Job strain is associated with risk of subsequent disability pension. If causal, this association suggests that organisational interventions to reduce job strain may also reduce early exit from work.

Objective To examine the association between worktime control and subsequent retirement on health ground (disability pension) among employees. Methods A prospective cohort study of 30 700 public sector employees (78% women) aged 18 to 64 at baseline. Two scores of worktime control, self-assessed and co-worker assessed, were obtained from responses to the baseline survey in 2000-2001 (score range 1 to 5). Information on cause-specific disability pension during follow-up was collected from national registers. Results During a mean follow-up of 4.4 years, 1178 employees were granted disability pension (incidence per 1000 person-years 9.2 in women and 8.7 in men). The most common causes of a disability pension were musculoskeletal disorders (43% of all pensions), mental disorders (25%), tumours (8%), and diseases of the circulatory system (6%) and the nervous system (6%). A 1 unit increase in self-assessed and co-worker assessed worktime control score was associated with a 41-48% lowering of the risk of disabling musculoskeletal disorders in men and 33-35% lowering in women. This association was robust to adjustment for all 17 baseline covariates (in men and women combined, adjusted hazard ratio 0.76, 95% CI 0.67-0.87 and 0.64, 95% CI 0.51-0.79 per 1 unit increase in self-assessed and co-worker assessed worktime control, respectively).Self-assessed worktime control was also associated with the risk of disability retirement due to mental disorders in women, but this association was not replicated using co-workers’ assessment. Disability pensions from other disease categories were not related to control over working times. Conclusions In this cohort of public sector employees, high worktime control among employees was associated with reduced risk of early retirement caused by musculoskeletal disorders independent of baseline characteristics.

This study aimed to test the original Occupational Well-being of School Staff Model (OWSS Model) from 2005. This model was tested using data collected in two stages (in 2010 and in 2013) from school staff in Finnish and Estonian public primary and secondary schools. In 2010, there were 486 Finnish respondents (Finnish study 1), and in 2013, there were 545 Finnish respondents (Finnish study 2). Correspondingly, there were 1330 Estonian respondents in 2010 (Estonian study 1), and 974 Estonian respondents in 2013 (Estonian study 2). Based on structural equation modelling, Finnish data from 2010 and 2013 suited the OWSS Model well. Based on Estonian data from 2010 and 2013, the model was slightly improved, but its main structures remained largely unchanged. On the whole, the results support the previous notion that the occupational well-being of school staff should be examined with reference to a broad spectrum of four viewpoints covering working conditions, worker and work, the working community and professional competence. General occupational well-being of the working community and subjective occupational well-being were best explained by working atmosphere and appreciation of others’ work, especially in Finland. In Estonia, occupational well-being was best explained by working atmosphere and appreciation of others’ work and working space, postures and equipment. Long-term testing with data from two countries and from two different testing periods confirmed that the model may continue to be applied in school contexts for planning, implementation and evaluation of occupational well-being, as well as for promoting public health.

This article examines whether a three-year learning-based work community intervention resulted in changes in working community-related interaction factors and occupational well-being among Finnish and Estonian school staff. It reports the types of changes in working community-related interaction factors and their associations to the subjective occupational well-being and general occupational well-being of the working community. The initial quantitative survey data were collected in Finland (n = 486) and Estonia (n = 1330) in 2010 using the "Well-being at your work index questionnaire." The same measurement tool was used in 2013 to collect final survey data from school staff members in Finland (n = 545) and Estonia (n = 974). The data were analyzed statistically with percent, mean, SD, Mann-Whitney test, sum variables, one-way analysis of variance and Spearman's correlation. Changes were detected in factors related to working community interaction; in particular, statistically significant changes in work management and time use were detected in Finnish schools. Working atmosphere and appreciation of others' work, cooperation and information, and work management and time use were associated to both the subjective occupational well-being and general occupational well-being of the working community. Schools should plan and implement development activities to promote the subjective occupational well-being and general working community occupational well-being. Development work should focus on working community-related interaction, such as trust between workers. Principals should draw particular attention to principal-subordinate relationships and to providing information about changes.

Chelates with fluorescent lanthanides such as europium and terbium are widely used in immunofluorometric assays, e.g. for the measurement of different molecular forms of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in serum for detection and monitoring of prostate cancer. These chelates have also been introduced as non-radioactive labels in immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization. In the present study, sections of non-malignant prostate were investigated using monoclonal IgGs against PSA. Detection of specific immunostaining employing time-resolved fluorescence with europium-labeled streptavidin was compared with conventional detection by streptavidin conjugated to horse-radish peroxidase. The high PSA concentration in the tissue produced high intensity, specific time-resolved fluorescence signals in the epithelial cells of the prostate gland without disturbance from non-specific tissue autofluorescense. This allowed short exposure times to be used which resulted in insignificant photobleaching. Two of the three europium-chelates evaluated yielded high signal intensities. Counterstaining was found to be optimal with Gill No. 1-Haematoxylin solution and Merckoglas was the best mounting medium for the europium chelates tested. In conclusion, time-resolved fluorescence imaging is an attractive alternative to conventional detection of streptavidin conjugated to horse-radish peroxidase, as it provides linear, high intensity, specific signals subsequent to the decay of non-specific tissue autofluorescence.