Influence of Work Patterns and Work Characteristics on Women's Later Life Physical Functioning

Aimee Joy Palumbo

doi:10.17918/etd-7331

The composition of the American labor force has changed dramatically over the past 60 years. Currently, women make up almost half of the labor force, compared to 34% in 1950. Participation rates of mothers with children under 3 years increased from 34% in 1975 to 59% in 2005. Between 2001 and 2014, participation rates for women over age 55 increased from 26% to 35%. This study explores the relation of life course work patterns, work characteristics, and their interaction, with risk of physical limitations in postmenopausal women. US women between the ages of 50 and 79 were enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study between 1993 and 1998. Women provided job titles, ages, and years worked at 3 longest held jobs. Latent class analysis identified four distinct patterns of work based on reported age and duration of each job, and ages at first and last birth: continuous participation (40%), later life employment (28%), intermittent employment (24%), and early exit (8%). Job classification was linked to occupation-specific characteristics in the Occupational Information Network (O*Net). Factor analysis was conducted to identify categories and values of job characteristics; three categories of work characteristics related to substantive complexity, physical demand, and social collaboration emerged. Substantial physical limitations at enrollment were measured using the 25th percentile of SF-36 Physical Functioning scores. The risk of substantial physical limitations associated with work pattern and work characteristics was examined using modified Poisson regression. Compared to women who worked continuously, women who left the workforce early had an 8% increased risk and women who worked intermittently had a 5% reduced risk of substantial physical limitations, after adjusting for confounders including age, race, marital status, number of children and education. Substantive complexity of work was associated with a 6% reduced risk of physical limitations; high physical demand increased risk of physical limitations by 9%; and social collaboration had no statistically significant effect. Substantive complexity of work moderated the association between work pattern and physical limitations. The effect of work pattern was generally more pronounced among women with substantively complex jobs; intermittent work force participation had a stronger protective effect for women with substantively complex work than it did for women with non-substantively complex work. Additionally, a qualitative interaction was observed for later life workforce participation, which was associated with an increased risk of physical limitations compared to continuous participation only for women with non-substantively complex jobs. For women, the pattern and characteristics of work over the life course are important predictors of physical functioning later in life. Future epidemiologic studies of women's workforce participation should incorporate information on work patterns and work characteristics. Employers should enable workers more opportunities to express ideas, solve problems, and learn new skills; such opportunities may improve the psychosocial work atmosphere and subsequent health of workers. Women may also benefit from flexible work patterns that allow them to meet family caretaking demands at various points in their lives, highlighting the need for policies that support women and families in the workforce. Improving working conditions and enabling flexibility in workforce participation may improve the health and functioning of US women as they age.

Influence of Work Patterns and Work Characteristics on Women's Later Life Physical Functioning

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Influence of Work Patterns and Work Characteristics on Women's Later Life Physical Functioning

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