Differential Effects of Mental and Physical Health and Coping Style on Work Ability

Abstract

Successful coping styles and good health predict high work ability, and thus, promoting such factors can help improve sustainable employability.

Perceived Work Ability in the Light of Long-Term and Stress-Related Unhealthy Behaviors—a Prospective Cohort Study

“…Stressrelated eating and drinking is one pattern of passive coping to relieve stress. Associations between stress-related eating and drinking and work ability have not been studied earlier, but avoidant coping has been associated with decreased work ability [21].…”

Appraisal of work ability in relation to job-specific health requirements in ambulance workers

“…Work ability can be divided into two aspects: mental and physical. Although it is known that mental and physical health has a different impact on self-reported work ability (van de Vijfeijke et al 2013), it is still unclear how the self-reported mental and physical work ability relates to the appraisal of overall work ability. According to a study of Klasan et al (2013), the aspect that predicts low work ability in ambulance workers best is the amount of strenuous physical activity during work.…”

The influence of chronic health problems on work ability and productivity at work: a longitudinal study among older employees

“…In an aging workforce, health problems will become more prevalent. Employees with health problems could be faced with decreased work ability (2), quantitative productivity loss at work (3,4), sickness absence (5), and even exit the labor force (6). Work ability can be defined as the balance between an individual's resources (eg, health, functional abilities, competencies) and work demands (eg, work environment, contents, demands) (7).…”

“…Most findings on relations of health with work outcomes come from studies with a cross-sectional design. A few longitudinal studies have, however, shown that psychological health problems are related to an increased risk of sickness absence in the following year (5) and that especially general physical health is related to reduced work ability at one-year follow-up (2). These studies have used different definitions of health problems and work outcomes, which makes the comparison of the influence of different chronic health problems on work outcomes difficult.…”