One purpose of the present study is to explore the stability of the pattern of health/work and sickness absence among middle-aged women over a period of three years. Two hypotheses were tested: 1. that enduringly healthy working women would perceive more valued occupational roles and higher well-being than long-term sick-listed women, and 2. that high levels of well-being at baseline would predict enduring health and occupational role value at a 3-year follow-up. Middle-aged women (n = 208) answered a postal survey with the Role checklist, a well-being scale and questions about work and sickness situation. The results showed that there was a considerable variability in the pattern of health/work and sickness absence. The results showed that the enduringly healthy women experienced a more valued worker role and higher well-being than the long-term sick-listed women. Furthermore, high levels of well-being concerning health and work predicted enduring health in the studied sample.