Do Effort and Reward at Work Predict Changes in Cognitive Function? First Longitudinal Results from the Representative German Socio-Economic Panel

Natalie Riedel, Johannes Siegrist, Natalia Wege, Adrian Loerbroks, Peter Angerer and Jian Li
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Natalie Riedel: Institute of Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine, Centre for Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Johannes Siegrist: Senior Professorship on Work Stress Research, Life Science Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Natalia Wege: Institute of Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine, Centre for Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Adrian Loerbroks: Institute of Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine, Centre for Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Peter Angerer: Institute of Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine, Centre for Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Jian Li: Institute of Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine, Centre for Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-11

Abstract: It has been suggested that work characteristics, such as mental demands, job control, and occupational complexity, are prospectively related to cognitive function. However, current evidence on links between psychosocial working conditions and cognitive change over time is inconsistent. In this study, we applied the effort–reward imbalance model that allows to build on previous research on mental demands and to introduce reward-based learning as a principle with beneficial effect on cognitive function. We aimed to investigate whether high effort, high reward, and low over-commitment in 2006 were associated with positive changes in cognitive function in terms of perceptual speed and word fluency (2006–2012), and whether the co-manifestation of high effort and high reward would yield the strongest association. To this end, we used data on 1031 employees who participated in a large and representative study. Multivariate linear regression analyses supported our main hypotheses (separate and combined effects of effort and reward), particularly on changes in perceptual speed, whereas the effects of over-commitment did not reach the level of statistical significance. Our findings extend available knowledge by examining the course of cognitive function over time. If corroborated by further evidence, organization-based measures in the workplace can enrich efforts towards preventing cognitive decline in ageing workforces.

Keywords: effort–reward imbalance model; cognitive function; working population; longitudinal analysis; Socio-Economic Panel (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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