Social class and sickness absence in Norway

In this article we study class differences, as measured by the Erikson, Goldthorpe and Portocarero (EGP) class scheme, in long-term sickness absence, and, using data from three years of the Norwegian Level of Living Survey, we investigate the possible explanatory mechanisms for these differences in Norway. Our results show that there are class differences in sickness absence especially among men, but also among women. The two main underlying factors are education and physical work environment. The results suggest that selection mechanisms and material conditions are important, and prompt the question whether psychosocial work environment explains the marked class differences in sickness absence.