– I go out sometime between six thirty and six every morning, then I’m usually home around five thirty, says Bjørn Olaf Undheim. When news contacts him just after 05 in the morning, he has already been up for a while. Now he sits and trips and waits to get to work. Undheim drives a truck for Stangeland Maskin. Next year it will be ten years since he was diagnosed with cancer. It started with him removing one kidney. Eventually the cancer spread to the lungs. In November 2022, he received the death sentence. – I was told that now there was nothing more to do, and I had one year left to live, he says. But in December 2023 he was given new medication. They have made him extend the death sentence for a while longer. – Everything is a plus now, he says. Next year, he has been promised a new truck by the boss of Stangeland Maskin, Tommy Stangeland. His old car is in a museum, while the one he drives now is on loan. Photo: Arild Eskeland / news Sick leave is increasing in the country The doctor-reported sick leave percentage in Norway has increased steadily in recent years. In the second quarter of 2024, it was 5.9 per cent. An increase of 0.4 per cent from the previous year. This is the highest doctor-notified sickness absence in a second quarter since 2009, when Norway was affected by swine flu. A total of 8.1 million working days were lost to doctor-notified sickness absence in the second quarter of 2024, according to figures from Nav. Sick leave due to mental disorders has also increased for a long time. Sickness absence with these diagnoses accounted for over 2.2 million lost days’ work in the second quarter of this year, which corresponds to over a quarter of days of sickness absence. Undheim believes that part of the explanation for the high sickness absence must be that people do not enjoy work. – For me, the job has meant everything. I feel much better when I’m at work than when I’m at home, he says. Staff manager at Stangeland Maskin, Mette Idland. Photo: Arild Eskeland / news Staff manager at Stangeland Maskin, Mette Idland, thinks Undheim’s attitude is admirable. – For us, it is fantastic to have such employees. He has a unique attitude to work. Idland says that they have a good dialogue with Undheim, and that he has been given time off work when he needs it. – So there haven’t really been any concerns about having him here, says Idland. Fresher to go to work Undheim is on tough medication. They have side effects. He doesn’t always feel particularly well before he goes to work. – I am often nauseous and out of shape in the morning, he says. But he goes to work. Every day. He is happy to be able to get paid to pursue his hobby. – It means an awful lot to be able to go to work every day. It’s so nice. I know that if I just get going and get out, everything will be fine, he says. – How has it been going to work on the days you’ve been really tired? – No, when you have to go to the toilet between some grassy fields between Egersund and Sandnes twice in an hour, that’s not good, he says. Bjørn Olaf Undheim would not have been without his truck job. Photo: Arild Eskeland / news Reduces sickness absence Researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Working Environment (Stami), Jan Olav Christensen, says that a positive working situation can be health-promoting and contribute to being healthy enough to go to work. – There is some research that suggests that a good working environment is associated with a lower risk of sickness absence. This can also apply to those who already have health problems, he says. Senior researcher at Stami, Jan Olav Christensen. Photo: Geir Dokken Photography Recently published research from Stami shows that employees with musculoskeletal disorders have more sick leave if they also experience a poor working environment. – This means that those who have a better working environment can work to a greater extent despite their ailments, he says. Christensen will not comment on what the increase in sickness absence is due to or what the solution is. But he is clear that there is no indication that a better working environment and higher well-being will push more people out of working life. Promised new truck The cancer doctor does not understand the truck driver goes to work, according to Undheim himself. – When I said it was a problem with diarrhoea, he wondered why I didn’t rather buy a simulator and sit at home and drive. But that’s not how it works, he says. Undheim has no plans to quit his job. But is clear that the day he is not able to stay in the car anymore, he has to get out. But in any case, he will be there until the spring of next year. Then he was promised a new truck. – In April, I have been in Stangeland for 45 years. Then it would have been a nice present to get the new truck, he says. Published 17.09.2024, at 11.41
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Bjørn Olaf Undheim does not want to be part of the statistics – goes to work with incurable cancer – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
