Psychosocial working conditions and psychological well-being among employees in 34 European countries

Author(s):  
Stefanie Schütte ◽  
Jean-François Chastang ◽  
Lucile Malard ◽  
Agnès Parent-Thirion ◽  
Greet Vermeylen ◽  
...  
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Salonen ◽  
K Alexanderson ◽  
R Rugulies ◽  
E Framke ◽  
M Niemelä ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Psychosocial working conditions such as job demands and job control have been found to be associated with employee health and well-being, but studies on the associations with sickness absence (SA) and disability pension (DP) are scarce. We examined 11-year SA/DP trajectories and the association between psychosocial working conditions and subsequent SA/DP trajectories in the Swedish workforce. Methods Using a prospective cohort study with microdata we explored SA/DP trajectories among female and male employees, respectively, aged 30-53 years in 2001 in Sweden (1,076,042 women; 1,102,721 men). Group-based trajectory analysis was used to model annual mean SA/DP net days trajectories in 2002-2012. Based on a Swedish Job Exposure Matrix (JEM), individuals were assigned an age-, sex- and occupation-specific mean score for demands and control, respectively. Mean scores were categorized into tertiles and categorised into 3x3 combinations of exposure categories. Using multinomial regression we predicted trajectory group memberships for the JEM. Results The highest rate of women were in occupations with low demands and control (24.8%), while the highest rate of men (22.9%) was in occupations with high demands and control. We found three SA/DP trajectories for women (low, medium, high increasing) and two for men (low, high increasing). In fully adjusted models, those in occupations with low demands and low control were at higher risk of belonging to the high increasing SA/DP trajectory compared to those in occupations with high job demands and control in both women (OR 3.86; 95% CI: 3.75-3.97) and men (OR 3.0; 2.99-3.16). Conclusions Low job demands and low job control were associated with more high increasing future SA/DP trajectories compared to high job demands and job control in both women and men. Key messages In Sweden, women are more often in occupations characterized by low job demands and low job control and men are more often in occupations with high job demands and high job control. Occupations with low job demands and low job control were associated with more adverse SA/SP trajectories compared to occupations with high job demands and high job control in both women and men.


Author(s):  
Martin Hyde ◽  
Töres Theorell

This chapter reviews the current debates on the role of work and working conditions in the discourse on international development and explores the impact of vulnerable work and poor psychosocial working conditions on health. The launch of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 is a welcome addition in the fight to secure decent work and ensure health and well-being in developing countries. For decades research from Europe and North America has consistently shown that being exposed to poor psychosocial working conditions, such as not having sufficient control to meet the demands at work or being inadequately rewarded for one's efforts, can have serious negative health consequences. The extent of poor working conditions in these countries today demonstrates just how big a task the UN and associated agencies face in tackling this issue. This in turn raises the question of how Sustainable Development Goal 8, of ensuring decent work for all, will be realised.


Work ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Sarah S. Lütke Lanfer ◽  
Cathrin Becker ◽  
Anja S. Göritz

BACKGROUND: There has been a trend to implement open space offices: wide-spread office floors with modern and colourful furniture. However, there is limited scientific knowledge on the effects of Open Space Offices (OSO). Studies are scare and show heterogeneous results. OBJECTIVE: By using the Job Demands-Resources model as a conceptual framework, the present study aimed at investigating the influence of subjective and objective features of the OSO (i.e., office size, desk-sharing, openness) next to classical psychosocial working conditions (i.e., demands, resources) on irritation and subjective well-being. METHODS: Cross-sectional and longitudinal data out of four different organisations (490 participants, 43.73 years of age, SD = 12.02) were used. RESULTS: Results showed that both features of the OSO and working conditions play a role in well-being at work. In line with current studies, job demands and resources contributed more to irritation and subjective well-being than features of the OSO. CONCLUSION: The influence of traditional psychosocial working conditions has so far been neglected in research on OSOs. However, their contribution to employees’ well-being next to features of the OSO could explain the heterogeneous findings of the existing research on well-being in OSOs. Thus, when implementing OSOs, employees’ well-being can only be enhanced if working conditions are targeted in parallel.


