Psychosocial factors at work and perceived health among agricultural meat industry workers in France

Objective  The objective of this study was to describe the perceived health status of the meat industry employees—i.e., working in the slaughtering, cutting, and boning of large animals and poultry—and its relation to their organisational and psychosocial constraints at work. Methods  This postal survey included all 3,000 employees of the meat industry (beef, pork and poultry) in four districts in Brittany, France, whose companies were affiliated with the agricultural branch of the national health insurance fund. The questionnaire asked for social and demographic data and information describing their job and the organisation of their work. The psychosocial factors at work were described according to Karasek’s questionnaire (demand, latitude and social support at work). Perceived health was measured with the Nottingham Health Profile perceived health indicator. Results  This study shows the high prevalence of poor health reported by the workers in this industry. This poor perceived health was worse in women and increased regularly with age. Among the psychosocial factors studied, high quantitative and qualitative demand at work, inadequate resources for good work and to a lesser extent, inadequate prospects for promotion appear especially associated with poor perceived health. Other factors often associated with poor perceived health included young age at the first job and work hours that disrupt sleep rhythms (especially for women). Conclusion  Our results show that this population of workers is especially vulnerable from the point of view of perceived physical and psychological health and is exposed to strong physical, organisational and psychosocial constraints at work. They also demonstrate that poor perceived health is associated with some psychosocial (such as high psychological demand and insufficient resources) and organisational factors at work. These results, in conjunction with those from other disciplines involved in studying this industry, may help the companies to develop preventive activities.     

The relationship between psychosocial work characteristics and fatigue and psychological distress

OBJECTIVES: To examine the associations between psychosocial work characteristics and fatigue in employees in the Maastricht Cohort Study. A second objective was to compare the relationships for fatigue versus psychological distress with these psychosocial work characteristics. METHODS: The design was cross-sectional and included 11,020 employees who responded to the self-administered baseline questionnaire of the Maastricht Cohort Study. Fatigue was measured with the Checklist Individual Strength, a 20-item self-report instrument. Psychological distress was measured with the 12-item version of the General Health Questionnaire. Psychosocial work characteristics comprised: psychological demands, decision latitude, and social support at work as measured by the Job Content Questionnaire, as well as emotional demands at work, physical demands at work, job insecurity, and conflict with supervisor/co-worker, which were assessed with items from existing Dutch questionnaires. RESULTS: Low decision latitude and low social support at work were associated with fatigue in both men and women. Associations were also found between emotional demands at work, job insecurity, physical demands and conflict with supervisor and fatigue in men; and high psychological demands and fatigue in women. As regards psychological distress, there was no association with low decision latitude, but strong associations with emotional demands and conflict with supervisor in both genders. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides strong support for associations between psychosocial work characteristics and fatigue in men and women, even after adjustment for psychological distress. Moreover, it suggests some differential effects of psychosocial work characteristics on fatigue and psychological distress.     

Occupational class and exposure to job stressors among employed men and women in Japan

BACKGROUND: The relationship between occupational class and exposure to job stressors among employed men and women in Japan remains unclear. METHODS: Data of 16,444 men and 3,078 women were analyzed. The information was obtained from answers to a questionnaire distributed among employees of nine companies in Japan between 1996 and 1998 (average response rate, 85%). The International Standardized Classification of Occupations was used to classify respondents into eight occupational categories. The Job Content Questionnaire was used to measure job demands, job control, worksite support, and job insecurity. The associations between occupational class and job stressors, as well as job strain, were examined controlling for age, education, marital status, chronic medical condition, and personality traits, such as neuroticism and extraversion. RESULTS: Men and women in high-class occupations (e.g., managers and professionals) had significantly greater job control, while job demands and worksite social support were not greatly different among occupations. A clear occupational class gradient in job insecurity was observed in women. A greater prevalence of high job strain was observed in low-class occupations compared to high-class occupations in both men and women. The occupational class gradient in job strain was greater for women. These patterns did not change after controlling for other covariates. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests an occupational class gradient in job strain for employed men and women in Japan. Japanese women workers may have a greater occupational class gradient in job strain and job insecurity than men.     

