AUTHOR=Ropponen Annina , Haapakangas Annu 

TITLE=The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on telework and short sickness absences among Finnish knowledge workers

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1683731

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2025.1683731

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=IntroductionLongitudinal studies are rare for associations between telework and sickness absence (SA). This prospective cohort study aimed to investigate short (1–3 days) SA from 2019 to 2023 among a cohort of Finnish knowledge workers and the role of telework in short SA.MethodsComplete employer-owned register data on SA and telework were available from four organizations for 2019–2023, comprising 924 employees. Weekly means of telework days/week and short (1–3 days) SA days were calculated and analyzed using conditional Poisson with fixed-effects to obtain incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsThe levels of short SA were low from 2019 to 2023, while telework increased at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and remained at an elevated level. In a fully adjusted model, each 1-day increase in telework was associated with a higher likelihood of short SA (IRR 1.35, 95%CI 1.22, 1.50).ConclusionTelework has become a central way of working among Finnish knowledge workers since the COVID-19 pandemic, while shortSA has remained at a low level. A higher number of weekly teleworking days may be linked to a higher likelihood of short SA, indicating that workplaces should pay special attention to their employees’ wellbeing and health.