ABSTRACT
Inrecentyearsseveralindustrializedcountrieshaveinvestedamajoreffortin reducingsicknessabsenceintheworkforce.Theemphasistypicallyhasbeen onreducingsomaticdisease.However,dataonNorwegiansicknesscertificateshasshownthatsubjectivehealthcomplaintswithoutobjectivesignsor symptomsplayaprominentroleinshort-termandlong-termsicknessabsence (Tellnesetal.,1989;Ursinetal.,1993).Furthermore,evenwithsomatic diagnoses,thesubjectiveevaluationofthehealthstateisanimportantfactor inreachingdecisions-bybothpatientanddoctor-onsicknessabsence. Sinceabouthalfoflong-termsicknessabsenceandpermanentdisabilities derivefromsubjectivestates,itistimeforpreventiveworkmedicinetodirect itseffortstowardsthemaincauseofabsencebehaviour,whichisnolongerthe traditionalsomaticconditions.
