Author(s): BIALLAS, B., KRAMPE, L., HOFMANN, H.S., WOLLESEN, B., GORGES, J., Institution: GERMAN SPORT UNIVERSITY COLOGNE, Country: GERMANY, Abstract-ID: 1294

Objective: The skilled trades are characterized by high physical and psychosocial demands. Physically strenuous work, time pressure, economic uncertainty, and often small organizational structures place considerable strain on workers and can negatively affect health and long-term work ability [1].
Physical activity is closely linked to resilience and health, as it can strengthen physical capacity and sup-port adaptive coping processes [2]. The aim of this study is to examine the association between work-related and leisure-time physical activity and resilience among workers in the skilled trades.
Methods: The survey was conducted using CATI with 1,147 employees from defined skilled trades. The sample comprised 769 men, 375 women and three participants of diverse gender, with a mean age of 43.25 years (SD = 15.07). Physical activity was assessed using the EHIS-PAQ and resilience using the RS-11. Descriptive statistics were calculated using design and adjustment weights. Group differences in resilience were first examined using unweighted independent-samples t-tests and subsequently re-analysed using design-based regression procedures with survey weights to account for the complex sampling design.
Results: Regarding work-related physical activity, 72.5% of participants reported being physically active at work, 27.4% reported no work-related physical activity. With respect to health-enhancing physical activity, 39.7% met the recommendation of at least 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week, 33.5% met the recommendation for muscle-strengthening physical activity, and 21.8% met both recommen-dations. The mean resilience score was M = 66.30 (SD = 7.99). Unweighted inferential analyses showed significantly higher resilience among participants without work-related physical activity (t = -2.24, p = .03) and among those meeting muscle-strengthening (t = -2.54, p = .01) and combined activity recom-mendations (t = -1.99, p = .04). These effects did not remain significant in design-based analyses (p > .05).
Discussion: The results indicate a comparatively high level of resilience among workers in the skilled trades compared with the general German population [2]. Although adherence to WHO physical activity recommendations remains improvable, meeting these recommendations was not robustly associated with higher resilience. In addition, workers who were physically active at work, particularly those ex-posed to heavy physical demands, showed lower resilience, suggesting that work-related physical activity may act as an additional stressor rather than a protective factor. The results clearly demonstrate the need to develop target group-specific health promotion measures for people engaged in physically demanding work.
References:
[1] Möhlmann, S., & Walter, G. (2022). BIBB/BAuA-Faktenblatt 43.
[2] Neumann et al. (2022). Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci, 272(4).