Association between job stress and depression among Japanese employees threatened by job loss in a comparison between two complementary job-stress models.

OBJECTIVES: This study compared the separate effects produced by two complementary stress models--the job demand-control model and the effort-reward imbalance model--on depression among employees threatened by job loss. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted to examine these associations among 190 male and female employees who responded to a self-administered questionnaire in a small Japanese plant with economic hardship. The employees were engaged in 2 job types--direct assembly line and indirect supportive tasks--and the latter was threatened by job loss because of downsizing. Independent variables were measured by the Japanese versions of Karasek's demand-control questionnaire and Siegrist's effort-reward imbalance questionnaire. Depression was assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. RESULTS: The employees with indirect supportive tasks (target for downsizing) were more likely to have depressive symptoms than direct assembly-line workers. Job strain, a combination of high demand and low control at work, was more frequent among the latter, while the combination of high effort and low reward was more frequent among the former. After adjustment for work environment factors, low control [odds ratio (OR) 4.7], effort reward imbalance (OR 4.1), and overcommitment (the person characteristic included in the effort-reward imbalance model) (OR 2.6) were independently related to depression. There is some indication that these effects were particularly strong in the subgroup suffering from potential job loss. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that the 2 job stress models identify different aspects of stressful job conditions. Moreover, effort-reward imbalance and low control at work are both associated with symptoms of depression.     

The psychosocial work environment and alcohol dependence: a prospective study

Aims: To examine whether a stressful psychosocial work environment predicts alcohol dependence.

Methods: Alcohol dependence of participants in the Whitehall II occupational cohort of London based civil servants (1985–88) was measured in 1991–93 using the CAGE questionnaire. The psychosocial work environment was measured by self report questions on the job demand-support-control model and on the model of effort-reward imbalance. Potential mediators including physical illness and poor mental health (GHQ) were measured at follow up in 1989.

Results: Effort-reward imbalance at work was associated with alcohol dependence in men after adjustment for employment grade and other baseline factors related to alcohol dependence. Although effort-reward imbalance predicted future longstanding illness, poor mental health and negative aspects of close relationships, the association between effort-reward imbalance and alcohol dependence in men was only partially mediated through these health and social support measures. In women, low decision latitude was related to alcohol dependence to some extent, but alcohol dependence among women was more prevalent in higher occupational grades. Men with high job demands or with low work social supports had a slightly reduced risk of alcohol dependence. No association was found between objectively assessed demands, job control, and alcohol dependence in either men or women.

Conclusion: A stressful psychosocial work environment in terms of effort-reward imbalance was found to be a risk factor for alcohol dependence in men. In view of the public health importance of alcohol dependence in working populations these findings call for more emphasis on psychosocial factors in occupational health research and prevention.

     

Effort-reward imbalance and depression in Japanese medical residents

The effort-reward imbalance is an important psychosocial factor which is related to poor health among employees. However, there are few studies that have evaluated effort-reward imbalance among medical residents. The present study was done to determine the association between psychosocial factors at work as defined by the effort-reward imbalance model and depression among Japanese medical residents. We distributed a questionnaire to 227 medical residents at 16 teaching hospitals in Japan at the end of August 2005. We asked participants to answer questions which included demographic information, depressive symptoms, effort-reward imbalance, over-commitment and social support. Depression was evaluated using the Japanese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale. The effort-reward imbalance and over-commitment were assessed by the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) questionnaire which Siegrist developed. Social support was determined on a visual analog scale. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the associations between effort-reward imbalance and depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms were found in 35 (29.2%) 1st-year residents and 21 (27.6%) 2nd-year residents. The effort-reward ratio >1 (OR, 8.83; 95% CI, 2.87-27.12) and low social support score (OR, 2.77, 95% CI, 1.36-5.64) were associated with depressive symptoms among medical residents. Effort-reward imbalance was independently related to depression among Japanese medical residents. The present study suggests that balancing between effort and reward at work is important for medical residents' mental health.     

