Table 1. Baseline characteristics of the study population (n=456).
| Characteristics [potential range] | n (%) |
| Female | 449 (98.46) |
| Level of education*1 | |
| Low | 29 (6.40) |
| Intermediate | 345 (76.16) |
| High | 79 (17.44) |
| Mean (SD) | |
| Age | 41.38 (10.54) |
| Work experience (in years) | 19.04 (11.02) |
| Effort–reward imbalance (ERI)*2 | |
| Effort [6–24] | 18.53 (3.24) |
| Reward [11–44] | 28.44 (5.99) |
| ERI ratio | 1.26 (0.42) |
| Factors in MA*4-specific working conditions*2 | |
| High workload [6–24] | 17.39 (4.32) |
| Low control over work [6–24] | 21.17 (2.79) |
| Poor collaboration [4–16] | 8.31 (2.87) |
| Low appreciation [4–16] | 11.46 (2.69) |
| Poor office organization [3–12] | 6.56 (2.06) |
| Lack of resources [3–12] | 4.64 (1.74) |
| Poor leadership behavior [3–12] | 8.07 (2.32) |
| Factors in desire for work-related change*2 | |
| Working conditions [0–5] | 2.61 (1.54) |
| Reward from superior [0–3] | 2.04 (1.08) |
| Task-related autonomy [0–4] | 1.00 (1.15) |
*1 Low: secondary school qualification (‘Haupt-/Volksschulabschluss’); intermediate: secondary school level I certificate (‘Mittlere Reife’); high: general qualification for university entrance (‘Abitur’) or entrance qualification limited to universities of applied sciences (‘Fachhochschulreife’)
*2 For each factor a sum score was calculated, with a higher score corresponding to stronger agreement with the stressor
ERI ratio, (Effort*11)/(Reward*6); MA, medical assistant; SD, standard deviation