To examine employed individuals’ perceptions of arthritis-work spillover (AWS), the reciprocal influence of arthritis on work and work on arthritis, and the demographic, illness, and work context factors associated with AWS.
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The study group comprised 492 employed individuals (383 women & 109 men) with either osteoarthritis or inflammatory arthritis. Participants completed an interview-administered, structured questionnaire assessing AWS, demographic (e.g., age, sex), illness (e.g., disease type, pain, activity limitations), and work context (e.g., workplace control, hours of work) variables. Principal components analysis, reliability analysis, and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the data.
A single factor solution emerged for AWS. The scale had an internal reliability of 0.88. Respondents were more likely to report that work interfered with caring for their arthritis than they were to report that their disease affected their work performance. Younger respondents, those with more fatigue and workplace activity limitations, and those working in trades and transportation reported more AWS. Individuals with more control over their work schedules reported less AWS.
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The results of this study extend research on arthritis by reexamining the interface between arthritis and employment. This study introduced a new measure of AWS that enhances the range of tools available to researchers and clinicians examining the impact of arthritis in individuals’ lives.
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| Variables | t/F | P |
|---|---|---|
| DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES | ||
| Age (range 21-84 years) | -3.05 | 0.00 |
| Gender (Male/Female) | -0.40 | 0.69 |
| Education | 0.25 | 0.86 |
| Marital Status | 0.30 | 0.74 |
| Live Alone | 0.26 | 0.61 |
| ILLNESS RELATED VARIABLES | ||
| Arthritis type (OA, IA or both) | 0.71 | 0.49 |
| Duration (years) | -0.17 | 0.87 |
| Number of joints affected | 5.12 | 0.00 |
| Pain (previous month) | 6.83 | 0.00 |
| Fatigue (previous month) | 9.88 | 0.00 |
| ACTIVITY LIMITATIONS | ||
| At home activity limitations i | 11.38 | 0.00 |
| Workplace activity limitations ii | 14.46 | 0.00 |
| WORK CONTEXT VARIABLES | ||
| Job sector | 3.39 | 0.02 |
| Average hours of work per week | 3.37 | 0.00 |
| Additional job responsibilities | 2.18 | 0.03 |
| Control over work schedule | -5.56 | 0.00 |
Table 3 revealed that younger participants, those with more joints affected, and those with greater pain and fatigue reported more AWS. Individuals with more at-home and workplace activity limitations also reported significantly more spillover. Work context factors were related to AWS, with job type, longer work hours, and additional job responsibilities such as overtime, variable hours, or business travel being related to spillover. Greater control over work schedule was associated with less AWS.
| Male | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age group | N | Mean | Std Dev | Minimum | Maximum |
| Less than 40 | 13 | 19.615 | 7.784 | 7 | 29 |
| 40-49 | 26 | 18.192 | 6.112 | 7 | 29 |
| 50-59 | 46 | 17.130 | 6.735 | 6 | 30 |
| 60 + | 21 | 17.190 | 6.750 | 6 | 29 |
| Female | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age group | N | Mean | Std Dev | Minimum | Maximum |
| Less than 40 | 40 | 17.950 | 5.306 | 7 | 27 |
| 40-49 | 96 | 18.844 | 5.844 | 6 | 28 |
| 50-59 | 167 | 18.036 | 5.283 | 6 | 30 |
| 60 + | 55 | 16.436 | 6.131 | 6 | 30 |
| All respondents | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age group | N | Mean | Std Dev | Minimum | Maximum |
| Less than 40 | 53 | 18.358 | 5.968 | 7 | 29 |
| 40-49 | 122 | 18.705 | 5.883 | 6 | 29 |
| 50-59 | 213 | 17.840 | 5.624 | 6 | 30 |
| 60 + | 76 | 16.645 | 6.271 | 6 | 30 |
The results for this study demonstrated that age accounted for 2% of the variance in AWS, with younger respondents reporting more spillover. Spillover seems to decrease markedly after age 50. Younger participants may be more likely to make arthritis-related work changes such as changing the hours of work or the type and nature of their employment.
