Do workplace interventions reduce disability rates?

Background: Increasing life expectancy and decreasing fertility have led to a shift in the workforce age structure towards older age groups. Deteriorating health and reduced work capacity are among the challenges to retaining older workers in the labour force.

Aims: To examine whether workplace interventions to facilitate work among employees with health problems or reduced work capacity affect disability rates among employees aged 50 years and older.

Methods: Data from a survey of Norwegian companies (n = 713) were linked with registry data on their employees aged 50-61 years (n = 30771). By means of a difference-in-differences approach, we compared change in likelihood of receiving a full disability pension among employees in companies with and without workplace interventions.

Results: Employees in companies reporting to have workplace interventions in 2005 had a higher risk of receiving full disability pension during the period 2001-03 compared with employees in companies without such interventions [odds ratio (OR) 1.25, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-1.45]. During the period 2005-07, there was an overall reduction in disability rates (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.71-0.96) in both the intervention and control group. However, employees in companies reporting to have interventions in 2005 experienced an additional reduction in an employee's likelihood of receiving a full disability pension (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.64-0.99) compared with employees in companies without interventions.

Conclusions: Interventions to facilitate work among employees with health problems or reduced work capacity have reduced disability rates among employees aged 50-61. This suggests that companies' preventive interventions are an effective means to retain older workers with deteriorating health.