Table 3.
Comparison of work capabilities between workers with MS and workers from the general population
| Workers with MS (N = 163) | General working population (N = 163) | Test statistics | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Work capabilities | % | Mean | Median | IQR | Min-max | % | Mean | Median | IQR | Min-max | X2 | U | p |
| i. Use of knowledge and skills in your work | |||||||||||||
| A. Importance | 4.6 | 5.0 | 1 | 3–5 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 1 | 2–5 | 9823.0 | < 0.001* | |||
| B. Opportunities | 4.4 | 4.0 | 1 | 2–5 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 0 | 1–5 | 22062.0 | < 0.001* | |||
| C. Able to achieve | 4.3 | 4.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 23190.0 | < 0.001* | |||
| Included in capability set (in %) | 85% | 67% | 14.9 | < 0.001* | |||||||||
| ii. Development of knowledge and skills in your work | |||||||||||||
| A. Importance | 4.2 | 4.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 11637.5 | 0.42 | |||
| B. Opportunities | 3.9 | 4.0 | 0 | 1–5 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 9802.5 | < 0.001* | |||
| C. Able to achieve | 3.7 | 4.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 11511.0 | 0.33 | |||
| Included in capability set (in %) | 57% | 49% | 2.6 | 0.11 | |||||||||
| iii. Involvement in important decisions | |||||||||||||
| A. Importance | 4.3 | 4.0 | 1 | 2–5 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 0 | 1–5 | 9066.5 | < 0.001* | |||
| B. Opportunities | 3.9 | 4.0 | 2 | 2–5 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 8654.5 | < 0.001* | |||
| C. Able to achieve | 3.8 | 4.0 | 1 | 2–5 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 9136.5 | < 0.001* | |||
| Included in capability set (in %) | 61% | 39% | 15.9 | < 0.001* | |||||||||
| iv. Building and maintaining meaningful contacts at work | |||||||||||||
| A. Importance | 4.4 | 4.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 1 | 2–5 | 10541.5 | < 0.001* | |||
| B. Opportunities | 4.2 | 4.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 0 | 1–5 | 10433.0 | < 0.001* | |||
| C. Able to achieve | 4.1 | 4.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 1 | 2–5 | 10759.0 | 0.001* | |||
| Included in capability set (in %) | 82% | 68% | 8.7 | 0.003 | |||||||||
| v. Setting your own goals in your work | |||||||||||||
| A. Importance | 4.1 | 4.0 | 1 | 2–5 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 10734.0 | 0.005 | |||
| B. Opportunities | 3.9 | 4.0 | 1 | 2–5 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 10827.0 | 0.007 | |||
| C. Able to achieve | 3.8 | 4.0 | 1 | 2–5 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 11152.0 | 0.03 | |||
| Included in capability set (in %) | 63% | 54% | 2.5 | 0.11 | |||||||||
| vi. Having a good income | |||||||||||||
| A. Importance | 4.1 | 4.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 2–5 | 12105.0 | 0.41 | |||
| B. Opportunities | 3.9 | 4.0 | 1 | 2–5 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 8276.5 | < 0.001* | |||
| C. Able to achieve | 3.8 | 4.0 | 1 | 2–5 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 8092.0 | < 0.001* | |||
| Included in capability set (in %) | 62% | 39% | 16.7 | < 0.001* | |||||||||
| vii. Contributing to something valuable in your work | |||||||||||||
| A. Importance | 4.3 | 4.0 | 1 | 3–5 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 9733.5 | < 0.001* | |||
| B. Opportunities | 4.1 | 4.0 | 1 | 2–5 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 8467.5 | < 0.001* | |||
| C. Able to achieve | 3.9 | 4.0 | 2 | 2–5 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 1 | 1–5 | 9660.0 | < 0.001* | |||
| Included in capability set (in %) | 71% | 54% | 9.1 | 0.002* | |||||||||
| Capability set | 4.8 | 5.0 | 3 | 0–7 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4 | 0–7 | 9649.0 | < 0.001* | |||
| Overall item: Altogether, I think I have sufficient opportunities to continue to work. | 4.3 | 4.0 | 1 | 2–5 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 0 | 1–5 | 8476.0 | < 0.001* | |||
Note: IQR Inter Quartile Range. Although all data are non-parametric, mean scores are displayed to further clarify the distribution of the data
*Bonferroni corrected p values ≤ 0.002 were considered significant