Psychosocial work environment and mental health--a meta-analytic review

OBJECTIVES: To clarify the associations between psychosocial work stressors and mental ill health, a meta-analysis of psychosocial work stressors and common mental disorders was undertaken using longitudinal studies identified through a systematic literature review. METHODS: The review used a standardized search strategy and strict inclusion and quality criteria in seven databases in 1994-2005. Papers were identified from 24,939 citations covering social determinants of health, 50 relevant papers were identified, 38 fulfilled inclusion criteria, and 11 were suitable for a meta-analysis. The Comprehensive Meta-analysis Programme was used for decision authority, decision latitude, psychological demands, and work social support, components of the job-strain and iso-strain models, and the combination of effort and reward that makes up the effort-reward imbalance model and job insecurity. Cochran's Q statistic assessed the heterogeneity of the results, and the I2 statistic determined any inconsistency between studies. RESULTS: Job strain, low decision latitude, low social support, high psychological demands, effort-reward imbalance, and high job insecurity predicted common mental disorders despite the heterogeneity for psychological demands and social support among men. The strongest effects were found for job strain and effort-reward imbalance. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis provides robust consistent evidence that (combinations of) high demands and low decision latitude and (combinations of) high efforts and low rewards are prospective risk factors for common mental disorders and suggests that the psychosocial work environment is important for mental health. The associations are not merely explained by response bias. The impact of work stressors on common mental disorders differs for women and men.     

Health effects of job insecurity among employees in the Swiss general population.

This study looks at the health consequences of the social distress caused by perceived levels of job insecurity. Through interviews with full- and part-time employees drawn from a random sample (N = 2,024) of the Swiss general population, the authors measured prevalence rates of ten self-reported indicators of health and health-related behavior according to three levels of perceived job insecurity (low, middle, high), and estimated odds ratios using logistic regression adjusted for relevant respondent characteristics. The results show that the psychosocial stress induced by job insecurity (fear of unemployment) has a negative effect on these health indicators. Fear of unemployment had a stronger unfavorable effect on health for highly educated employees than for the less educated. The authors make some recommendations for raising awareness about the health effects of job insecurity and taking these effects into account in policies and legislation affecting the labor market and work environment.     

Relationship of psychosocial work factors and health-related quality of life in male automotive assembly workers in Malaysia

The present study investigates the relationship between psychosocial work factors and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in male automotive assembly plant workers in Malaysia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 728 male workers were recruited in March-July 2005 from 2 major automotive assembly plants in Selangor and Pahang. In this cross-sectional study, information on socio-demography, psychosocial work factors using the 97-item Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) and an abbreviated 26-item version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire containing 4 domains (physical health, psychological, social relationship, and environment) was self-administered to all workers involved. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The prevalence of reported good or very good overall HRQOL and general health was 64.9% and 53.7%, respectively. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that created skill was positively associated with physical health and psychological domains; whilst, skill discretion was positively associated with social relationship and environment domains. Social support was positively associated with physical health and environment domains; whilst, co-worker support was positively associated with psychological and social relationship domains. Job insecurity and hazardous condition were negatively associated with all domains, whilst psychological job demands was negatively associated with the environment domain of HRQOL.     

