Onset of Work-Life Conflict Increases Risk of Subsequent Psychological Distress in the Norwegian Working Population

Andrea Rørvik Marti, Eirik Degerud and Tom Sterud ()
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Andrea Rørvik Marti: Department of Occupational Health Surveillance, National Institute of Occupational Health, 0363 Oslo, Norway
Eirik Degerud: Department of Occupational Health Surveillance, National Institute of Occupational Health, 0363 Oslo, Norway
Tom Sterud: Department of Occupational Health Surveillance, National Institute of Occupational Health, 0363 Oslo, Norway

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-9

Abstract: We aimed to assess whether the onset of work-life conflict is associated with a risk of subsequent onset of psychological distress. Respondents from a randomly drawn cohort of the general Norwegian working population were interviewed in 2009 (T1), 2013 (T2), and 2016 (T3) (gross sample n = 13,803). Participants reporting frequent work-life conflict at T1 and/or psychological distress (five-item Hopkins Symptom Checklist mean score ≥ 2) at T2 were excluded to establish a design that allowed us to study the effect of the onset of work-life conflict at T2 on psychological distress at T3. Logistic regression analysis showed that the onset of frequent work-life conflict more than doubled the risk of the onset of psychological distress at T3 (OR = 2.55; 95% CI 1.44–4.51). The analysis of the association between occasional work-life conflict and psychological distress was not conclusive (OR = 1.21; 95% CI 0.77–1.90). No differential effects of sex were observed (log likelihood ratio = 483.7, p = 0.92). The calculated population attributable risk (PAR) suggests that 12.3% (95% CI 2.84–22.9%) of psychological distress onset could be attributed to frequent work-life conflict. In conclusion, our results suggest that the onset of frequent work-life conflict has a direct effect on the future risk of developing symptoms of psychological distress in both male and female workers.

Keywords: work-family conflict; work-life balance; anxiety; depression; mental health; occupational health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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