Work Ability Determinants in Industry: What Are the Gaps? A Narrative Review

Preservation of work ability is one of the major challenges of occupational health and ergonomics experts, namely in industrial settings. Work ability encompasses physical, psychosocial and social workers’ capabilities, organizational and work environment. These issues are particularly relevant considering the ageing workforce across Europe. This narrative review aims to identify the determinants of work ability among workers in the industry. Papers were selected from electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science and SCOPUS (1990–2023). The inclusion criteria were: English or Portuguese language, full-text availability, peer-reviewed publications, including active workers, and the use of work ability definition according to the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. Seventeen papers were included in the narrative review. All studies presented a cross-sectional study design. The occupational factors were the organisation and work environment, psychosocial, physical and mental demands. The individual factors analysed included education level, age, gender, work experience, sleep quality, the presence of chronic diseases, and health behaviours. There is a lack of robust, longitudinal studies focused on the evaluation of work ability in industrial settings. Individual and work-related factors are important determinants of work ability, but further studies are needed to clarify the type of associations between them.