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Many older workers want to work longer. However, we understand little about the different workplace support needs they may have and whether workers choose to share their needs with others. The objective of this research was to qualitatively examine workplace disclosure-support decisions among workers aged 50 years and older. Sixty-eight participants from diverse employment sectors and with a range of personal experiences and circumstances (e.g. health conditions, caregiving responsibilities, job experiences) participated in 1 of 10 focus groups within the greater Toronto area. Recruitment drew on an existing cohort of Canadians from a survey research firm. Participants were asked about their work experiences, age-related changes, and disclosure decisions and experiences. Focus group discussions were audio-taped and transcribed. Qualitative content analysis was used analyze the data and identify emerging themes. There was variability in disclosure decisions with many participants being reluctant to share their needs at work. Four inter-related themes guided participants' communication decisions: the need to communicate information; the desire to maintain one's reputation; trust in others and perceived support; and perceived job insecurity. In discussing job insecurity, participants noted challenges in finding a new job, perceptions held by others of the cost-benefits of employing older workers, and labor market insecurity. The findings highlight challenges experienced by older adults in remaining employed and barriers to communicating their needs. Results underscore the importance of greater attention to ageism within organizations, the need for age-inclusive policies, and workplace flexibility to promote job sustainability across the life course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The aims were to validate a British English version of the Workplace Activity Limitations Scale (WALS) linguistically, then test this psychometrically in RA, axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), OA and FM. Methods The WALS was forward translated, reviewed by an expert panel, and cognitive debriefing interviews were conducted. Participants completed a postal questionnaire booklet. Construct (structural) validity was examined by fit to the Rasch measurement model. Concurrent validity included testing between the WALS and the Work Limitations Questionnaire-25 (WLQ-25). Two weeks later, participants were mailed a second questionnaire booklet for test–retest reliability. Results Minor wording changes were made to the WALS, then 831 employed participants completed questionnaires: 267 men and 564 women; 53.5 (s. d. 8.9) years of age; with condition duration 7.7 (s. d. 8.0) years. The WALS satisfied Rasch model requirements, and a WALS Rasch transformation table was created. Concurrent validity was strong with the WLQ-25 (RA r s = 0.78; axSpA r s = 0.83; OA r s = 0.63; FM r s = 0.64). Internal consistency was consistent with group use (α = 0.80–0.87). Test–retest reliability was excellent, with intraclass correlation coefficient (2,1) at ≥0.90. Conclusion A reliable, valid British English version of the WALS is now available for use in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Prevailing job stress models encourage a multidimensional view of the psychosocial work environment and highlight the role that multiple co-occurring stressors play in the aetiology of mental health problems. In this study, we develop a latent typology of psychosocial work environment profiles to describe how a comprehensive array of job stressors are clustered in the Canadian labour market. We also examine the association between these latent psychosocial work environment profiles and several indicators of mental health. Methods Data were collected from 6408 workers who completed the Canadian National Psychosocial Work Environment Survey. Psychosocial work exposures were measured using standard items from the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire. We employed latent profile analyses to identify groups of individuals with similar psychosocial work environment profiles. We used log-linear regression models to examine the association between latent psychosocial work environment profiles and burnout, stress, and cognitive strain. Results Four distinct groups with highly divergent psychosocial work environment profiles were identified. Adjusting for a range of demographic and socioeconomic factors, latent psychosocial work environment profiles were strongly related to mental health. Individuals who reported exposure to a comprehensive array of psychosocial job stressors (11% prevalence) reported the highest probability of burnout (PR: 7.51, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.56–10.15), stress (PR: 8.98, 95% CI: 6.20–13.0), and cognitive strain (PR: 7.29, 95% CI: 5.02–10.60). Conclusions Findings suggest that psychosocial work stressors are tightly clustered in the Canadian labour market, and that the clustering of work stressors is strongly associated with adverse mental health outcomes. Future scholarship may benefit from adopting a more comprehensive approach to the assessment of psychosocial job quality as a determinant of health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Chronic conditions and multimorbidity are increasing worldwide. Yet, understanding longitudinal changes in multimorbidity over the lifecourse is limited. We compared the age-trajectory of multimorbidity by birth cohort and examined effects of socio-demographic (e.g. sex, income) and behavioral risk (e.g. obesity) factors in multimorbidity. Methods Using data from the Canadian Longitudinal National Population Health Survey (1994–2010), we examined 10,186 participants born 1925–1974 grouped in 5 birth cohorts. Data on the number of chronic conditions (up to 17), income, education, and behavioral risk factors were collected biannually. We used multilevel logistic growth modeling techniques for analyses of multimorbidity defined as the presence of 2+ chronic conditions versus 1 or none. Results We found significant cohort differences in the age-trajectory of multimorbidity: at corresponding ages, each succeeding recent cohort had higher odds of reporting multimorbidity than their predecessors. Access to healthcare did not fully explain these differences. Women, having lower income, being obese, smoking, and a sedentary lifestyle had increased odds of reporting multimorbidity. Obese individuals, particularly Gen Xers and younger boomers, reported multimorbidity at an earlier age than those of normal weight. We observed divergent trajectories of greater multimorbidity for lower than higher income individuals. Furthermore, after accounting for age and risk factors there was an apparent increase in reporting multimorbidity over time (period effect) across all ages. Discussion Our findings indicate that multimorbidity is not only becoming the norm, but is emerging earlier in the lifecourse and particularly for low income and obese individuals from more recent cohorts. The findings point to the importance of planning interventions and policies to deal with more recent birth cohorts entering into older age with worse health than their predecessors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With the aging of populations in many countries, workers are expected to remain employed longer but may struggle with the onset of common, chronic conditions like arthritis. To date, few studies have examined workplace policies and practices that could help accommodate individuals with arthritis, and fewer still have used a sex and gender-based approach to explore similarities and differences between women and men. Objectives: This study compared the health and work contexts of workers aged ≥50 years to better understand similarities and differences between women and men in accommodation availability, need, use, and unmet needs. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of men and women with osteoarthritis (OA), inflammatory arthritis (IA), or both OA and IA was administered online or by telephone and assessed demographics (e.g. age, education), health (e.g. pain, fatigue, workplace activity limitations), work context factors (e.g. job sector, full/part-time work, job control), and workplace accommodations (e.g. health bene- fits, flexible hours, special equipment/adaptations, modified duties). Sex and gender-based analyses examined similarities and differences between men and women and included descriptive statistics, multivariable multinomial analyses, and nested regression analyses. Results: There was a 58.9% response rate and final sample of 463 participants (women, n = 266; men, n = 197; OA = 59.0%; IA/both IA and OA = 23.7%; unsure = 17.3%). Women and men were significantly different in a number of health (e.g. fatigue, health variability, workplace activity limitations) and work context factors (e.g. job sector, part-time work, job stress). However, in other respects, they were similar (e.g. pain, job involving physical demands, size of organization, shift work, union membership, job control). There were no differences between men and women in the availability or use of workplace accommodations. However, women reported significantly more accommodation needs and had greater unmet needs. Multivariable multinomial analyses found male/female as a binary variable did not explain differences in accommodation need, use, and unmet need. Nested analyses highlighted that differences in health variables explained male/female differences in accommodation need, while work context differences explained male/female differences in whether needs were met. Conclusions: The findings highlight that women and men draw on a range of existing accommodation policies and practices to help manage their arthritis and that most have their accommodation needs met. Decomposing the context within which men and women with arthritis work suggests that women may face health and work context challenges that differ from men and that are related to greater accommodation needs and unmet need. This highlights potential vulnerabilities in the work of women that need to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]