Longitudinal Changes in Work Ability, Well-Being, and Psychosocial Risk Factors Among Older Workers: The ProAgeing Study
Main Article Content
Keywords
aging, longitudinal studies, occupational stress, work ability, technostress, psychological health
Abstract
Background:
As the workforce ages, older employees face increasing challenges in adapting to changing job demands, including technological advances and ongoing occupational risks such as shift work and physically demanding tasks. Work ability is a reliable indicator of older workers’ capacity to meet both physical and mental requirements of their jobs. The ProAgeing study, a multicenter investigation specifically focused on workers over 50 years old, examined long-term patterns in work ability, perceived health, and psychosocial risk factors, along with their interactions across this demographic. Methods: Participants completed self-reported questionnaires at baseline and after one year, including the Work Ability Index (WAI), technostress, sleep quality, perceived stress, health, and psychosocial risk factors. A first-difference linear regression model was used to assess predictors of changes in WAI. Subgroup analyses examined differences across occupational roles (bank employees, administrative employees, and manual workers). Results: Of the 470 workers enrolled, 356 (76%) completed the follow-up. A significant decline in average WAI score was observed over 12 months (-1.2 points, p<0.001), mainly in subscales related to work demands and physical illness. Technostress levels slightly decreased, suggesting adaptation over time. Bank employees showed less favorable trends than manual workers, indicating that digitalization and higher job demands significantly affected employees’ well-being, especially older workers. Improvements in perceived health and reduced stress mostly contributed to enhanced work ability. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of targeted interventions to enhance health and lower stress among aging workers, supporting their well-being and subsequently their work ability.
As the workforce ages, older employees face increasing challenges in adapting to changing job demands, including technological advances and ongoing occupational risks such as shift work and physically demanding tasks. Work ability is a reliable indicator of older workers’ capacity to meet both physical and mental requirements of their jobs. The ProAgeing study, a multicenter investigation specifically focused on workers over 50 years old, examined long-term patterns in work ability, perceived health, and psychosocial risk factors, along with their interactions across this demographic. Methods: Participants completed self-reported questionnaires at baseline and after one year, including the Work Ability Index (WAI), technostress, sleep quality, perceived stress, health, and psychosocial risk factors. A first-difference linear regression model was used to assess predictors of changes in WAI. Subgroup analyses examined differences across occupational roles (bank employees, administrative employees, and manual workers). Results: Of the 470 workers enrolled, 356 (76%) completed the follow-up. A significant decline in average WAI score was observed over 12 months (-1.2 points, p<0.001), mainly in subscales related to work demands and physical illness. Technostress levels slightly decreased, suggesting adaptation over time. Bank employees showed less favorable trends than manual workers, indicating that digitalization and higher job demands significantly affected employees’ well-being, especially older workers. Improvements in perceived health and reduced stress mostly contributed to enhanced work ability. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of targeted interventions to enhance health and lower stress among aging workers, supporting their well-being and subsequently their work ability.
References
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29. Iavicoli S, Di Tecco C. The management of psychosocial risks at work: state of the art and future perspectives. Med Lav. 2020;111(5):335–47.
30. Ilmarinen J, Ilmarinen V. Work ability and aging. In: Finkelstein LM, Truxillo DM, Fraccaroli F, Kanfer R, eds. Multi-Age Workforce: A Use Inspired Approach. Abingdon: Routledge; 2015.
31. Hauk N, Göritz AS, Krumm S. The mediating role of coping behavior on the age-technostress relationship: A longitudinal multilevel mediation model. PLoS One. 2019;14(3):e0213349. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0213349
32. Mannocci A, Marchini L, Scognamiglio A, et al. Are Bank Employees Stressed? Job Perception and Positivity in the Banking Sector: An Italian Observational Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(4):707. doi:10.3390/ijerph15040707
33. Lamontagne AD, Keegel T, Louie AM, et al. A systematic review of the job-stress intervention evaluation literature, 1990–2005. Int J Occup Environ Health. 2007;13:268–80. Doi: 10.1179/oeh.2007.13.3.268
34. Leka S, Cox T. Psychosocial risk management at the workplace level. In: Leka S, Houdmont J, eds. Occupational Health Psychology. Hoboken: Wiley Blackwell; 2010.