Author(s):  
Francisco Díaz Bretones ◽  
Aditya Jain ◽  
Stavroula Leka ◽  
Pedro A. García-López

This study examines the relationship beween employment and psychosocial working conditions and well-being of native and migrant workers in the working population of Spain. Data from the 7th Spanish Survey of Working Conditions was used to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis (n = 8508) to identify the main latent variables that influenced well-being. Using structural equation modeling and multivariate analysis, we found different patterns and perceptions of well-being and working conditions in these two groups. We discuss the reasons for these differences and suggest directions for further research in this area.


2021 ◽  
pp. 140349482110083
Author(s):  
Sandrine Bertrais ◽  
Nora HÉRault ◽  
Jean-FranÇOis Chastang ◽  
Isabelle Niedhammer

Aims: Working conditions, especially psychosocial work factors (PWFs), are thought to influence mental health outcomes among working populations, but there have been few studies on well-being per se. We assessed the prospective associations between a wide variety of occupational factors, including PWFs, multiple exposure to these factors, and well-being among employees in France. Methods: This study was based on a nationally representative sample of 15,776 employees, including 6595 men and 9181 women, followed up from 2013 to 2016. Psychological well-being was assessed using the WHO-5 Well-Being Index. Occupational factors included 20 PWFs, 4 factors related to working time/hours, and 4 physical work exposures. The associations of occupational exposures with poor well-being were estimated using weighted robust Poisson regression models in men and women separately. Results: Among the employees who rated their well-being as good in 2013, 10.3% of men and 16.8% of women had a poor well-being 3 years later. Most PWFs in 2013 were associated with poor well-being in 2016 among women, and half of them among men. An increase in the risk of poor well-being with the number of PWFs was found. Noise exposure was associated with poor well-being in women. Conclusions: The occupational factors associated with psychological well-being were mainly those related to the psychosocial work environment. A linear association was observed between the number of exposures to PWFs and well-being. Preventive policies focused on PWFs may be beneficial for well-being. More attention should be given to multiple exposures to these factors.


Author(s):  
Veldbrekht O.O. ◽  
Bovdyr O.S. ◽  
Samkova O.M.

