Abstract
ObjectivesTo examine the self-reported level of work ability among female employees and the relationship between work ability and demographic characteristics, physical health, mental health, and various psychosocial and organizational work environment factors.MethodsParticipants were 597 female employees with an average age of 43 years from urban and rural areas in Norway. Trained personnel performed a structured interview to measure demographic variables, physical health, and characteristics of the working environment. Mental health was assessed using the 25-item version of the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (HSCL-25). Work ability was assessed using a question from the Graded Reduced Work Ability Scale.ResultsOf the 597 female employees, 8.9% reported an extremely or very reduced ability to work. Twenty-four percent reported poor physical health and 21.9% reported mental distress (≥ 1.55 HSCL-25 cut-off). Women, who reported moderately and severely reduced work ability, did not differ a lot. Moderately reduced work ability increased with age and was associated with physical and mental health. Severely reduced work ability was strongly associated only with physical health and with unskilled occupation. Of eight work environment variables, only three yielded significant associations with work ability, and these associations disappeared after adjustment in the multivariate analysis.ConclusionResults indicate that ageing, in addition to poor self-reported physical health and unskilled work, were the strongest factors associated with reduced work ability among female employees. Impact of work environment in general was visible only in univariate analysis.
Highlights
Work ability is a multi-faceted and multi-determined concept associated with health, and with competence, values, the working environment, and social relations [1]
Of the eight work environment variables, only three yielded significant associations with reduced work ability, these associations disappeared after adjustment in the multivariate analysis
Another study found that the level of sick leave during the previous year was a strong predictor of poor work ability [35,36]
Summary
Work ability is a multi-faceted and multi-determined concept associated with health, and with competence, values, the working environment, and social relations [1]. A high rate of work disability in the workforce in western countries gives reason for concern [4,5] and underscores the importance of identifying and modifying potential risk factors. Physical, psychosocial, and organizational factors have been investigated, yet results are often inconclusive. Studies have shown that individuals over the age of 45 deteriorate about 1.5% per year in work capacity [6,7] and work disability increases with increasing age [5,8,9]. The connection between work ability and physical and mental health has been established in several studies [1012]. Results have found self-perceived poor health to be the strongest risk factor for poor working ability, and this association remains significant even after controlling for age. Other indicators of health status, such as overweight, have demonstrated a negative association with working ability [9]
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