Association of Job Insecurity with Health Risk Factors and Poorer Health in American Workers

Perceived job insecurity and health risk factors have not been well studied in the United States (US) workforce. The purpose of this study was to assess the association of specific health risk factors and morbidities with perceived job insecurity in a large national random sample of working adults in the US. The National Health Interview Survey data were analyzed for this study. We computed the prevalence of perceived job insecurity by demographic characteristics and tested the relative association between perceived job insecurity and selected health risk factors using logistic regression analysis with adjusted odds ratios (AORs). A total of 17,441 working adults were included in the study: 75?% Whites, 51.5?% females, 73.3?% worked for a private company, and 82.6?% were 25–64 years of age. One in three (33?%) workers perceived their job to be insecure. Those who reported job insecurity had significantly higher odds of: being obese, sleeping less than 6 h/day, smoking every day, having work loss days >2 weeks, and worsening of general health in the past year. Job insecure individuals had a likelihood of serious mental illness within the past 30 days almost five times higher than those who were not job insecure. In addition, job insecure individuals were significantly more likely to report pain conditions (i.e. headaches, neck pain, and low back pain), and lifetime histories of having ulcers, diabetes, hypertension, angina pectoris, and coronary heart diseases. Job insecurity is associated with poor health and health risk behaviors in American adults. Potential interventions to address job insecurity and improve the ?health and well-being of working adults have been discussed based on study findings.     

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

Purpose

The aim of this study was to explore the associations between psychosocial working conditions and psychological well-being among employees in 34 European countries. Another objective was to examine whether these associations varied according to occupation and country.

Methods

The study was based on data from the European Working Conditions Survey 2010 including 33,443 employees, 16,512 men and 16,931 women, from 34 European countries. Well-being was measured by the WHO-5 well-being index. Twenty-five psychosocial work factors were constructed including job demands, role stressors, work hours, job influence and freedom, job promotion, job insecurity, social support, quality of leadership, discrimination and violence at work, and work-life imbalance. The associations between these factors and well-being were examined using multilevel logistic regression analyses. Different models were performed including interaction tests.

Results

When all 25 psychosocial work factors were studied simultaneously in the same model with adjustment variables, 13 showed a significant association with poor well-being among both genders: quantitative demands, demands for hiding emotions, low possibilities for development, low meaning of work, low role conflict, low quality of leadership, low social support, low sense of community, job insecurity, low job promotion, work-life imbalance, discrimination, and bullying. The association with low sense of community on poor well-being was particularly strong.

Conclusions

A large number of psychosocial work factors were associated with poor well-being. Almost no country and occupational differences were found in these associations. This study gave a first European overview and could be useful to inform cross-national policy debate.     

Job strain, effort-reward imbalance and employee well-being: a large-scale cross-sectional study

This study investigated the effects of the Job Demand-Control (JD-C) Model and the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) Model on employee well-being. A cross-sectional survey was conducted comprising a large representative sample of 11,636 employed Dutch men and women. Logistic regression analyses were used. Controlling for job sector, demographic characteristics (including educational level) and managerial position, employees reporting high job demands (i.e. psychological and physical demands) and low job control had elevated risks of emotional exhaustion, psychosomatic and physical health complaints and job dissatisfaction (odds ratios ranged from 2.89 to 10.94). Odds ratios were generally higher in employees reporting both high (psychological and physical) efforts and low rewards (i.e. poor salary, job insecurity and low work support): they ranged from 3.23 to 15.43. Furthermore, overcommitted people had higher risks of poor well-being due to a high effort-low reward mismatch (ORs: 3.57-20.81) than their less committed counterparts (ORs: 3.01-12.71). Finally, high efforts and low occupational rewards were stronger predictors of poor well-being than low job control when both job stress models were simultaneously adjusted. In conclusion, our findings show independent cumulative effects of both the JD-C Model and the ERI Model on employee well-being and are not significantly different in men and women as well as in young and old people. In particular, high (psychological and physical) efforts and low rewards adversely affected employee well-being. Preliminary findings also indicate excess risks of poor well-being in overcommitted persons suffering from high cost--low gain conditions at work.     

