Work participation and risk factors for health-related job loss among older workers in the Health and Employment after Fifty (HEAF) study: Evidence from a 2-year follow-up period

H. E. Syddall* (Corresponding Author), S. D'Angelo, G. Ntani, M. Stevens, E. C. Harris, C. H. Linaker, K. Walker-Bone

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Rapidly increasing population old age dependency ratios create a growing economic imperative for people to work to older ages. However, rates of older worker employment are only increasing slowly. Amongst a cohort of contemporary older workers, we investigated risk factors for health-related job loss (HRJL) over 2 years of follow-up. METHODS: HEAF is a population based cohort study of adults in England (aged 50-64 years at baseline) who provided information about socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle, and work at baseline and annual follow-ups. Exits from paid work were mapped and risk factors for HRJL explored in a multiple-record survival dataset by Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: 2475 (75%) men and 2668 (66%) women were employed; 115 (4.6%) men and 182 (6.8%) women reported HRJL. Employment as road transport drivers/in vehicle trades (men), or as teaching/education/nursing/midwifery professionals or in caring personal services (women), was more frequent among people exiting work for health-related versus non-health-related reasons. Principal socio-demographic and lifestyle risk factors for HRJL were: struggling financially (men and women); low physical activity (men); being overweight or obese, and current smoking (women). Mutually adjusted work-related risk factors for HRJL were job dissatisfaction, and not coping with the physical (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]: men 5.34[3.40,8.39]; women 3.73[2.48,5.60]) or mental demands (women only, 2.02[1.38,2.96]) of work. CONCLUSIONS: Employment characteristics of contemporary older workers differ by sex. Job satisfaction and perceived ability to cope with the physical and mental demands of work are key determinants of HRJL which employers could potentially influence to enable work to older ages.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere0239383
JournalPloS ONE
Volume15
Issue number9
Early online date17 Sept 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 17 Sept 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding
KWB The HEAF study is funded by grant awards from Versus Arthritis (formerly Arthritis Research UK) (19817 and 20665) and the Medical Research Council programme grant (MC_UU_12011/5); and the Economic and Social Research Council and Medical Research Council jointly (ES/L002663/1); the study is coordinated by the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, Southampton. https://www.versusarthritis.org https://mrc.ukri.org/ https://esrc.ukri.org/ The funders did not play any role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Acknowledgments
We wish to thank the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and the 24 general practices that supported data collection; also, the staff of the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit who provided data entry and computing support (notably Vanessa Cox). Finally, we thank the HEAF participants for giving their time so generously to participate in the study.

Data Availability Statement

The data are not freely available owing to data protection and consent restrictions, but may be accessed by collaboration with the HEAF study team. Enquiries should be directed to the HEAF principal investigator in the first instance (Prof Karen Walker-Bone, kwb@mrc.soton.ac.uk, Director of the MRC Versus Arthritis Centre for Musculoskeletal Health and Work, MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton) or the MRC Versus Arthritis Centre for Musculoskeletal Health and Work, MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit (contact Mrs Sue Curtis, centre administrator, sc@mrc.soton.ac.uk, https://www.mrc.soton.ac.uk/cmhw/contact-us/).

Keywords

  • Employment
  • Jobs
  • Medical risk factors
  • Finance
  • Obesity
  • Professions
  • Labor studies
  • Physical activity

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