Physical and psychosocial working conditions as predictors of 5-year changes in work ability among 2078 employees in Germany

Trajectories of work ability and associated work unit characteristics from pre-COVID to post-COVID pandemic period

OBJECTIVES

To identify trajectories of work ability from pre-COVID to post-COVID-19 pandemic period and to examine work unit characteristics associated with these trajectories.

METHODS

The study population was a cohort of Finnish public sector employees (n=54 651) followed from 2016 until 2022. We used trajectory analysis to identify trajectories of work ability and multinomial regression to examine their associations with prepandemic work unit characteristics and pandemic-related changes at workplaces.

RESULTS

We identified three trajectories of work ability: (1) suboptimal work ability decreasing over time (12%); (2) relatively consistent good work ability (73%) and (3) consistent optimal work ability (15%). The strongest associations with belonging to the suboptimal work ability trajectory were found for employees in work units characterised by high job strain (OR 2.29, 95% CI 1.82 to 2.88), poor team climate (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.64 to 0.86) and low organisational justice (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.72) when compared with the most optimal trajectory. The least favourable work ability trajectory was also associated with team reorganisation (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.44) and a low share of those working from home (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.94) during the pandemic.

CONCLUSION

Prepandemic psychosocial risk factors and pandemic-induced changes at work were associated with poor and declining work ability during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employers and occupational health services should better identify and support vulnerable employees to enhance their work participation.

Exploring work ability, psychosocial job demands and resources of employees in low-skilled jobs: a German cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Extending working lives due to labour market and pension regulations makes maintaining and promoting work ability necessary. The coronavirus pandemic has shown that employees in low-skilled jobs (no qualification required) contribute significantly to society and the economy. Research on these employees has been neglected in Germany for many decades despite demanding working conditions. Therefore, we investigate the relationship between low-skilled jobs and work ability. Moreover, we explore this relationship's variation by psychosocial work demands and resources.

METHODS

We use two waves of the German Study on Mental Health at Work (S-MGA). We calculate Ordinary-Least-Squares (OLS) regression models with pooled data (n = 6,050) to analyse the relationship between job requirement level and work ability. We also explore the contribution of job demands and resources on this relationship with interaction models. We use the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ), to assess psychosocial work demands and resources.

RESULTS

Employees performing low-skilled jobs report significantly less work ability than those in medium- or high-skilled jobs. Interaction models show significantly greater work ability for employees in medium- and high-skilled jobs with high influence on their work (amount or tasks). Unexpectedly, employees in low-skilled jobs have lower work ability with more influence on their work. Furthermore, high role clarity, describing responsibility, authority and work goals, is associated with lower levels of work ability among employees in low-skilled jobs.

CONCLUSIONS

The moderating effect of role clarity on the work ability of employees in low-skilled jobs can possibly be attributed to skills mismatch and limited responsibility, as well as a lack of self-perceived collective purpose of the job. The moderation of the influence on work dimension supports results of previous studies. Too much job autonomy can have negative effects under certain circumstances and is therefore perceived as a job demand in some studies. Consequently, mechanisms concerning psychosocial work demands and resources must be investigated in further studies with different theoretical approaches. The imbalance of job demands and resources shows that employers should invest in preserving the work ability to prevent early exit from the labour market in an aging society.

Physical working conditions over time: a repeated cross-sectional study in German employees

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to examine time trends in physical working conditions across and within occupational groups in Germany between 2006 and 2018.

METHODS

Logistic regression analyses were conducted using data from the BIBB/BAuA Employment Surveys in 2006, 2012, and 2018, with a total sample size of 59,006 participants. The study investigated changes in various self-reported occupational exposure measures over time, along with demographic shifts in the workforce.

RESULTS

The results showed overall improvements in most occupational exposure measures during the study period, alongside an aging and upskilling workforce. However, exposure to awkward postures, microorganisms, and, to a lesser extent, noise increased. Substantial variation was observed between occupational groups, with more favourable trends among white-collar high-skilled and blue-collar low-skilled workers, and less favourable trends among white-collar low-skilled and blue-collar high-skilled workers.

CONCLUSIONS

While trends in physical working conditions in Germany are partly promising, some exposures are worsening, and substantial inequalities between occupations persist. As occupational exposures remain common, there is still a need for targeted interventions to improve working conditions, particularly in higher-risk occupations.

Work Ability and Work Nonparticipation: A Prospective Study of 2426 Participants in Germany

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study is to examine the association between work ability and work nonparticipation, including long-term sickness absence (LTSA), unemployment (UE), and disability pension/early retirement (ER).

METHODS

We conducted a questionnaire-based 5-year follow-up study on a representative sample of the German working population (n = 2426). We used a two-part model to examine the association of continuous Work Ability Index (WAI) scores with the probability of events of work nonparticipation and the duration thereof.

RESULTS

Higher WAI scores were protective against total work nonparticipation (an index combining the three indicators), LTSA, ER and UE, the latter among males only. Higher WAI scores were protective also against duration of total work nonparticipation and LTSA, but not against duration of UE and ER among males and duration of UE among females.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher WAI scores have a protective role against work nonparticipation.

A longitudinal perspective on the interplay of job demands and destructive leadership on employees' work ability in Germany

PURPOSE

Work ability as a predictor of early retirement or lengthy/frequent sick leaves becomes more and more relevant due to the demographic change. Therefore, factors, which affect employees' work ability, need to be further examined with a theoretical base. According to Karasek's job demands-control (JDC) model, high job demands and low control are related to poor employee health. The subsequent job demands-control support (JDCS) model proposed that a lack of support, also from leaders, has a negative impact on health indicators. This article looked at whether destructive leadership reinforces the negative influence of high job demands on employees' work ability.

