Gender differences in mental health-related sickness absence in the education sector

Background: The education sector experiences high rates of sickness absence, primarily due to mental health disorders. This issue poses significant challenges, not only for the affected employees but also for their colleagues, pupils, the organization, and the society as a whole. Several factors are likely to contribute to this issue, including work-related factors and gender dynamics, as the education sector has a high proportion of female employees. Methods: In this study, we use statistical methods to compare the average duration of sickness absence due to mental disorders in the education sector with other sectors. Additionally, we explore the influence of gender, age, and working hours on the duration of sickness absence. For our study we use a large dataset consisting of approximately 200,000 cases of sickness absence due to mental disorders, with more than 32,000 cases from the education sector. Results: Our analysis shows that average sickness absence duration is consistently longer in the education sector than in other sectors, even after accounting for gender and age. Specifically, the average duration of sickness due to mental disorders in the education sector is 235 days, compared to 188 days in other sectors. We also observe gender differences in absence duration in all sectors, with an interaction effect indicating that working in education affects recovery rates more for men than for women. Consequently, the gender difference in absence duration is smaller in the education sector than in other sectors. Conclusion: Using a large dataset, we find significant differences in absence duration between employees in the education sector and those in other sectors. Other factors, such as gender, also influence sickness absence duration, but to a lesser extent. Notably, the gender effect on absence duration is smaller in the education sector compared to other sectors.