Job strain, effort-reward imbalance, and heavy drinking: a study in 40,851 employees

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the relationship of the job strain model and the effort-reward imbalance model with heavy drinking. METHODS: Questionnaire survey data were obtained from 32,352 women and 8499 men employed in the Finnish public sector (participation 67%). Logistic regression analyses for all employees and for separate subgroups were undertaken by sex, adjusted for age, education, occupational position, marital status, job contract, smoking, and negative affectivity. Different cutoff points of heavy drinking were used for men and women. RESULTS: High job strain and high effort-reward imbalance as global constructs were not associated with heavy drinking. However, some components of these models were associated with heavy drinking but the relationships were not all in the expected direction and they varied by sex, age, and occupational position. CONCLUSIONS: Stressful work conditions are not consistently associated with heavy drinking.     

Psychosocial work environment and mental health: Job-strain and effort-reward imbalance models in a context of major organizational changes

This study explored the association between the two job-stress models, job-strain and effort-reward imbalance, and mental health outcomes in a working population exposed to major organizational changes. The cross-sectional study was based on 680 subjects, 504 men and 176 women. Psychosocial factors at work included: psychological demands, decision latitude, social support, effort, reward, and overcommitment. Mental health outcomes were depressive symptoms (CES-D) and psychiatric disorders (GHQ-12). Job strain, low decision latitude, effort-reward imbalance, and low reward (especially job instability) were found to be associated with depressive symptoms and/or psychiatric disorders among men. Overcommitment at work was a risk factor for both men and women. Social support at work played a role to reduce depressive symptoms for women. These findings emphasize the deleterious effects of psychosocial work environment on mental health during major organizational changes.     

Does a stressful psychosocial work environment mediate the effects of shift work on cardiovascular risk factors?

OBJECTIVES: Associations between shift work, chronic psychosocial work stress, and 2 important cardiovascular risk factors, hypertension and atherogenic lipids were studied.The hypothesis was tested that psychosocial work stress, as defined by the model of effort-reward imbalance, mediates the effects of shift work on cardiovascular risk. METHODS: Altogether 2288 male participants aged 30-55 years in the baseline screening of the Swedish WOLF (work organization, lipids, and fibrinogen) study underwent a clinical examination and answered a standardized questionnaire measuring shiftwork schedules, effort-reward imbalance at work, and health-adverse behavior. RESULTS: In addition to the direct effects of shift work on cardiovascular risk, mediating effects of effort-reward imbalance at work were found. The respective odds ratios (OR) ranged from 2.18 to 2.27 for hypertension and from 1.34 to 1.45 for atherogenic lipids. While the effects remained significant after extensive confounder control concerning hypertension, part of the observed effect on atherogenic lipids was due to behavioral influences. CONCLUSIONS: Despite obvious limitations, the results indicated that a stressful psychosocial work environment acts as a mediator of health-adverse effects of shift work on hypertension and, partly, atherogenic lipids. In terms of occupational health the findings call for a more comprehensive assessment of the health risks associated with shift work.     

医务人员工作中社会心理因素与抑郁症状的关系

目的 探讨医务人员工作上的付出-获得不平衡与抑郁症状之间的关系.方法 付出-获得不平衡采用付出-获得不平衡（the Effort-Reward Imbalance,ERI）量表测量,抑郁情绪调查采用美国流调中心的抑郁自评（Center of Epidemiology Survey Depression,CES-D）量表测量医务人员的抑郁症状.研究对象来自在浙江大学6个附属医院工作的1 179名医务人员.调查表包括ERI量表、CES-D量表和一些基本特征.使用Spearman相关分析、Mann-Whitney检验、Pearson χ^2检验或似然比χ^2检验进行单因素分析;用多元Logistic回归方法分析医务人员中工作上的付出-获得不平衡与抑郁症状之间的关系.结果 医务人员抑郁症状的阳性率为48.12%（95% CI：45.08%～51.16%）,护士抑郁症状的阳性率为52.40%（95%CI：47.87%～56.93%）,较医生抑郁症状的阳性率[44.70%（95%CI：10.64%～48.77%）]高,差异有统计学意义（χ^2=6.077,P=0.014）.工作高付出-低获得和超负荷是医务人员抑郁症状发生的相关因素（OR=1.859,95%CI：1.337～2.585;OR=2.207,95%CI：1.656～2.942）.结论 医务人员抑郁症状的发生与工作高付出-低获得、超负荷有关.     