Effect of change in the psychosocial work environment on sickness absence: a seven year follow up of initially healthy employees

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of changes in psychosocial work environment on subsequent sickness absence. DESIGN: Analysis of questionnaire and sickness absence data collected in three time periods: 1990-1991, before the recession; 1993, worst slump during the recession; and 1993-1997, a period after changes. SETTING: Raisio, a town in south western Finland, during and after a period of economic decline. PARTICIPANTS: 530 municipal employees (138 men, 392 women) working during 1990-1997 who had no medically certified sick leaves in 1991. Mean length of follow up was 6.7 years. MAIN RESULTS: After adjustment for the pre-recession levels, the changes in the job characteristics of the workers during the recession predicted their subsequent sick leaves. Lowered job control caused a 1.30 (95% CI = 1.19, 1.41) times higher risk of sick leave than an increase in job control. The corresponding figures in relation to decreased social support and increased job demands were 1.30 (95% CI = 1.20, 1.41) and 1.10 (95% CI = 1.03, 1.17), respectively. In some cases there was an interaction with socioeconomic status, changes in the job characteristics being stronger predictors of sick leaves for employees with a high income than for the others. The highest risks of sick leave (ranging from 1.40 to 1.90) were associated with combined effects related to poor levels of and negative changes in job control, job demands and social support. CONCLUSION: Negative changes in psychosocial work environment have adverse effects on the health of employees. Those working in an unfavourable psychosocial environment before changes are at greatest risk.     

Effect of economic recession on psychosocial working conditions by workers' nationality

Background: Several publications have documented the effects of economic recessions on health. However, little is known about how economic recessions influence working conditions, especially among vulnerable workers.

Objective: To explore the effects of 2008 economic crisis on the prevalence of adverse psychosocial working conditions among Spanish and foreign national workers.

Methods: Data come from the 2007 and 2011 Spanish Working Conditions Surveys. Survey year, sociodemographic, and occupational information were independent variables and psychosocial factors exposures were dependent variables. Analyses were stratified by nationality (Spanish versus foreign). Prevalence and adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) of psychological job demands, job control, job social support, physical demands and perceived job insecurity were estimated using Poisson regression.

Results: The Spanish population had higher risk of psychological and physical job demand (aPR =?1.07, 95% CI?=?[1.04–1.10] and aPR?=?1.05, 95% CI?=?[1.01–1.09], respectively) in 2011 compared to 2007. Among both Spanish and foreign national workers, greater aPR were found for job loss in 2011 compared to 2007 (aPR?=?2.47, 95% CI?=?[2.34–2.60]; aPR?=?2.44, 95% CI?=?[2.15–2.77], respectively).

Conclusion: The 2008 economic crisis was associated with a significant increase in physical demands in Spanish workers and increased job insecurity for both Spanish and foreign workers.     

Sex inequalities in physical and mental functioning of British, Finnish, and Japanese civil servants: role of job demand, control and work hours

In general, women report more physical and mental symptoms than men. International comparisons of countries with different welfare state regimes may provide further understanding of the social determinants of sex inequalities in health. This study aims to evaluate (1) whether there are sex inequalities in health functioning as measured by the Short Form 36 (SF-36), and (2) whether work characteristics contribute to the sex inequalities in health among employees from Britain, Finland, and Japan, representing liberal, social democratic, and conservative welfare state regimes, respectively. The participants were 7340 (5122 men and 2218 women) British employees, 2297 (1638 men and 659 women) Japanese employees, and 8164 (1649 men and 6515 women) Finnish employees. All the participants were civil servants aged 40-60 years. We found that more women than men tended to have disadvantaged work characteristics (i.e. low employment grade, low job control, high job demands, and long work hours) but such sex differences were relatively smaller among employees from Finland, where more gender equal policies exist than Britain and Japan. The age-adjusted odds ratio (OR) of women for poor physical functioning was the largest for British women (OR = 2.08), followed by for Japanese women (OR = 1.72), and then for Finnish women (OR = 1.51). The age-adjusted OR of women for poor mental functioning was the largest for Japanese women (OR = 1.91), followed by for British women (OR = 1.45), and then for Finnish women (OR = 1.07). Thus, sex differences in physical and mental health was the smallest in the Finnish population. The larger the sex differences in work characteristics, the larger the sex differences in health and the reduction in the sex differences in health after adjustment for work characteristics. These results suggest that egalitarian and gender equal policies may contribute to smaller sex differences in health, through smaller differences in disadvantaged work characteristics between men and women.     

