Is it a Case of “Work-Anxiety” When Patients Report Bad Workplace Characteristics and Low Work Ability?

Aims Work-anxiety may produce overly negative views of the workplace that impair provider efforts to assess work ability from patient self-report. This study explores the empirical relationships between patient-reported workplace characteristics, work-anxiety, and subjective and objective work ability measures. Methods 125 patients in medical rehabilitation before vocational reintegration were interviewed concerning their vocational situation, and filled in a questionnaire on work-anxiety, subjective mental work ability and perceived workplace characteristics. Treating physicians gave independent socio-medical judgments concerning the patients’ work ability and impairment, and need for supportive means for vocational reintegration. Results Patients with high work-anxiety reported more negative workplace characteristics. Low judgments of work ability were correlated with problematic workplace characteristics. When controlled for work-anxiety, subjective work ability remained related only with social workplace characteristics and with work achievement demands, but independent from situational or task characteristics. Sick leave duration and physicians’ judgment of work ability were not significantly related to patient-reported workplace characteristics. Conclusions In socio-medical work ability assessments, patients with high work-anxiety may over-report negative workplace characteristics that can confound provider estimates of work ability. Assessing work-anxiety may be important to assess readiness for returning to work and initiating work-directed treatments.