The Effects of Sickness Absence on Job Insecurity via Skills Obsolescence: A Longitudinal Study

Keeping up with workplace changes can be particularly challenging for workers returning from sickness absence, especially in industries where technological advancements continuously reshape job demands. Upon return, workers may experience skills obsolescence, where previously acquired skills have deteriorated or become outdated, increasing their sense of job insecurity. Drawing on Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, which posits that resource depletion triggers further resource loss, this study investigates whether economic and technical skills obsolescence mediate the relationship between sickness absence duration and job insecurity. Using longitudinal data from a Dutch telecom company (N = 490), we found no direct effect of sickness absence duration on job insecurity, nor an indirect effect via technical skills obsolescence. However, economic skills obsolescence significantly mediated this relationship, indicating that workers who were absent perceived their skills as outdated due to missed technological and organisational developments, increasing their job insecurity. This aligns with COR theory’s principle that workers with fewer resources become more vulnerable to additional losses. These findings highlight the need for return-to-work policies that support workers in staying up to date with workplace developments and maintaining job security. Organisations can facilitate this by (1) providing structured updates on technological and organisational changes, (2) offering learning opportunities to mitigate economic skills obsolescence, and (3) fostering a supportive work environment that helps workers regain confidence and adapt to evolving job demands. Such measures can reduce job insecurity and support long-term workforce employabililty.