35. Spagnoli P, Caetano A, Santos SC. Satisfaction with job aspects: Do patterns change over time? J Bus Res. 2012;65(5):609–16.
36. Poscia A, Moscato U, La Milia DI, et al. Workplace health promotion for older workers: a systematic literature review. BMC Health Serv Res. 2016;16:415–28.
2. Park JY, Lee DW, Choi J, et al. Health and job-related factors associated with work ability in older working populations of Korea. Occup Med. 2023;73(9):568–74.
3. Pak K, Kooij DT, De Lange AH, et al. Human Resource Management and the ability, motivation and opportunity to continue working: A review of quantitative studies. Hum Resour Manag Rev. 2019;29(3):336–52.
4. Tuomi K, Ilmarinen J, Jahkola A, et al. Work ability index. Helsinki: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 1998.
5. Brady GM, Truxillo DM, Cadiz DM, et al. Opening the black box: Examining the nomological network of work ability and its role in organizational research. J Appl Psychol. 2020;105(6):637.
6. Rashid M, Heiden M, Nilsson A, et al. Do work ability and life satisfaction matter for return to work? Predictive ability of the work ability index and life satisfaction questionnaire among women with long-term musculoskeletal pain. BMC Public Health. 2021;21:1–9.
7. Yang T, Liu T, Lei R, et al. Effect of stress on the work ability of aging American workers: mediating effects of health. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(13):2273.
8. Henke CJ, Levin TR, Henning JM, et al. Work loss costs due to peptic ulcer disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease in a health maintenance organization. Am J Gastroenterol. 2000;95(3):788–92.
9. Wahlqvist P, Reilly MC, Barkun A. Systematic review: the impact of gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease on work productivity. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2006;24(2):259–72.
10. Lee JH, Kang MY. The influence of chronic diseases on self-reported work disability: Evidence from the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study 2003–2018. J Occup Environ Med. 2021;63(10):e732–6.
11. McGonagle AK, Barnes-Farrell JL, Di Milia L, et al. Demands, resources, and work ability: A cross-national examination of health care workers. Eur J Work Organ Psychol. 2014;23(6):830–46.
12. McGonagle AK, Fisher GG, Barnes-Farrell JL, et al. Individual and work factors related to perceived work ability and labor force outcomes. J Appl Psychol. 2015;100(2):376–91.
13. Demerouti E, Bakker AB, Nachreiner F, et al. The job demands-resources model of burnout. J Appl Psychol. 2001;86(3):499–512.
14. Cadiz DM, Brady G, Rineer JR, et al. A review and synthesis of the work ability literature. Work Aging Retire. 2019;5(1):114–38.
15. Arshadi N, Zare R. Leadership effectiveness, perceived organizational support and work ability: Mediating role of job satisfaction. Int J Behav Sci. 2016;9(4):250–5.
16. McGonagle AK, Bardwell T, Flinchum J, et al. Perceived work ability: A constant comparative analysis of workers’ perspectives. Occup Health Sci. 2022;6(2):207–46.
17. Converso D, Sottimano I, Guidetti G, et al. Aging and work ability: the moderating role of job and personal resources. Front Psychol. 2018;8:2262.
