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Longitudinal determinants of energy levels in knowledge workers
Bengt B Arnetz1, Carissa L Broadbridge, Samiran Ghosh
1From the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences (Drs Arnetz, Broadbridge, and Ghosh), Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, and Cardiovascular Research Institute (Dr Arnetz), Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Dr Arnetz), and Department of Psychology (Dr Broadbridge), Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics (Dr Ghosh), Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences (Dr Ghosh), Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich; and Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences (Dr Arnetz), Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Objective:
Increasingly, workers in the service, welfare, and health care sectors suffer adverse effects (ie, depression, burnout, etc) of "low-energy syndromes." Less is known about energy-based outcomes among knowledge workers. This study aimed to identify determinants of self-rated energy in knowledge workers and examine how these determinants change over time.
Methods:
In collaboration with a large union and employer federation, 317 knowledge workers in Sweden responded to the health and productivity survey three times.
Results:
At each assessment, worry, satisfaction with eating habits, and work-effectiveness were predictive of energy levels; however, only work-effectiveness covaried with energy over time.
Conclusions:
This study suggests that perceived work-effectiveness is an important factor in preventing knowledge workers from experiencing "low-energy syndromes." Lifestyle factors also play a role. Therefore, multifaceted interventions for increasing energy are needed.
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