小学教师工作压力及其与抑郁症状的关系

[目的]探讨小学教师工作压力现状及其与抑郁症状的关系。[方法]工作压力采用中文版的付出-获得不平衡量表,抑郁评价采用中文版流行病学研究中心的抑郁量表（Center for Epidemiological Survey,Depression Scale,CES-D）。采用问卷形式对287名杭州市小学教师进行横断面调查,调查内容包括工作付出、获得、内在投入,抑郁症状和一些基本特征。采用方差分析、秩和检验或χ2检验进行单因素分析,采用Logistic回归进行多因素分析。[结果]小学教师中抑郁症状的阳性率为42.38%（95%CI：36.47%～48.29%）,与付出-获得不平衡有关（OR=5.901,95%CI：2.948～11.812）。[结论]小学教师工作付出-获得不平衡对其健康状况有负面影响。     

工作付出—回报失衡对公立医院医生职业心态的影响

目的:探讨付出—回报失衡对公立医院医生职业倦怠、工作满意度和离职意向的影响。方法:利用课题组编制的医生工作感受量表,按照分层随机抽样原则,根据经济发展水平从山东省抽取济南、潍坊、德州3市的1 910名公立医院医生进行调查,采用描述性统计分析、相关分析、分层回归分析等分析方法。结果:医生工作付出—回报失衡,工作付出是工作回报的1.54±0.74倍。工作付出—回报失衡对职业倦怠有正向预测作用,对工作满意度有负向预测作用,对离职意向有正向预测作用。结论:管理者应从改善医生付出—回报比例入手,以稳定医生职业心态,提升其工作积极性。     

Relationship between two job stress models and coronary risk factors among Japanese part-time female employees of a retail company

The objective of this study was to explore the associations between two major job stress models (job strain and effort-reward imbalance) and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors (blood pressure; total, high- (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol; and triglycerides) in Japanese part-time female employees of a retail company. The study population was either 35 yr old or between 40 and 63 yr old. Data collection was carried out in 2002; a total of 1,401 subjects participated in a medical examination and completed a questionnaire. After adjusting for other covariates (age, relative weight, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, lack of exercise, education, marital status, history of child bearing, medical treatment for disease, and occupation), a significant association was found between the effort-reward imbalance, a "high-cost and low-gain" condition at work, and a high prevalence of low HDL cholesterol (Odds ratio=4.4). A weak but unexpected association was found between job strain and low prevalence of low HDL cholesterol. In explanatory analysis with individual components of the two models, associations were evident between high extrinsic effort and high prevalence of low HDL cholesterol and low prevalence of high triglyceride, high job control and low prevalence of high systolic blood pressure, and high job demands and low prevalence of high systolic and diastolic blood pressure. In this cross-sectional study of Japanese part-time working women, a significant association was found between effort-reward imbalance and unfavorable HDL cholesterol profiles. The findings did not support the hypothesis that job strain is associated with CHD risk factors.     

公务员工作压力与抑郁症状之间的关系

目的探讨公务员工作压力和抑郁症状之间的关系。方法工作压力采用中文版的付出一获得不平衡量表，抑郁评价采用中文版CES—D量表。采用问卷形式对474名浙江省公务员进行横断面调查，调查内容包括工作付出、获得、超负荷，抑郁症状和一般情况。采用方差分析、秩和检验或X^2检验进行单因素分析，采用logistic回归进行多因素分析。使用Epidata2003建立数据库。采用SPSS13．0进行统计分析。结果本次调查结果显示浙江省公务员抑郁症状阳性率为41．56％（95％CI：39．30％～43．82％）。采用多元logistic回归校正了其他因素后，工作中付出一获得不平衡的0R=1．772（95％CI：0．369～8．508）。公务员抑郁症状与超负荷（OR=3．468，95％CI=1．542～7．801）、单身（OR=2．661，95％CI=1．017～6．963）、社会支持（0R=2．088，95％CI：1．246～3．498）和亚健康状态（0R=2．475，95％CI：1．110～5．520）有关。结论公务员工作超负荷对其健康状况有负面影响。     

