Impact of flexible work arrangements on job resignation after cancer diagnosis among Japanese young adult cancer survivors.

Purpose: Many workers had flexible work arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to identify the association between flextime and remote working and job resignation among Japanese young adult cancer survivors after diagnosis.

Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted using an online survey with 401 Japanese young adult cancer survivors diagnosed with adult-onset cancer and aged 20-39 years at the time of the survey in January 2022. A multivariable Cox regression analysis was performed to analyze the impact of flextime and remote working on job resignation.

Results: In the sample, 264 participants (65.8%) were female, and 185 (46.1%) had been diagnosed with cancer between 1 and 5 years ago. After adjusting for potential confounders, the multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that young adult cancer survivors using remote working only (HR 0.44, 95% CI 0.21-0.96, p = 0.04) and both flextime and remote working (HR 0.37, 95% CI 0.21-0.64, p < 0.01) experienced a lower risk of job resignation after cancer diagnosis compared to those who did not use flextime and remote working.

Conclusions: Young adult cancer survivors who used remote working only or remote working combined with flextime could reduce their risk of job resignation after a cancer diagnosis.

Implications For Cancer Survivors: This study showed that having the option of remote working can be important for young adult cancer survivors' continuing employment. Furthermore, social welfare systems need to promote a workplace culture and climate that allows remote working.