Perceived risk from occupational stress: a survey of 15 European countries

The management of the new and emerging musculoskeletal and psychosocial risks by EU-28 enterprises

INTRODUCTION

Although the strategic framework of the European Union in the field of Health and Safety at Work 2014-2020 considers as one of its main challenges to improve the prevention of diseases related to NERs (New and Emerging Risks) (European Commission, 2014) there are still not many studies in the literature related to them.

METHOD

An exploratory study was carried out in order to get a picture of the NERs management in the UE-28 countries. The sample was extracted from the ESENER-2 datasets. ESENER-1 was carried out in 2009 and ESENER- 2 in 2014. This survey explores managers' and workers representatives' opinions on health and safety management. It surveyed over 49,000 enterprises in 36 countries.

RESULTS

The results obtained confirm that there are significant differences between the EU-28 countries in terms of the identification and the management of NERs. Conclusions NERs are becoming an increasingly studied phenomenon due to the changes that are taking place in the labour market: the percentage of temporary workers is increasing, the demands to the workers due to the globalization of the market are more complex and all this with an aging working force. Pratical A pplications It would be necessary to rethink the management of OHS, so that managers are aware that the combination of musculoskeletal and psychosocial risks should have a global approach in order to reduce accident and disability rates.

Understanding the mental health of doctoral researchers: a mixed methods systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-synthesis

BACKGROUND

Data from studies with undergraduate and postgraduate taught students suggest that they are at an increased risk of having mental health problems, compared to the general population. By contrast, the literature on doctoral researchers (DRs) is far more disparate and unclear. There is a need to bring together current findings and identify what questions still need to be answered.

METHODS

We conducted a mixed methods systematic review to summarise the research on doctoral researchers' (DRs) mental health. Our search revealed 52 articles that were included in this review.

RESULTS

The results of our meta-analysis found that DRs reported significantly higher stress levels compared with population norm data. Using meta-analyses and meta-synthesis techniques, we found the risk factors with the strongest evidence base were isolation and identifying as female. Social support, viewing the PhD as a process, a positive student-supervisor relationship and engaging in self-care were the most well-established protective factors.

CONCLUSIONS

We have identified a critical need for researchers to better coordinate data collection to aid future reviews and allow for clinically meaningful conclusions to be drawn.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO registration CRD42018092867.

Quantification of risk perception: Development and validation of the construction worker risk perception (CoWoRP) scale

INTRODUCTION

The construction sector is leading in the number of accidents and fatalities; risk perception is the key to driving these numbers. Previous construction safety studies on risk perception quantification have not considered affective risk perception of construction workers or conducted comprehensive reliability and validity testing. Thus, this study aims to fill this need by developing a psychometrically sound instrument - the Construction Worker Risk Perception (CoWoRP) Scale - to assess the risk perception of construction workers.

METHOD

Four phases of scale development, namely, item development, factor analysis, reliability assessment, and validity assessment were conducted with the collection and testing of data from a group (n = 469) of voluntary construction workers in Hong Kong.

RESULTS

The CoWoRP Scale with 13 items was shown to have acceptable test-retest reliability, internal consistency reliability, as well as content, convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity. Also, the CoWoRP Scale was affirmed to have three dimensions of worker risk perception, namely risk perception - probability, risk perception - severity, risk perception - worry and unsafe. These three dimensions of worker risk perception were negatively correlated with their risk-taking behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

The CoWoRP Scale is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring the risk perception of construction workers and is expected to facilitate the construction safety studies that take risk perception of construction workers into account. Practical applications: The CoWoRP Scale could serve as an aptitude test to identify the characteristics of construction workers most likely to perceive lower risk in risky work situations. In turn, this information could help safety management provide safety training programs to those workers to enhance their risk perception and thereby minimizing their risk-taking behavior, reducing unnecessary training costs, and improving the construction safety performance.

[Workplace stress and its impact on the 16-year risk of myocardial infarction and stroke in an open female population aged 25-64 years in Russia/Siberia (WHO MONICA-psychosocial program)]

AIM

To determine the impact of workplace stress on the hazard ratio (HR) of myocardial infarction (M) and stroke in an open female population aged 25-64 years in Russia/Siberia (Novosibirsk) for 16 years.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

A random representative sample of 25-64-year-old women (n=870) residing in a Novosibirsk district was surveyed within the framework of the WHO <<MONICA-psychological>> program. Workplace stress was investigated using the Karasek scale; an attitude towards work and health prophylactic examinations was studied applying the Health Awareness and Attitude questionnaire of the WHO <<MONICA-psychological>> program. For 16 years (1994 to 2010), a cohort of all new cases of MI and stroke was examined employing the WHO <<Acute MI Registry>> program and all possible medical records. The Cox regression model was used to determine HR for MI and stroke in the open female population aged 25-64 years for 16 years.