Shift schedules,work factors,and mental health among onshore and offshore workers in the Norwegian petroleum industry

The purpose of the present study was to answer the following research questions: (1) Do workers in different shift schedules differ in mental distress? (2) Do workers in different shift schedules differ in neuroticism? (3) Do shift schedules differ in psychosocial work exposures? (4) Do psychosocial work exposures contribute to mental distress among onshore- and offshore workers? (5) Does neuroticism confound the association between work exposures and mental distress? Workers on six shift-schedules answered a questionnaire (1,471 of 2,628 employees). Psychological and social work factors were measured by QPS_Nordic, mental distress was measured by HADS and neuroticism was measured by EPQ. The results showed 1) No differences in mental distress between workers in different shift schedules, 2) Revolving-shift workers reported higher neuroticism compared to day workers, 3) Swing-shift workers and revolving-shift workers reported lower job control compared to permanent-night and -day workers, 4) Job demands and role conflict were associated with more mental distress. Job control, role clarity, support, and leadership were associated with lower mental distress, 5) Neuroticism influenced the relationship between psychosocial work factors and mental distress. The present study did not find differences in mental distress between shift schedules. Job characteristics may be contributing factors when determining health effects of shift work.     

The relationship between nonstandard working and mental health in a representative sample of the South Korean population

In light of escalating job insecurity due to increasing numbers of nonstandard workers, this study examined the association between nonstandard employment and mental health among South Korean workers. We analyzed a representative weighted sample of 2086 men and 1194 women aged 20-64 years, using data from the 1998 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Nonstandard employment included part-time work, temporary work, and daily work. Mental health was measured with indicators of self-reported depression and suicidal ideation. Based on age-adjusted prevalence of mental health, nonstandard employees were more likely to be mentally ill compared to standard employees. Furthermore, nonstandard work status was associated with poor mental health after adjusting for socioeconomic position (education, occupational class, and income) and health behaviors (smoking, alcohol consumption, and exercise). However, the pattern of the relationship between nonstandard work and mental health differed by gender. Female gender was significantly associated with poor mental health. Although males tended to report more suicidal ideation, this difference was not statistically significant. Considering the increasing prevalence of nonstandard working conditions in South Korea, the results call for more longitudinal research on the mental health effects of nonstandard work.     

Socioeconomic status, working conditions and self-rated health in Switzerland: explaining the gradient in men and women

Objectives:  Epidemiological research has confirmed the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and health, but only a few studies considered working conditions in this relationship. This study examined the contribution of physical and psychosocial working conditions in explaining the social gradient in self-rated health. Methods:  A representative sample of 10 101 employees, 5003 women and 5098 men, from the Swiss national health survey 2002 was used. SES was assessed according to the EGP-scheme. Working conditions included exposure to physical disturbances, physical strain, job insecurity, monotonous work and handling simultaneous tasks. For data analysis logistic regression analyses were performed. Results:  Data show a social gradient for self-rated health (SRH) as well as for physical and psychosocial working conditions. Logistic regression analysis controlling for age, gender and level of employment showed both physical and psychosocial working conditions to be significant predictors of SRH. Physical and psychosocial working conditions such as physical disturbances from work environment, physical strains in doing the job, monotony at work, job insecurity etc. could explain most of the social gradient of SRH in men and women. Conclusion:  The study confirmed the relevance of modifiable physical and psychosocial working conditions for reducing social inequality in health. Gender differences need to be considered in epidemiological and intervention studies. Submitted: 24 August 2007; revised: 06 May 2008, 11 August 2008; accepted: 19 October 2008     