Psychosocial work environment and the risk of coronary heart disease

Objectives: Remarkable changes in the working situation have led to the increasing importance of psychomentally and socio-emotionally demanding conditions at work. With the help of theoretical models, those highly prevalent psychosocial work environments were conceptualized which influence the risk of coronary heart disease by enhanced activation of the autonomic nervous system. One of the most prominent theoretical approaches, the job strain model, and a more recent approach, the effort-reward imbalance model, are discussed in the paper. Empirical evidence: Findings from prospective and cross-sectional studies indicate that job strain and effort-reward imbalance at work define specific conditions of chronic work stress that are associated with an elevated risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Respective multivariate odds-ratios range from 1.2 to 5.0 with respect to job strain, and from 1.5 to 6.1 with respect to effort-reward imbalance. These associations are explained neither by established behavioral or biomedical risk factors nor by physical and chemical hazards at work, rather they define independent, new work-related risk conditions. There is additional evidence that effort-reward imbalance may mediate the association of some traditional occupational exposures, such as shift work, with cardiovascular risk: in a cross-sectional study, prevalence odds ratios of hypertension and atherogenic lipids attributable to effort-reward imbalance were relatively highest among shiftworkers as compared to daytime workers. Preliminary results from intervention programs based on the theoretical models document favorable effects on health. Conclusions: Information derived from theoretical models on psychosocial work environment may help to better identify populations at risk and to develop and apply specific, theory-guided preventive activities in the future.     

Do lipids contribute to the lack of cardio-protective effect of binge drinking: alcohol consumption and lipids in three eastern European countries

AIMS: The cardio-protective effect of moderate alcohol consumption is partly mediated by HDL cholesterol. However, epidemiological studies suggest that binge drinking may not be associated with reduced risk of heart disease; a possible explanation is that the relationship of blood lipids with binge drinking is different from that with moderate intake. We investigated this hypothesis in a population study in three eastern European countries. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study in random population samples in Novosibirsk (Russia), Krakow (Poland) and Karvina (Czech Republic). A sub-sample of 282 men aged 45-64 years who provided a fasting blood sample were analysed. Annual alcohol intake and the frequency of heavy binge drinking (> or =140 g of ethanol per session) were estimated from a graduated frequency questionnaire. RESULTS: Annual intake of alcohol was positively associated with total and HDL cholesterol. After controlling for annual intake, the frequency of heavy binge drinking was associated with increased concentrations of total and HDL cholesterol. By combining annual intake and drinking pattern, we found that men consuming >8 l of alcohol per year who had a heavy binge at least once a month had the mean total, HDL and LDL cholesterol 1.69 (SE 0.35), 0.61 (0.11) and 0.97 (0.34) mmol/l, respectively, higher than non-drinkers; this resulted in more favourable ratios of total and LDL cholesterol relative to HDL cholesterol in frequent heavy bingers. Triglycerides were not related to alcohol intake or binge drinking. CONCLUSIONS: Blood lipids do not seem to explain the apparent lack of the cardio-protective effect of binge drinking reported in epidemiological studies.     

Work stress, smoking status, and smoking intensity: an observational study of 46,190 employees

