Work, Sickness, Absence and Identity work

This article explores how a group of industrial workers experience long-term sickness absence andhow they cope with this situation. The article presents data from in-depth interviews with maleindustrial workers employed in a Norwegian factory. The findings suggest that the factory workershandle their failing health by engaging in activities other than wage work. They did not accept a socialsituation characterized by passivity, social isolation, marginalization, or loss of self. The workersreported that they lived active lives, reproducing social identities through different bodily activities.It was also made clear that the sickness absence was not a result of their choice, but a result of afailing body and the employer’s inability to adapt work to their health situation.

Til publikasjon: https://hdl.handle.net/11250/4497398 | Publiseringsår: 2013 | Tidsskrift: Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies