RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Sustainable employability (SE) has become an important factor for keeping people in the labour market and enabling the extension of working life. AIMS: We developed and validated an SE index to predict assured workability in 2 years. Additionally, we developed a scoring tool to use in practice. METHODS: A questionnaire survey of postal employees aged ≥50 years was conducted in 2016 and followed up in 2018 (n = 1102). The data were divided into training and validation sets. The outcome was defined as whether the employees had an assured workability after 2 years or not. Multivariable log-binomial regression was used to calculate the SE index. The area under the curve (AUC) was calculated to assess the discriminative power of the index. RESULTS: The probability of assured workability increased with increasing quintiles of the SE index. The highest quintiles of the SE index showed the highest observed and expected assured workability in 2 years. The predictive ability, area under the curve (AUC) for training was 0.79 (95% CI 0.75-0.83) and for validation data was 0.76 (95% CI 0.73-0.80). In the scoring tool, the self-rated health, workability, job satisfaction and perceived employment had the highest contribution to the index. CONCLUSIONS: The SE index was able to distinguish the employees based on whether they had assured workability after 2 years. The scoring method could be used to calculate the potentiality of future employability among late midlife postal employees.
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Empleo , Satisfacción en el Trabajo , Humanos , Ocupaciones , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Work Ability Score (WAS) is a common instrument for assessing work ability but its validity in assessing presenteeism and productivity loss is unknown. AIMS: To validate a WAS-based measure, the Presenteeism Scale (PS), and to evaluate its accuracy as a presenteeism instrument among forestry employees. METHODS: This validation study was based on questions of perceived WAS assessed using the Work Ability-Personal Radar (WA-PR) instrument and on questions of perceived productivity loss and presenteeism assessed using a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. Pearson's correlation test was used to ascertain the associations between variables. The association of productivity loss with presenteeism was evaluated using a logistic regression model. The predictive ability of presenteeism was tested using the receiver-operating characteristic curve. RESULTS: There were 339 respondents in the cross-sectional survey, 257 in the WA-PR and 107 respondents participating in both surveys. The prevalence of presenteeism was 48%. Presenteeism was significantly (P < 0.05) higher among those reporting productivity losses. Presenteeism is extremely accurate in predicting perceived productivity loss but less accurate in predicting PS-based productivity loss. The odds ratio (OR) of self-estimated productivity loss was 77 times higher (OR 77.39, 95% confidence interval [CI] 25.36-236.12) among those with presenteeism. Correspondingly, OR of productivity loss based on the PS was three times higher (OR 3.05, 95% CI 1.16-8.04). CONCLUSIONS: The PS may be a valid tool for predicting productivity loss and may be as good as other instruments. However, further research is needed to improve its accuracy.
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Eficiencia , Presentismo/estadística & datos numéricos , Adulto , Estudios Transversales , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Presentismo/tendencias , Prevalencia , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Lugar de Trabajo/psicología , Lugar de Trabajo/normasRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Compared with the public sector, the private sector is more susceptible to changes in the economic environment and associated threats of downsizing, outsourcing and transfers of production. This might be assumed to be associated with more restrictive sickness absence practices. AIMS: To investigate whether this difference is reflected in higher sickness absence rates in the public sector and to explore the potential of trajectory analysis in researching such absences. METHODS: The sample consisted of industrial and municipal employees. Latent groups of differential sickness absence during a 6-year study period were searched with a two-response trajectory analysis that jointly captured the spells and the days. Multinomial logistic regressions were used to assess associations of the labour market sector with the set of trajectories obtained. RESULTS: There were 2207 industrial and 3477 municipal employees in the study group. The analysis assigned the employees to three trajectory groups, the 'low-level', 'middle-range' and 'high-range' groups. The relative risk ratios for the middle-range and the high-range trajectories of public sector employees were not higher after controlling for age, gender and occupational. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the labour market sector was not a major independent determinant of sickness absence practices. Trajectory analysis can be recommended as a way to determine differential absence practices. The trajectory approach might help occupational health services to identify more accurately the employees who need support to maintain their work ability.
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Absentismo , Agencias Gubernamentales , Industrias , Reinserción al Trabajo/estadística & datos numéricos , Ausencia por Enfermedad/estadística & datos numéricos , Adulto , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Sector Público , Factores SocioeconómicosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: We investigated the separate and joint effects of multi-site musculoskeletal pain and physical and psychosocial exposures at work on future work ability. METHODS: A survey was conducted among employees of a Finnish food industry company in 2005 (n = 1201) and a follow-up survey in 2009 (n = 734). Information on self-assessed work ability (current work ability on a scale from 0 to 10; 7 = poor work ability), multi-site musculoskeletal pain (pain in at least two anatomical areas of four), leisure-time physical activity, body mass index and physical and psychosocial exposures was obtained by questionnaire. The separate and joint effects of multi-site pain and work exposures on work ability at follow-up, among subjects with good work ability at baseline, were assessed by logistic regression, and p-values for the interaction derived. RESULTS: Compared with subjects with neither multi-site pain nor adverse work exposure, multi-site pain at baseline increased the risk of poor work ability at follow-up, allowing for age, gender, occupational class, body mass index and leisure-time physical activity. The separate effects of the work exposures on work ability were somewhat smaller than those of multi-site pain. Multi-site pain had an interactive effect with work environment and awkward postures, such that no association of multi-site pain with poor work ability was seen when work environment was poor or awkward postures present. CONCLUSIONS: The decline in work ability connected with multi-site pain was not increased by exposure to adverse physical or psychosocial factors at work.
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Empleo/estadística & datos numéricos , Industria de Alimentos/estadística & datos numéricos , Dolor Musculoesquelético/epidemiología , Enfermedades Profesionales/psicología , Trabajo/estadística & datos numéricos , Lugar de Trabajo/estadística & datos numéricos , Adulto , Factores de Edad , Actitud , Fenómenos Biomecánicos , Recolección de Datos , Femenino , Finlandia/epidemiología , Humanos , Modelos Logísticos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Exposición Profesional/efectos adversos , Estudios Prospectivos , Medición de Riesgo , Factores Sexuales , Clase Social , Factores Socioeconómicos , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Multi-site pain is a common phenomenon among working-age people and it strongly increases work disability risk. Little is known about the impact of musculoskeletal pain on work ability. AIMS: To investigate whether the number of musculoskeletal pain sites predicts future poor work ability. METHODS: The study was conducted in 2005 and 2009 in a food processing company. A total of 734 workers participated in the study. The information on self-perceived work ability and musculoskeletal pain during the preceding week was obtained through a structured questionnaire distributed to employees. The risk of poor work ability at follow-up related to the number of pain sites at baseline was estimated with logistic regression. RESULTS: The proportion of poor work ability increased in 4 years from 15 to 22%, parallel to the increase in the number of pain sites. Among those with 'non-poor' work ability at baseline, one-tenth reported their work ability to be poor after 4 years. The number of pain sites predicted poor work ability after 4 years of follow-up with a dose-response manner. Those with widespread pain had almost a 3-fold risk of developing poor work ability at follow-up. The associations were stronger for younger and white-collar workers. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study indicate that multi-site musculoskeletal pain at baseline strongly predicts poor work ability after 4 years among industrial workers. Counting the number of concurrent pain sites may be a simple method of identifying workers with high risk of work disability in occupational health practice.
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Industria de Procesamiento de Alimentos , Dolor Musculoesquelético/epidemiología , Enfermedades Profesionales/epidemiología , Evaluación de Capacidad de Trabajo , Adulto , Factores de Edad , Evaluación de la Discapacidad , Femenino , Finlandia/epidemiología , Humanos , Modelos Logísticos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Estudios Prospectivos , Factores Sexuales , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The effects of workplace interventions on sickness absence are poorly understood, in particular in ageing workers. AIMS: To analyse the effects of a senior programme on sickness absence among blue-collar food industry workers of a food company in Finland. METHODS: We followed up 129 employees aged 55 years or older, who participated in a senior programme (intervention group), and 229 employees of the same age from the same company who did not participate (control group). Total sickness absence days and spells of 1-3, 4-7, 8-21 and >21 days were recorded for the members of the intervention group from the year before joining the programme and for the control group starting at age 54 years. Both groups were followed for up to 6 years. RESULTS: The median number of sickness absence days per person-year increased significantly from baseline in both groups during the follow-up. Compared with the control group, the intervention group had increased risk for 1-3 days spells [rate ratio 1.34 (1.21-1.48)] and 4-7 days spells [rate ratio 1.23 (1.07-1.41)], but the risk for >21 days spells was decreased [rate ratio 0.68 (0.53-0.88)] after participation in the senior programme. CONCLUSIONS: A programme to enhance individual work well-being in ageing workers may increase short-term but reduce long-term sickness absence.
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Absentismo , Industria de Alimentos , Servicios de Salud del Trabajador/métodos , Salud Laboral/estadística & datos numéricos , Ausencia por Enfermedad/estadística & datos numéricos , Factores de Edad , Finlandia , Humanos , Persona de Mediana Edad , Evaluación de Procesos y Resultados en Atención de Salud , Lugar de TrabajoRESUMEN
A recommendation concerning basic urine examinations and bacteriological cultures was published in 1983 in Finland including three clinical indication groups with different screening strategies. Close cooperation between laboratory experts and clinicians as well as much training in urine sediment cytology were essential before the new principle became widely accepted. Decreased workload in laboratories in clinically less significant cases was shown with the use of the full capacity and qualities of complete urinalysis when needed. Standardized test procedures combined with sediment staining improved the clinical efficiency of urine microscopy.