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To examine the relation between work stress, as indicated by the job strain model, and the effort-reward imbalance model, and smoking. SETTING: Ten municipalities and 21 hospitals in Finland.Design and PARTICIPANTS: Binary logistic regression models for the prevalence of smoking were related to survey responses of 37,309 female and 8881 male Finnish public sector employees aged 17-65. Separate multinomial logistic regression models were calculated for smoking intensity for 8130 smokers. In addition, binary logistic regression models for ex-smoking were fitted among 16,277 former and current smokers. In all analyses, adjustments were made for age, basic education, occupational status, type of employment, and marital status. MAIN RESULTS: Respondents with high effort-reward imbalance or lower rewards were more likely to be smokers. Among smokers, an increased likelihood of higher intensity of smoking was associated with higher job strain and higher effort-reward imbalance and their components such as low job control and low rewards. Smoking intensity was also higher in active jobs in women, in passive jobs, and among employees with low effort expenditure. Among former and current smokers, high job strain, high effort-reward imbalance, and high job demands were associated with a higher likelihood of being a current smoker. Lower effort was associated with a higher likelihood of ex-smoking. CONCLUSIONS: This evidence suggests an association between work stress and smoking and implies that smoking cessation programmes may benefit from taking into account the modification of stressful features of work environment.     

Work characteristics predict psychiatric disorder: prospective results from the Whitehall II Study

OBJECTIVES: The impact of work on the risk of future psychiatric disorder has been examined in few longitudinal studies. This was examined prospectively in a large epidemiological study of civil servants. METHODS: In the Whitehall II study, a longitudinal, prospective cohort study of 6895 male and 3413 female London based civil servants, work characteristics measured at baseline (phase 1: 1985-8) and first follow up (phase 2: 1989) were used to predict psychiatric disorder measured by a 30 item general health questionnaire (GHQ) at phase 2 and phase 3 follow up (phase 3: 1991-3). Work characteristics and GHQ were measured at all three phases. RESULTS: Low social support at work and low decision authority, high job demands and effort-reward imbalance were associated with increased risk of psychiatric disorder as assessed by the GHQ at follow up adjusting for age, employment grade, and baseline GHQ score. CONCLUSIONS: Social support and control at work protect mental health while high job demands and effort-reward imbalance are risk factors for future psychiatric disorder. Intervention at the level of work design, organisation, and management might have positive effects on mental health in working populations.

 

     

劳动密集型企业女工职业紧张与职业倦怠、抑郁症状关系研究

目的探讨劳动密集型企业女工职业紧张、职业倦怠和抑郁症状的关系。方法采用整群随机抽样方法,选取广东省佛山市5家劳动密集型企业的665名女工作为研究对象,应用工作付出-回报失衡紧张量表、职业倦怠通用量表、患者健康问卷对其职业紧张、职业倦怠和抑郁症状水平进行调查。结果女工付出-回报失衡(ERI)指数中位数(M)为0.80,ERI模式高职业紧张检出率为28.6%;职业倦怠、抑郁症状得分M分别为35.0和8.0分,职业倦怠感检出率为7.4%,抑郁症状检出率为32.8%。偏相关分析显示,女工职业倦怠得分与职业紧张的付出、内在投入维度以及抑郁症状得分均呈正相关(P0.05),与职业紧张的回报维度得分呈负相关(P0.01)。职业紧张和职业倦怠对抑郁症状变化解释量分别为7.4%和7.7%。结论劳动密集型企业女工职业倦怠在职业紧张和抑郁症状之间具有某些中介作用,降低其职业紧张与职业倦怠水平有助于缓解抑郁症状。     

Psychosocial factors at work and depression in three countries of Central and Eastern Europe

Psychosocial factors at work have been found to predict a range of health outcomes but their effect on mental health outcomes has not been extensively studied. This paper explores the relationship between psychosocial factors at work and depression in three countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The data come from a cross-sectional study of working men (n = 645) and women (n = 523) aged 45-64 years, randomly selected from population registers in Novosibirsk (Russia), Krakow (Poland) and Karvina-Havirov (Czech Republic). The questionnaire included questions on the effort and reward at work, job control, the full CES-D scale of depression, and a range of other characteristics. Linear regression was used to estimate the association between depression score and work characteristics: the logarithm of the effort-reward ratio, and continuous job control score. The means of the depression score were 10.5 for men and 14.2 for women. After controlling for age, sex and country, effort-reward ratio (logarithmically transformed) was strongly related to depression score; a 1 SD increase in the log transformed effort-reward ratio was associated with an increase in the depression of 2.0 points (95% CI 1.5; 2.4), and further adjustment did not materially change the effect. Job control was inversely associated with depression score in Poland and the Czech Republic (not in Russia) but the association was largely eliminated by controlling for socioeconomic characteristics. This study suggests that the effort-reward imbalance at work is related to prevalence of depression in these central and eastern European populations.     