Nowadays, the profession is regarded as an important part of a person, which should promote his/her self-development, meet some social and existential needs. Thepurposeof the article is to cover the diagnostic scope of the job satisfaction questionary (JSQ) in individual counseling and monitoring of organizational space. Methods: it is presented an original tool with proven validity and reliability consisting of 38 items – job components (process, conditions of implementation, results) which render individual needs in professional activity. It allows assessing the five components of satisfaction: the resourcefulness of working space, work organization, work & life balance, the social value of work, the space of professional self-realization. Qualitative analysis of individual items demonstrates fundamental motivators, frustrated needs, and “pain points” of employees. The research has analyzed diagnostic results of 104 representatives of medical professions who have 3-35 years of experience: 55 paramedics and emergency doctors, 26 employees of a private clinic, 23 volunteers. Results of the comparative analysis of groups show that, depending on working conditions, representatives of different teams are characterized by unlike components of job satisfaction. This uniqueness is the key to developing programs for social and psychological support of employees, training activities, and organizational interventions. Group satisfaction profiles make it possible to assess the individual results of some team members objectively. This is the background against which the subjective perception of professional life unfolds; common factors can mitigate or exacerbate existing problems. Common features of the sample comprise dissatisfaction with tangible and intangible remuneration for work, awareness of the social usefulness of work, continuous training. Conclusions emphasize that different professional groups are distinguished by challenging aspects of work and their intensity. Regular monitoring of teams using the job satisfaction questionnaire makes it possible to timely respond to the relevant challenges ensuring the psychological well-being of professionals.Keywords: motivation of professional activity, frustration, professional stress and burnout, psychological well-being, organizational counseling, organizational space. Сьогодні професія розглядається як важлива частина особистості, що має сприяти її саморозвитку, задовольняти ряд соціальних та екзистенційних потреб.Мета статті – розкрити діагностичні можливості опитувальника задоволеності роботою в індивідуальному консультуванні та моніторингу організаційного простору. Методи:представлено оригінальний інструмент з доведеною валідністю та надійністю, що складається з 38 пунктів – складових роботи (процесу, умов реалізації, результатів), які представляють потреби особистості, реалізовані у професійній діяльності. Він дозволяє оцінити п’ять компонентів задоволеності: ресур-сність простору, організованість праці, баланс роботи і життя, соціальну цінність праці, простір професійної самореалізації. Якісний аналіз окремих пунктів демонструє провідні мотиватори діяльності, фрустровані потреби та “точки болю” працівників. Проаналізовано результати діагностики 104 представників медичних професій зі стажем 3-35 років: 55 фельдшерів та лікарів швидкої допомоги, 26 працівників приватної клініки, 23 волонтери. Результатипорівняльного аналізування груп показали, що залежно від умов діяльності, представники різних колективів достовірно відрізняються складовими задоволеності роботою. Ця своєрідність є ключем до побудови програм соціально-психологічноїпідтримки працівників, навчальних заходів та організаційних втручань. Групові профілі задоволеності дають можливість об’єктивно оцінити індивідуальні результати окремих членів колективу. Це фон, на якому розгортається суб’єктивне сприйняття професійного життя; загальні чинники можуть пом’якшити або загострити наявні проблеми. Спільними особливостями вибірки виявилась незадоволеність матеріальної і нематеріальною винагородою за роботу, усвідомлення соціальної корисності праці, постійне вдосконалення кваліфікації. Висновки підкреслюють, що різні професійні групи суттєво відрізняються за переліком проблемних аспектів роботи та їх інтенсивністю. Регулярний моніторинг колективів з використанням опитувальника задоволеності працею дозволяє вчасно реагувати на ці проблеми, забезпечуючи психологічне благополуччя фахівців.Ключовіслова: мотивація професійної діяльності, фрустрація, професійні стреси та вигорання, психологічне благополуччя, організаційне консультування, організаційний простір.


2020 ◽  
Vol 99 (7) ◽  
pp. 663-668
Author(s):  
Sergey A. Druzhilov

Introduction. The current historical period is characterized by significant transformations in all spheres of life activity. The reasons for the changes are the development of information technologies and globalization processes. In the information (post-industrial) society, transformations are associated with the introduction of the principles of flexibility in job placement and labor organization. The transition to flexible forms of employment appears as a risk factor for the deterioration of working conditions and the reduction of workers’ security. “Social pollution” of the production environment is spreading. These include management methods that harm the well-being of workers.The aim of the study is the evaluation of the influence of flexibilities of employment and labor relations on the deterioration of working conditions as a risk factor for the well-being of workers.Material and methods. The study object in the article is flexibility as a socio-psychological and organizational-economic phenomenon. A comparative analysis of the views of various authors and their theoretical generalization.Results. A modern understanding of the information society as a society of network structures based on innovation and decentralization, as well as employment on adaptability to market conditions is presented. The introduction of the flexibility of employment means a departure from the standard model of labor relations. The negative consequences of labor flexibility for workers are given: instability, compulsion, unsteadiness, and lack of guarantees. Employment unsteadiness occurs both in the informal and formal sectors of the economy. The statistics cited indicate a trend towards an increase in the proportion of workers included in unsustainable and precarious employment. The influence of “social pollution” of the intra-organizational environment in the form of adverse management decisions introducing instability and unreliability in working conditions is considered. Their consequence is a violation of the social and psychological well-being and somatic health of workers. Conclusion. The more employment differs from the standard, the higher its instability, and lack of guarantees for the worker, the higher the risks of deterioration of working conditions, health, and job loss. There is a connection between the instability of employment, psychological well-being, and health.


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