Job demands/control among people in paid work age 55-64 and their labour market status 11 years later

Abstract

Abstract Background As discussions about extending working lives are ongoing, more knowledge is warranted on working conditions that are associated with labour market status in older age. Aim Among employees aged 55-64 years, associations between job demands/job control with their labour market status 11 years later were explored. Methods A population-based prospective cohort study using a job exposure matrix (JEM) and nationwide register data. All 616,818 individuals in Sweden who in 2001 were in paid work and aged 55-64, were assigned JEM values for job demands/control that were categorized into tertiles resulting in nine combinations of job demands/control (reference=medium control/medium demands). Follow-up was in 2012 regarding labour market status (paid work, old-age pension, low/no income, sickness absence emigrated, dead). Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using multinomial logistic regression (reference category=old-age pension) with adjustment for educational level, age, birth country, family situation and type of living area. Results Women in occupations with high control (OR low demands/high control 1.21, CI 1.06-1.39, medium demands/high control 1.32, CI 1.20-1.46, high demands/high control 1.29, CI 1.20-1.37); and men in occupations with high demands/high control (OR 1.11, CI 1.02-1.21) were more likely to be in paid work. Those in occupations with high demands at baseline were less likely to have low/no income at follow-up (OR women high demands/medium control 0.51, CI 0.37-0.68, high demands/high control 0.68, CI 0.50-0.92; men high demands/medium control 0.55, CI 0.31-0.96, high demands/high control 0.47, CI 0.32-0.74. Conclusions High job control combined with any level of demands for women and high demands for men aged 55-64 in 2001 were associated with higher OR of having main income from paid work in 2012, and high job demands combined with any level of job control were associated with lower OR of low/no income. Key messages Combinations of job demands and job control among workers aged 55-64 years in 2001 were associated with labour market situations in 2012. Using a job exposure matrix divided into tertiles allows for greater detail in measuring high, medium, and low demands and control than methods used in previous studies.