18. van den Berg TI, Elders LA, de Zwart BC, et al. The effects of work-related and individual factors on the Work Ability Index: a systematic review. Occup Environ Med. 2009;66(4):211–20. doi:10.1136/oem.2008.039883
19. Fattori A, Comotti A, Barnini T, et al. Exploring workability in an older working population: associations with cognitive functioning, sleep quality, and technostress. Front Public Health. 2024;12:1303907. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2024.1303907
20. Harris PA, Taylor R, Minor BL, et al. The REDCap consortium: building an international community of software partners. J Biomed Inform. 2019;95:103208. doi:10.1016/j.jbi.2019.103208
21. Bonzini M, Comotti A, Fattori A, et al. Promoting health and productivity among ageing workers: a longitudinal study on work ability, biological and cognitive age in modern workplaces (PROAGEING study). BMC Public Health. 2023;23:1115. Doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16010-1
22. Tuomi K, Ilmarinen J, Jahkola A, et al. Work ability index. Saf Sci. 1998.
23. Nimrod G. Technostress: measuring a new threat to well-being in later life. Aging Ment Health 2018;22(9):1080–7.
24. Comotti A, Fattori A, Di Tecco C, et al. Cross-Context Validation of a Technostress Scale for the aging workforce. J Occup Environ Med. 2025. Doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000003349
25. Curcio G, Tempesta D, Scarlata S, et al. Validity of the Italian version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Neurol Sci. 2012;34(4):511–9.
26. Fossati A. Italian translation of the Perceived Stress Scale. Available at: http://www.hsr.it/. Accessed 14 May 2014.
27. Cortese C, Giovanni GP. The measurement of job satisfaction in organizations: a comparison between a facet scale and a single-item measure. TPM Testing Psychometrics Methodol Appl Psychol. 2006.
28. Cousins R, Mackay CJ, Clarke SD, et al. ‘Management standards’ work-related stress in the UK: Practical development. Work Stress. 2004;18(2):113–36.
29. Iavicoli S, Di Tecco C. The management of psychosocial risks at work: state of the art and future perspectives. Med Lav. 2020;111(5):335–47.
30. Ilmarinen J, Ilmarinen V. Work ability and aging. In: Finkelstein LM, Truxillo DM, Fraccaroli F, Kanfer R, eds. Multi-Age Workforce: A Use Inspired Approach. Abingdon: Routledge; 2015.
31. Hauk N, Göritz AS, Krumm S. The mediating role of coping behavior on the age-technostress relationship: A longitudinal multilevel mediation model. PLoS One. 2019;14(3):e0213349. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0213349
32. Mannocci A, Marchini L, Scognamiglio A, et al. Are Bank Employees Stressed? Job Perception and Positivity in the Banking Sector: An Italian Observational Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(4):707. doi:10.3390/ijerph15040707
33. Lamontagne AD, Keegel T, Louie AM, et al. A systematic review of the job-stress intervention evaluation literature, 1990–2005. Int J Occup Environ Health. 2007;13:268–80. Doi: 10.1179/oeh.2007.13.3.268
34. Leka S, Cox T. Psychosocial risk management at the workplace level. In: Leka S, Houdmont J, eds. Occupational Health Psychology. Hoboken: Wiley Blackwell; 2010.
35. Spagnoli P, Caetano A, Santos SC. Satisfaction with job aspects: Do patterns change over time? J Bus Res. 2012;65(5):609–16.
36. Poscia A, Moscato U, La Milia DI, et al. Workplace health promotion for older workers: a systematic literature review. BMC Health Serv Res. 2016;16:415–28.
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Published
04-08-2025
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1.
Fattori A, Barnini T, Comotti A, Bufano P, Laurino M, Russo S, et al. Longitudinal Changes in Work Ability, Well-Being, and Psychosocial Risk Factors Among Older Workers: The ProAgeing Study. Med Lav [Internet]. 2025 Aug. 4 [cited 2025 Oct. 24];116(4):17195. Available from: https://mail.mattioli1885journals.com/index.php/lamedicinadellavoro/article/view/17195
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How to Cite
1.
Fattori A, Barnini T, Comotti A, Bufano P, Laurino M, Russo S, et al. Longitudinal Changes in Work Ability, Well-Being, and Psychosocial Risk Factors Among Older Workers: The ProAgeing Study. Med Lav [Internet]. 2025 Aug. 4 [cited 2025 Oct. 24];116(4):17195. Available from: https://mail.mattioli1885journals.com/index.php/lamedicinadellavoro/article/view/17195
