sickness absence or accidents at work.

Suggested Citation

  • Böckerman, Petri & Johansson, Edvard & Kauhanen, Antti, 2009. "Innovative Work Practices and Sickness Absence: What Does a Nationally Representative Employee Survey Tell?," Discussion Papers 1199, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    • Handle: RePEc:rif:dpaper:1199
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    2. Mehrzad B. Baktash & John S. Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn, 2022. "Performance pay and alcohol use in Germany," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 353-383, October.
    3. Benjamin Artz & Colin P. Green & John S. Heywood, 2021. "Does performance pay increase alcohol and drug use?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(3), pages 969-1002, July.
    4. Petri, Böckerman & Pekka, Ilmakunnas, 2020. "Työhyvinvointi kannattaa. Työolot, työtyytyväisyys ja tuottavuus [Working conditions, job satisfaction and productivity]," MPRA Paper 103484, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Mohamed Ali Ben Halima & Nathalie Greenan & Joseph Lanfranchi, 2021. "Organisational changes and long-term sickness absence and injury leave: a difference in difference approach," TEPP Working Paper 2021-05, TEPP.
    6. Maëlezig Bigi & Nathalie Greenan & Sylvie Hamon-Cholet & Joseph Lanfranchi, 2012. "Changements organisationnels et évolution du vécu au travail des salariés : une comparaison entre secteur privé et Fonction publique d'Etat," Working Papers halshs-00979650, HAL.
    7. Ben Halima, Mohamed Ali & Greenan, Nathalie & Lanfranchi, Joseph, 2023. "Getting sick for profit? The impact of cumulative ICT and management changes on long term sickness absence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 659-688.
    8. Maëlezig Bigi & Nathalie Greenan & Sylvie Hamon-Cholet & Joseph Lanfranchi, 2012. "Changements organisationnels et évolution du vécu au travail : une comparaison entre secteur privé et fonction publique d'Etat," Working Papers hal-00710213, HAL.
    9. Philippe Askenazy & Damien Cartron, 2020. "When Preventing Absenteeism Fuels Long‐Sickness Leave: The Case of a Leading Operator for Local Transport Services," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(1), pages 199-223, March.
    10. Cirillo, Valeria & Fanti, Lucrezia & Mina, Andrea & Ricci, Andrea, 2023. "The adoption of digital technologies: Investment, skills, work organisation," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 89-105.
    11. Lenihan, Helena & McGuirk, Helen & Murphy, Kevin R., 2019. "Driving innovation: Public policy and human capital," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    12. Böckerman, Petri & Bryson, Alex & Ilmakunnas, Pekka, 2012. "Does high involvement management improve worker wellbeing?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 660-680.
    13. Hassan Ismail & Ahmad Warrak, 2020. "The Impact of High Involvement Management on Employee Retention," International Journal of Human Resource Studies, Macrothink Institute, vol. 10(1), pages 223233-2232, December.
    14. Böckerman, Petri & Ilmakunnas, Pekka, 2020. "Do good working conditions make you work longer? Analyzing retirement decisions using linked survey and register data," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    15. Petri Böckerman, 2015. "High involvement management and employee well-being," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 171-171, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    innovative work practices; workplace innovation; sickness absence; accidents;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy

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