Objective:

To evaluate the influence of Thermal Stress on Occupational Absenteeism of the workers of a company dedicated to the manufacture of stainless steel, to know the current situation of the factory regarding the number of temporary incapacities for both common and professional contingencies and their distribution by age of the worker and his / her experience in the workplace and to measure the difference in risks of presenting a temporary incapacity either by common contingencies, by professional contingencies or by the sum of both exposed and not exposed to risk of thermal stress in their position of work.

Material and method:

An observational, historical cohort-type analytical study from 1974 to 2016 on a sample of 1609 workers from a company dedicated to the manufacture of stainless steel. Results: We have a young workforce in terms of seniority, since more than 56% work less than 15 years (larger group), which contrasts with the age of the workers, in which almost 35% is greater of 50 years. The results point to the existence of a statistical relationship between the risk of thermal stress and the number of temporary incapacities due to professional contingencies.

Conclusions:

The cumulative incidence for each 100 temporary incapacity workers due to common contingencies in the period between 1974 and 2016 is not higher in the group of workers exposed to thermal stress than in those who are not. In the case of professional contingencies, it is higher in the group of workers exposed to thermal stress. The relative risk of suffering a Temporary Incapacity of non-labor origin is not greater in those workers subjected to thermal stress, but when the contingency is professional. The risk attributable to thermal stress in the group of exposed workers is 32% in temporary incapacities due to professional contingencies and 44% in the total population for this same type of temporary incapacities.

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