Women have taken far more sick leave than men

Women have 70 percent higher sick leave than men, and the difference between the sexes has increased in recent years, according to a study by Nav.

Taking into account the causes of pregnancy, work and family, 60 percent of the difference remains unexplained, writes Aftenposten.

Researcher Jon Petter Nossen in Nav tells the newspaper that several explanations have been released of what contributes to the inequality.

– “Among other things, it may be due to gender differences in attitudes and norms, but these explanations have little support in research. On the other hand, differences in disease behavior can be important, but it is difficult to distinguish this from differences in health,” says Nossen.

According to the researcher, it has also been claimed that the difference may be related to after-effects or late pregnancy after birth and that women more often than men are victims of domestic violence.

Nossen also says that research shows that there are gender differences in the experience of pain, that women are more sensitive to pain and have a higher risk of experiencing pain in general, especially chronic pain.

Norway is one of the countries where the difference in sick leave between women and men is greatest, according to the survey.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today