Job control,job demands,or social class? The impact of working conditions on the relation between social class and health

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to investigate (1) how much of the association between health and social class is accounted by psychosocial working conditions, and (2) whether health is related to working conditions after controlling for social class. METHODS: The data derive from the surveys of the Helsinki health study, collected in 2000, 2001, and 2002 from 40-60 year old employees working for the City of Helsinki (n=8970, response rate 67%). The study measured occupation based social class and Karasek's demand-control model. The health outcomes were self rated health as less than good and limiting longstanding illness. Age adjusted prevalence percentages and fitted logistic regression models were calculated. RESULTS: The individual effects of social class and psychosocial working conditions on self rated health and limiting longstanding illness were strong among both men and women. The relation between social class and both health outcomes considerably attenuated when job control was controlled for, but was reinforced when controlling for job demands. Controlling for both job control and job demands attenuated the relation between social class and self rated health and limiting longstanding illness among women, however, was reinforced among men. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial part of the relation between social class and health could be attributed to job control, however, job demands reinforced the relation. Although the effect of social class is mediated by psychosocial working conditions, both social class and working conditions were related to health after mutual adjustments.     

职业应激与抑郁症状关系的性别差异

目的 探讨职业应激与抑郁症状关系的性别差异.方法 采用横断面研究设计和问卷调查方法对13家企业5338名工人进行调查,采用抑郁自评问卷调查抑郁症状,采用工作内容问卷和付出-回报失衡模式问卷调查职业应激.结果 调查对象抑郁症状检出率为31.8％,其中男性抑郁症状检出率为33.8％,女性抑郁症状检出率为27.7％,差异有统计学意义(x2=19.62,P＜0.01).男性工作心理需求、躯体需求、工作控制、付出、内在投入、负性情感评分高于女性,社会支持、回报、工作满意感评分低于女性,差异均有统计学意义(P＜0.01,P＜0.05).有抑郁症状者的工作心理需求、躯体需求、付出、内在投入、负性情感评分均高于无抑郁症状者,工作控制、社会支持、回报、工作满意感、正性情感评分低于无抑郁症状者,差异均有统计学意义(P＜0.01).男性抑郁症状者的工作心理需求、躯体需求、工作控制、内在投入、负性情感评分高于女性抑郁症状者,社会支持、回报、工作满意感评分低于女性抑郁症状者,差异均有统计学意义(P＜0.01).男性以及男性抑郁症状者的工作紧张和付出-回报失衡指数＞1者、高需求低控制和高付出低回报者的比例大于女性以及女性抑郁症状者.在心理需求和躯体需求方面,女性高需求低控制者发生抑郁症状的风险是低需求高控制者的2倍,略高于男性(OR值分别为2.04和2.17).男女高付出低回报者发生抑郁症状的风险是低付出高回报者的2.70倍.性别与工作紧张以及付出-回报失衡与抑郁症状无交互作用.结论 男女抑郁症状检出率以及与职业应激关系的差异可能是因为男女经历的工作中社会心理因素的差异造成的,工作中社会心理因素与性别对抑郁症状可能无交互作用.     

Social class and self-reported health status among men and women: what is the role of work organisation, household material standards and household labour?

