Sustainable employability of healthcare professionals: Determinants of work ability and vitality at work

BackgroundDue to personnel shortages, an aging workforce and high job demands, healthcare organizations must invest in the sustainable employability (SE) of their personnel.ObjectiveThis study aims to contribute to the knowledge on how to promote work ability and vitality at work as dimensions of SE.MethodsMultiple regression analyses on cross-sectional data from a Dutch healthcare organization (n = 176) were performed to investigate the associations between psychosocial work characteristics, lifestyle factors, and a health-oriented organizational culture on the one hand, and work ability and vitality at work on the other.ResultsPsychosocial work characteristics, lifestyle factors, and a health-oriented organizational culture significantly contributed (as clusters) to the total explained variance in both work ability and vitality at work. Specific determinants of the three clusters were partially confirmed. Sleep quality was positively associated with both work ability and vitality at work. Supervisor support was negatively associated with work ability, while autonomy was positively associated with vitality at work. Moreover, this study identified "attention to own well-being" as a new determinant of work ability, and "speaking about mental health" as a new determinant of vitality at work.ConclusionHealthcare organizations aiming to improve the SE of their professionals should be aware of the impact of sleep problems and a health-oriented organizational culture on both work ability and vitality at work.