Relationship Between Support for Workers With Illness and Work Functioning Impairment in Japan During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  1. Yu Igarashi
  2. Seiichiro Tateishi
  3. Arisa Harada
  4. Ayako Hino
  5. Mayumi Tsuji
  6. Akira Ogami
  7. Koji Mori
  8. Ryutaro Matsugaki
  9. Yoshihisa Fujino

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Abstract

This study examined the relationship between job accommodations for workers with poor health and work functioning impairment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods:

An internet survey was conducted in December 2020. We included 24,429 subjects for analysis. One question was used to determine whether subjects needed job accommodations from their company to continue working in their current health condition. The odds ratios (ORs) of the necessity of job accommodations for sick workers associated with work functioning impairment were estimated using multilevel logistic regression analysis.

Results:

The OR of work functioning impairment among sick workers not receiving job accommodations was 5.75 (95% confidence interval (CI): 5.34 to 6.20, P   <  0.001) and those receiving job accommodations was 1.88 (95% CI: 1.69 to 2.08, P   <  0.001) compared to healthy workers.

Conclusions:

This study suggests that providing job accommodations to workers with poor health may improve their work functioning impairment.

Article activity feed

  1. Version published to 10.1097/jom.0000000000002500
  2. Version published to 10.1101/2021.09.23.21263920v2 on medRxiv
  3. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2021.09.23.21263920: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    EthicsIRB: This study was approved by the ethics committee of the University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan (reference No. R2-079).
    Consent: Informed consent was obtained using a form on the survey website.
    Sex as a biological variableA total of 22,388 individuals (10,901 males and 11,487 females) were included in this analysis.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    No key resources detected.

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    This study had some limitations. First, because it was a survey of Internet monitors, a degree of selection bias could not be unavoided. To minimize this, we selected subjects based on their region, occupation, and prefecture in terms of infection rate. Second, given the cross-sectional design, we could not determine the causal relationship between support for workers with illness and work functioning impairment. Workers with mild work functioning impairment who are able to work may receive support more readily. Third, we did not identify workers’ symptoms or disease in our study. The effect of support on the improvement in work functioning impairment may depend on the type and degree of illness or symptoms exhibited by workers, combined with their job and tasks. In conclusion, this study showed that there is a relationship between support for workers with illness and work functioning impairment in a large population of workers across Japan. Workers with illnesses who felt they were receiving support from their companies were less likely to have work functioning impairment than those who reported not receiving support. These results suggest that support for workers with illnesses may improve their work functioning impairment. Clinical Relevance: This study revealed a relationship between support for workers with illness and work functioning impairment. While workers continue to work with illnesses has been increasing, this survey shows the importance for companies to support ...

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  4. Version published to 10.1101/2021.09.23.21263920v1 on medRxiv