The impact of temporary employment and job tenure on sickness absence

Institute for Work & Health
481 University Avenue, Suite 800
Toronto, Ontario

Heather Scott-Marshall
Institute for Work & Health

Emile Tompa
Institute for Work & Health

Previous studies have suggested that temporary employment and job tenure are associated with work-related health risk exposures and the ability to take a sickness absence, but these studies have not considered the nature of the employment contract in a longitudinal framework. This study investigates the impact of temporary employment on work-related and all-cause sickness absences of one week or more with a focus on how these outcomes are moderated by factors related to social protection (job tenure, union membership and firm size). Longitudinal data from a Canadian labour market survey is used to conduct a duration analysis of the time from the start of a job to the first sickness absence.

About presenter

Photo of Emile Tompa

Dr. Emile Tompa is a senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health. He holds appointments as an associate professor in the Department of Economics at McMaster University and as an assistant professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. 

Tompa is a labour and health economist with an MBA from the University of British Columbia, an MA in economics from the University of Toronto, and a PhD in economics from McMaster University.

About IWH Speaker Series

The IWH Speaker Series brings you the latest findings from work and health researchers from the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) and beyond. For those unable to attend, the recorded webinar of most presentations in the IWH Speaker Series are made available on its web page within a week of the event.