Work participation in Q-fever patients and patients with Legionnaires' disease: a 12-month cohort study.

AIMS: The aim of the study was to assess long-term work participation of Q-fever patients and patients with Legionnaires' disease, and to identify which factors are associated with a reduced work participation in Q-fever patients. METHODS: Q-fever patients participated at four time points until 12 months after onset of illness, patients with Legionnaires' disease only at 12 months. Data were self-reported using questionnaires on the amount of hours that patients worked, and on socio-demographic, medical, psychosocial and lifestyle aspects. RESULTS: Our study included 336 Q-fever patients and 190 patients with Legionnaires' disease. There was a decrease in the proportion of Q-fever patients with reduced work participation over time, from 45% at 3 months to 19% at 12 months (versus 15% of patients with Legionnaires' disease at 12 months). Factors associated with reduced work participation of Q-fever patients in a multivariate model were having symptoms, a higher level of sorrow, being a former smoker (compared to never smoking), not consuming any alcohol and following additional treatment for the long-term health effects of Q-fever. CONCLUSIONS: Despite an increase in work participation of Q-fever patients over time, almost one in five Q-fever patients and one in six patients with Legionnaires' disease still suffer from reduced work participation at 12 months. Occupational and insurance physicians need to be aware of the long-term impact of these diseases on work participation.

Work characteristics and determinants of job satisfaction in four age groups: university employees' point of view.

PURPOSE: To investigate (a) differences in work characteristics and (b) determinants of job satisfaction among employees in different age groups. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire was filled in by 1,112 university employees, classified into four age groups. (a) Work characteristics were analysed with ANOVA while adjusting for sex and job classification. (b) Job satisfaction was regressed against job demands and job resources adapted from the Job Demands-Resources model. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences concerning work characteristics between age groups are present, but rather small. Regression analyses revealed that negative association of the job demands workload and conflicts at work with job satisfaction faded by adding job resources. Job resources were most correlated with more job satisfaction, especially more skill discretion and more relations with colleagues. CONCLUSIONS: Skill discretion and relations with colleagues are major determinants of job satisfaction. However, attention should also be given to conflicts at work, support from supervisor and opportunities for further education, because the mean scores of these work characteristics were disappointing in almost all age groups. The latter two characteristics were found to be associated significantly to job satisfaction in older workers.

Perceptions of mental workload in Dutch university employees of different ages: a focus group study.

BACKGROUND: As academic workload seems to be increasing, many studies examined factors that contribute to the mental workload of academics. Age-related differences in work motives and intellectual ability may lead to differences in experienced workload and in the way employees experience work features. This study aims to obtain a better understanding of age differences in sources of mental workload. 33 academics from one faculty discussed causes of workload during focus group interviews, stratified by age. FINDINGS: Among our participants, the influence of ageing seems most evident in employees' actions and reactions, while the causes of workload mentioned seemed largely similar. These individual reactions to workload may also be driven by differences in tenure. Most positively assessed work characteristics were: interaction with colleagues and students and autonomy. Aspects most often indicated as increasing the workload, were organisational aspects as obstacles for 'getting the best out of people' and the feeling that overtime seems unavoidable. Many employees indicated to feel stretched between the 'greediness' of the organisation and their own high working standards, and many fear to be assigned even less time for research if they do not meet the rigorous output criteria. Moreover, despite great efforts on their part, promotion opportunities seem limited. A more pronounced role for the supervisor seems appreciated by employees of all ages, although the specific interpretation varied between individuals and career stages. CONCLUSIONS: To preserve good working conditions and quality of work, it seems important to scrutinize the output requirements and tenure-based needs for employee supervision.

Age differences in the associations between sick leave and aspects of health, psychosocial workload and family life: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate differences in associations between sick leave and aspects of health, psychosocial workload, family life and work-family interference between four age groups (<36, 36-45, 46-55 and 55+ years). DESIGN: A cross-sectional study; a questionnaire was sent to the home addresses of all employees of a university. SETTING: A Dutch university. PARTICIPANTS: 1843 employees returned the questionnaire (net response: 49.1%). The age distribution was as follows: <36: 32%; 36-45: 26%; 46-55: 27% and 55+: 12%. PRIMARY OUTCOMES: Frequent sick leave (FSL, ≥3 times in the past 12 months) and prolonged sick leave (PSL, >2 weeks in total in the past 12 months). Differences between the age groups in independent variables and outcomes were investigated. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate associations between various variables and the sick leave outcomes. Interaction terms were included to detect differences between the age groups. RESULTS: Age differences were found for many work- and family-related characteristics but not in the mean scores for health-related aspects. Presence of chronic disease was reported more frequently with increasing age. The 55+ age group had almost two times less chance of FSL, but 1.6 times more chance of PSL than the <36 age group. Age moderates the associations between career opportunities, partner's contribution in domestic tasks and sex, and FSL. Job security and pay, support from supervisor, challenging work and being breadwinner have different associations with PSL. However, life events in private lives and perceived health complaints are important in all age groups. FSL and PSL have some determinants in common, but there are differences between the outcomes as well. CONCLUSIONS: Age should be treated as a variable of interest instead of a control variable. Employers and occupational physicians need to be aware that each phase in life has specific difficulties that can lead to FSL and PSL.

Development of a student health questionnaire: the necessity of a symbiosis of science and practice.

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: University students report more health complaints than their working peers, but do not appear to seek help for these problems. This stresses the importance of early detection. The aim of this study was to obtain information on indicators of health associated with academic functioning to develop a preliminary health surveillance questionnaire. In addition, we aimed to gain insight in the additional value of adding experience-based information from the priority population, and individuals in their direct environment, to the knowledge gained from the scientific literature. METHOD: First, a review of literature on indicators of health associated with academic functioning was conducted. Next, interviews were held with students (n = 11) and two groups of significant others with professional experience in student health care: general practitioners (n = 9) and practice assistants (n = 8). RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: A health surveillance questionnaire to detect students with health problems associated with academic functioning should consist of questions on social support, general health, physical health, psychological health, study-related issues and health, help-seeking behaviour and life events in the past. Experiences from practice should be integrated when developing a questionnaire.