METHODS

We used the BAuA Working Time Survey waves 2015, 2017, and 2019 (BAuA-WTS), which are representative of employees in Germany. Our data set covers 2448 respondents, who took part in all three waves. Central to the analyses were the variables job demands, control, destructive leadership, and work ability.

RESULTS

Results from pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) and fixed effect (FE) models revealed that job demands influenced work ability negatively, whereas neither control by the employee nor the interaction of job demands and control was significant regarding effecting work ability in the FE models. Destructive leadership exerted a negative effect on work ability and moderated job demands significantly in the FE models meaning a further decrease in work ability.

CONCLUSION

Leadership behavior should be further examined as an important factor for work ability.

Long-term associations of psychosocial working conditions with depressive symptoms and work-related emotional exhaustion: comparing effects in a 5-year prospective study of 1949 workers in Germany

OBJECTIVE

To test the hypothesis that psychosocial working conditions are more strongly associated with subsequent work-related emotional exhaustion (core component of burnout) than with depressive symptoms at follow-up.

METHODS

A 5-year cohort study (2011/2012-2017), based on a random sample of persons in employment subject to payment of social contributions aged 31-60 years (Study on Mental Health at Work; S-MGA; N = 1949), included self-reported measures of organisational demands (organisational layoffs and restructuring), task-level demands (work pace and amount of work) and job resources (influence at work, possibilities for development, control over working time, role clarity), all taken from the COPSOQ, except the organisational demands that were single-item measures. Work-related emotional exhaustion and depressive symptoms were measured with the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, respectively.

RESULTS

Cochrane Q tests revealed stronger associations between psychosocial working conditions and work-related emotional exhaustion only for the amount of work (p = 0.013) and control over working time (p = 0.027). No differences were observed for the Demands and Resources Indexes, capturing overall exposure to psychosocial working conditions. The same differences were observed in a subsample including only participants who remained at the same employer from baseline to follow-up, although more psychosocial working conditions were associated with work-related emotional exhaustion than with depressive symptoms. Supplementary analyses employing dichotomous measures of work-related emotional exhaustion and depressive symptoms confirmed these results.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the findings provide limited evidence supporting the hypothesis that psychosocial working conditions are more strongly associated with work-related emotional exhaustion than with depressive symptoms.

Association between mobile work and work ability: a longitudinal study under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective

This study examines the effect of mobile work on work ability as direct predictor and as factor moderating workplace stressors and resources. Originally, the study focused on the effects of mobile work on work ability in a mobile test group compared to office workers. As the study period of 1 year collided with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions, we can now explore the association of mobile work and work ability before and during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

This longitudinal, exploratory study took place in a medium-sized company in the social insurance sector in Germany. We used a mixed-methods design (online survey and focus group interviews) with two survey dates 1 year apart (T0: summer/autumn 2019 (before COVID-19 pandemic), T1: summer 2020 (during COVID-19 pandemic, after first strict lockdown)). Quantitative data, which are reported here, were collected by means of an online questionnaire, which includes questions on mobile work and validated measures for work-related stressors and resources and work ability. Non-parametric tests, regression analysis, and logistic regression models were used for data analysis.

Results

The linked data set of both survey dates includes N = 102 persons (men: 37%, mean age: 41–50 years). Interestingly, we found an improvement in work ability over the course of the study (p = 0.007), although it included the first and most drastic COVID-19 restrictions in Germany. Before the pandemic, correlations between work ability and work-related stressors (e.g., work–privacy conflicts) and resources (e.g., sense of community) were evident. Some of these factors are moderated by mobile work. During the COVID-19 pandemic, mobile work was identified as independent factor for work ability. In addition, technology competence conviction gained importance as a personal resource in our cohort.

Conclusions

Work ability can be influenced by many factors. Our study, which allowed for a comparison of work ability before and during COVID-19 pandemic, suggests that mobile work can be especially helpful to maintain work ability in times of change. Our findings support the notion that—under normal conditions—mobile work can influence work ability via work-related stressors and resources. In times of changes, it can have an independent effect on work ability. It must be assumed that the effects can be highly individual or context-specific.

Antecedents of Workplace Bullying among Employees in Germany: Five-Year Lagged Effects of Job Demands and Job Resources

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to examine the long-term association of job demands and job resources with self-reported exposure to workplace bullying in a representative sample of employees in Germany. Methods: We analysed a nation-wide representative cohort of employees working in the same workplace with a 5-year follow-up (S-MGA; N = 1637). The study contained self-reported measures of psychosocial working conditions, including work pace, amount of work, influence at work, role clarity and quality of leadership, and workplace bullying, and of organisational factors, including organisational restructuring and layoffs. Results: After controlling for bullying and occupational level at baseline, higher baseline levels of organisational restructuring (OR 1.73; 95% CI 1.10–2.70), work pace (1.30; 95% CI 1.01–1.66), and amount of work (1.55; 95% CI 1.21–1.99), and lower baseline levels of influence at work (0.70; 95% CI 0.55–0.90) and quality of leadership (0.64; 95% CI 0.50–0.82), were associated with an elevated risk of workplace bullying at follow-up. In all, 90% of cases of self-reported workplace bullying could be attributed to these factors. Conclusions: The study suggests that employees reporting higher demands and lower resources, as well as organisational factors such as restructuring, are at a higher long-term risk of being targets of workplace bullying. Interventions aimed at preventing workplace bullying could benefit from a focus on psychosocial working conditions and organisational factors.