Purpose: There is a wide range of individual and work environment factors that influence work ability among workers withpain and stress-related ill-health. The multiple interactions and overlap between these factors are insufficiently understood,and a network approach could mitigate limitations of previous research. This pilot study aimed to explore interactions betweenindividual characteristics and psychosocial work environment and potential links to long-term work ability.
Methods: Prospective data from a prevention project was used. Individuals (N = 147) with pain and/or stress-related ill-health(95% women) at public sector workplaces filled out baseline questionnaires about a collection of individual and work environ-ment factors, which were used for constructing undirected networks. The model was run in three subsamples of workplaces.Finally, a separate model was established with work ability at 6-month follow-up as outcome variable. A shortest pathwayanalysis was calculated to identify mediators of work ability.
Results: Symptom catastrophizing and perceived stress were the most influential factors in all network models. Symptomcatastrophizing and pain-disability risk were found to mediate the relation between perceived stress and long-term workability. Further, demand-control-support factors were interrelated, and patterns of interaction differed between differenttypes of workplaces.
Conclusion: The findings support the importance of individual factors, specifically symptom catastrophizing in an individual’scoping with pain or stress-problems and its influence on long-term work ability. Catastrophizing might play a role in stress-related disorders which should be further investigated. Individual and work environment factors interact and vary acrosscontext, which needs to be taken into consideration to prevent pain and stress-related ill-health at work.