Effort-reward imbalance at work is predicted by temporal and energetic characteristics of behavior: A population-based study

Objective

Personality dispositions may influence perceptions of work stress. The paper examines the relationship between temperament in terms of Strelau’s Regulative Theory of Temperament and the effort-reward imbalance and its components.

Material and Methods

There were 890 participants (360 men) aged 37.9 years on average. Temperament traits of briskness and perseveration (temporal characteristics of behavior), sensory sensitivity, emotional reactivity, endurance and activity (energetic characteristics of behavior) were measured by Strelau & Zawadzki’s Formal Characteristics of Behavior-Temperament Inventory (FCB-TI) in 1997 and 2001. Effort and reward at work were assessed with the original effort-reward imbalance (ERI) questionnaire of 2007.

Results

Higher ERI at work was predicted by higher emotional reactivity, higher perseveration, lower briskness, and lower endurance. Higher effort and lower rewards at work were predicted by higher perseveration and lower endurance. The FCB-TI temperament characteristics accounted for 5.2%, 4.8% and 6.5% of the variance in the ERI, effort and reward, respectively. Lower emotional reactivity, lower perseveration, higher briskness and higher endurance predicted higher esteem at work, job promotion and job security.

Conclusions

Individual differences in arousability, reflected in temporal and energetic characteristics of behavior, may predispose to or to protect from an effort-reward imbalance at work. Individual differences should be acknowledged in work stress prevention and developing interventions.     

社区卫生工作人员付出—回报失衡与分级诊疗支持度的关系研究

目的：研究社区卫生服务中心工作人员对工作付出、回报及付出-回报失衡感受和对分级诊疗支持度之间的关系,并验证工作满意度在其中是否起到了中介作用。方法：选取北京市17家社区卫生服务中心,抽取1 057名工作人员进行问卷调查,使用付出-回报失衡量表测量工作付出、回报、超负荷和付出-回报失衡的情况,用工作满意度量表测量工作满意度,运用多元线性回归和Bootstrap检验对中介作用进行分析和验证。结果：社区卫生工作人员对工作付出与超负荷方面的感受和分级诊疗支持度不相关,在工作回报方面的感受与分级诊疗支持度呈显著正相关（P<0.001）,付出-回报失衡与分级诊疗支持度呈显著负相关（P<0.001）。工作满意度在回报与分级诊疗支持度、付出-回报失衡与分级诊疗支持度之间均存在显著的中介作用。结论：社区卫生工作人员的工作回报越高,或付出-回报失衡越低,其工作总体满意度就越高,对分级诊疗的支持度也会越高。     

A population-based longitudinal study on work environmental factors and the risk of major depressive disorder

To investigate the relation between work environmental factors and the risk of major depressive disorder (MDD) over 1 year, the authors conducted a population-based longitudinal study of randomly selected employees in Alberta, Canada (January 2008 to November 2011). Participants without a current or lifetime diagnosis of MDD at baseline (n = 2,752) were followed for 1 year. MDD was assessed using the World Health Organization's Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Auto 2.1. The overall 1-year incidence of MDD was 3.6% (95% confidence interval: 2.8, 4.6); it was 2.9% (95% confidence interval: 1.9, 4.2) in men and 4.5% (95% confidence interval: 3.3, 6.2) in women. The relations between work environmental factors and MDD differed by sex. In men, high job strain increased the risk of MDD in those who worked 35-40 hours per week; job insecurity and family-to-work conflict were predictive of MDD. Women who worked 35-40 hours per week and reported job insecurity, a high effort-reward imbalance, and work-to-family conflict were at a higher risk of developing MDD. Job strain, effort-reward imbalance, job insecurity, and work-to-family conflicts are important risk factors for the onset of MDD and should be targets of primary prevention. However, these work environmental factors appear to operate differently in men and in women.