Social class understood as social relations of ownership and control over productive assets taps into parts of the social variation in health that are not captured by conventional measures of social stratification. The objectives of this study are to analyse the association between self-reported health status and social class and to examine the role of work organisation, material standards and household labour as potential mediating factors in explaining this association. We used the Barcelona Health Interview Survey, a cross-sectional survey of 10,000 residents of the city's non-institutionalised population in 2000. This was a stratified sample, strata being the 10 districts of the city. The present study was conducted on the working population, aged 16-64 years (2345 men and 1874 women). Social class position was measured with Erik Olin Wright's indicators according to ownership and control over productive assets. The dependent variable was self-reported health status. The independent variables were social class, age, psychosocial and physical working conditions, job insecurity, type of labour contract, number of hours worked per week, possession of appliances at home, as well as household labour (number of hours per week, doing the housework alone and having children, elderly or disabled at home). Several hierarchical logistic regression models were performed by adding different blocks of independent variables. Among men the prevalence of poor reported health was higher among small employers and petit bourgeois, supervisors, semi-skilled (adjusted odds ratio-aOR: 4.92; 95% CI: 1.88-12.88) and unskilled workers (aOR: 7.69; 95%CI: 3.01-19.64). Work organisation and household material standards were associated with poor health status with the exception of number of hours worked per week. Work organisation variables were the main explanatory variables of social class inequalities in health, although material standards also contributed. Among women, only unskilled workers had poorer health status than the referent category of manager and skilled supervisors (aOR: 3.25; 95%CI: 1.37-7.74). All indicators of work organisation and household material standards reached statistical significance, excepting the number of hours worked per week. In contrast to men, among women the number of hours per week of household labour was associated with poor health status (aOR: 1.02; 95% CI: 1.01-1.03). Showing a different pattern from men in the full model, household material deprivation and hours of household labour per week were associated with poor health status among women. Our findings suggest that among men, part of the association between social class positions and poor health can be accounted for psychosocial and physical working conditions and job insecurity. Among women, the association between the worker (non-owner, non-managerial, and un-credentiated) class positions and health is substantially explained by working conditions, material well being at home and amount of household labour.     

Psychosocial work characteristics and incidence of newly diagnosed depression: a prospective cohort study of three different models

This study explored the association between psychosocial work characteristics and incidence of depression as indicated in three complementary models (the Job Strain Model, the Team Climate Model, and the Procedural Justice Model). Participants were 4815 Finnish hospital personnel (4278 women and 537 men) free from diagnosed depression at entry into the study. A baseline survey in 1998 measured psychosocial work characteristics, health-related behaviours, psychological distress, and doctor-diagnosed depression. The factor analysis of pooled questionnaire items on psychosocial work characteristics supported a five-factor solution with the following distinct dimensions: team climate, relational justice, procedural justice, job control, and job demands. Items in these dimensions were used as scales and job strain was modelled as a combination of job demands and job control. A follow-up survey in 2000 identified 225 incident cases of depression. After adjustment for age, sex and income, poor team climate, low procedural justice, and low relational justice were associated with a higher risk of new depression, the odds ratios (ORs) 1.58 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11-2.24), 1.45 (95% CI 1.03-2.04), and 1.39 (95% CI 1.00-1.96), respectively. After additional adjustment for lifestyle factors and exclusion of those with psychological distress at baseline, there was still an association between poor team climate and risk of depression (ORs 1.55 and 1.75, respectively). Job control, work demands, and job strain did not predict the 2-year incidence of depression, and the effects of all psychosocial work characteristics were attenuated when entered simultaneously in the model. In conclusion, work unit social factors seem to be predictive of subsequent doctor-diagnosed depression, but other aspects of psychosocial work environment may also be important.     

Self-reported job insecurity and health in the Whitehall II study: potential explanations of the relationship

This paper examines the potential of demographic, personal, material and behavioural characteristics, other psychosocial features of the work environment and job satisfaction to explain associations between self-reported job insecurity and health in a longitudinal study of British white-collar civil servants. Strong associations were found between self-reported job insecurity and both poor self-rated health and minor psychiatric morbidity. After adjustment for age, employment grade and health during a prior phase of secure employment, pessimism, heightened vigilance, primary deprivation, financial security, social support and job satisfaction explained 68% of the association between job insecurity and self-rated health in women, and 36% in men. With the addition of job control, these factors explained 60% of the association between job insecurity and minor psychiatric morbidity, and just over 80% of the association with depression in both sexes.