ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: The aim of the study was to examine the effect of mental capacity on work ability in middle-aged factory workers at a Japanese manufacturing company. The work ability and mental concentration were measured using Work Ability Index (WAI) and Trail Making Test (TMT) respectively. WAI questioner was distributed among the factory workers. 24 moderate and 30 excellent subjects with a mean age of 47.24 years were selected from the sample. The findings substantiated the validity of WAI, as excellent subject’s performances were higher than moderate subjects. Also, the excellent subjects in the over 50 group showed better performances than moderate subjects in the 40-49 age group. On the other hand, moderate subjects were affected more by the aging effect than excellent subjects. In summary, there is an interaction effect of aging and WAI within the two age groups. Furthermore, work ability was affected by both mental capacity and aging effect.
