The development and validation of the Office Work Screen.

Area of Science:

• Occupational health
• Psychosocial factors in the workplace
• Musculoskeletal disorder research

Background:

• Musculoskeletal disorders and associated psychosocial factors are prevalent, incurring significant costs.
• Early identification is crucial for preventing chronicity and sickness absence.
• Work instability (WI) poses challenges for employees and employers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a screening questionnaire for measuring work instability (WI) in office workers.
• To incorporate relevant psychosocial issues and musculoskeletal symptoms into a single measure.
• To create a tool for early identification and intervention.

Main Methods:

• A staged methodology utilizing Rasch analysis and item banking from existing Work Instability scales.
• Analysis of new data from postal surveys.
• Criterion validity assessed through vocational assessments by occupational physiotherapists.

Main Results:

• A 62-item questionnaire was developed and validated using data from 153 employees.
• The final 26-item scale demonstrated good fit to the Rasch model, unidimensionality, and discrimination across WI levels (chi-square P=0.07).
• High reliability (0.9) and absence of item bias for age, gender, and recent sickness absence indicate robustness.

Conclusions:

• The Office Work Screen is a validated, short questionnaire measuring work instability in office workers.
• It integrates musculoskeletal symptoms and psychosocial factors into a single dimension.
• The questionnaire facilitates workforce screening, individual monitoring, and proactive interventions to minimize sickness absence.