Physical and psychosocial work stressors, health-related control beliefs and work ability: cross-sectional findings from the German Sociomedical Panel of Employees

Purpose The aim of this paper was to analyse the crosssectional associations between work-related stressors and work ability and to investigate moderator-type effects of internal health-related control beliefs (IHRCB). Methods A total of 1,348 working men and women aged 30-59 years from the baseline survey of the German Sociomedical Panel of Employees were included in the analyses. Work ability was assessed by the Work Ability Index (WAI). Work-related stressors were defined as physical demands and in terms of the demand-control model and the effort-reward imbalance model. Results Restrictions of work ability were explained independently by physical demands and by work stress exposure due to high demand and low control and due to effort- reward imbalance. These effects were more serious for workers with low IHRCB than those with high IHRCB. Conclusions IHRCB are an important personal resource that might moderate the effect of work-related stressors on work ability. However, longitudinal analyses are required to confirm these results.