Oliv S, et al. - In this prospective study of 4,567 workers with neck or upper back pain, experts examined what exposure to work demands, physical and psychosocial, was related to lower levels of sickness absence among workers with neck or upper back pain in various groups, by age, gender, duration of sickness absence and work ability score. For workers reporting low exposure to lifting ≥ 15 kg and twisted or forward-leaning work postures and for workers reporting high work control and seated work, lower numbers of sick days were discovered. The relationships were usually more robust in the elderly age groups for the physical work demands. In conclusion, the findings in this study imply that particular physical work demands and having high control over one’s work could lead to lower sickness absence, mainly among middle-aged and elderly workers with neck or upper back pain.