| Exposure variables | I Executive managers/academics | II Middle managers/3–4 years further education | III Other white collar workers | IV Skilled blue-collar workers | V Semiskilled and unskilled workers |
| Extreme bending or twisting of neck/back | 5.5 (13.2) | 9.2 (14.7) | 10.5 (15.7) | 21.3 (21.1) | 20.7 (21.4) |
| Work with arms lifted or hands twisted | 4.8 (11.0) | 6.3 (11.7) | 8.3 (14.1) | 19.8 (20.9) | 16.7 (19.7) |
| Working mainly standing or squatting | 8.4 (11.6) | 20.3 (16.0) | 18.6 (18.9) | 38.0 (20.5) | 33.3 (20.4) |
| Lifting or carrying loads | 5.2 (10.1) | 13.3 (17.8) | 13.6 (18.1) | 26.2 (22.2) | 25.0 (20.8) |
| Pushing or pulling loads | 4.1 (11.7) | 11.9 (18.4) | 13.2 (20.3) | 23.2 (22.6) | 26.0 (24.0) |
| Decision authority | 66.1 (22.5) | 57.3 (23.8) | 47.6 (25.5) | 45.3 (24.7) | 34.6 (25.6) |
| Skill discretion | 85.4 (12.4) | 82.9 (13.6) | 75.6 (16.3) | 73.8 (16.7) | 58.8 (22.6) |
| Quantitative demands | 51.9 (20.6) | 42.9 (21.4) | 37.0 (21.1) | 35.1 (19.3) | 29.7 (20.1) |
| Support | 67.0 (23.8) | 69.1 (23.9) | 70.2 (24.1) | 67.3 (24.8) | 66.2 (27.7) |
| Intensive quantitative demands | 54.6 (27.0) | 54.3 (26.8) | 54.2 (26.5) | 52.5 (26.3) | 50.8 (29.6) |
Exposure levels for the five socioeconomic position groups. Mean score (SD) on indices ranging from 0 to 100, where 0 corresponds to the lowest and 100 corresponds to the highest level.