RESULTS

The prevalence of high-level stress in the open female population aged 25-64 years was 31.6%. The high level of job stress was associated with a high responsibility, impossibility to have a rest at the end of a working day, frequent professional dissatisfaction, and a reduced work capacity. During 16 years, the women having high-level job stress showed a 3.22- and 1.96-fold increases in the HR of MI (p<0.05) and stroke (p<0.05), respectively. The incidence of MI and stroke was higher in married women expressing job stress as managers or manual laborers and having high and low educational attainment.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of high-level workplace stress was substantial in the open population of 25-64-year-old women in Russia/Siberia (Novosibirsk). The stress-related HR of Ml and stroke was 3-2 times higher than in those without high-level stress. The HR of MI and stroke is affected by a social gradient.

Work-Related Stress, Burnout, Compassion, and Work Satisfaction of Professional Workers in Vocational Rehabilitation

This article presents a study of stress and stress-related issues—more specifically, those of burnout, work compassion, and job satisfaction in the population of professionals working in vocational rehabilitation in Republic of Slovenia. Our findings revealed that, on average, the professional workers experience stress as medium high. Further analyses between various subgroups of the population of professional workers revealed that fixed-term workers are under significantly more stress than permanent ones. Stress factors included high work demands, time pressure, and too many administrative tasks. Participants reported making decisions, especially making risky decisions, and the feeling of being undervalued as being the main causes of frustration at work. Main sources of stress stem from the organization of work (legislation, rules, and other institutions). The population of professional workers was also highly exposed to compassion fatigue, which was a risk factor for burnout. These findings raise questions about assertiveness and call for a systemic approach. Based on these results, those proposed activities target developing skills for effective coping with stress, both on the individual and system levels.

[Burnout and the quality of life of workers in food industry--a pilot study in Serbia]

BACKGROUND/AIM

Burnout syndrome as a consequence of a long stress at workplace can seriously disturb health and quality of life in exposed workers. It is necessary to have adequate burnout prevention and its detection. Worldwide much attention is paid to protect burnout and methods for its determination constantly improve. In Serbia there has not been a study of that kind yet. The aim of the study was to investigate burnout syndrome impact on the quality of life of workers in food industry in Nis, and to call attention of researchers in Serbia on this phenomenon, as well as to test probability of applying the original, standardized questionnaires (CBI, ComQolA5) to working population in Serbia.

METHODS

This study was performed in Nis within a period from 2008 to 2009 in the Institute for Workers Health Protection. A total of 489 workers were included in this study by the use of the standard questionnaire for burnout (CBI) and quality of life (ComQoL-A5). Scale confidence for measuring burnout and quality of life was determined by Cronbach alpha coefficient. ANOVA analysis was used for rating influence of burnout on the quality of life.

RESULTS

The values of Cronbach alpha coefficient showed a high confidence of the scale for measurement personal burnout (0.87), work-related burnout (0.86) and subjective quality of life (0.83). We detected increased scores as a result of personal burnout (60.0), as well as of work-related burnout (67.9). The workers suggested relationship with the family and friends as a very important part for their quality of life (10.8), health (9.8) and safety (8.0). Productivity (6.8), emotional well-being (6.6) and material property (4.5) had smaller influence on their quality of life. An increase in score of work-related burnout by 1 was statistically significantly related to decreasing inter scores for subjective quality of life in health (B = -0.097), relationship with family and friends (B = -0.048), safety (B = -0.061) and place in community (B = -0.105). A statistically significant relation between work-related burnout and subjective quality of life in productivity, material and emotional well-being was not determined.

CONCLUSION

There is a high score of both personal and work related burnout among manufacturing workers in food industry. A negative correlation between burnout and subjective quality of life was also proved impacting health and well-being of workers, but also their productivity. The questionnaires we used (CBI, ComQolA5) could be considered as reliable and valid instruments for testing burnout and quality of life in Serbia.

Occupational health and safety policy and psychosocial risks in Europe: the role of stakeholders' perceptions

INTRODUCTION

Psychosocial risks are now largely acknowledged throughout Europe as important challenges in occupational health and safety. However, there appear to be wide gaps in perception between experts and the general population on the nature and the relevance of psychosocial risks that have a potential impact on policy development and implementation in this area.

METHODS

This study investigated the level of knowledge among European stakeholders, of legislation on occupational safety and health, focusing particularly on psychosocial risk factors. 75 members of employers' associations, trade unions and government institutions from 21 countries in the European Union (EU) participated in the study. In addition, to further elaborate the findings of the survey, focus groups were organised during a 2-day stakeholder workshop.

RESULTS

The level of application of European Directive 89/391 for the assessment and management of psychosocial risks and work-related stress was largely reported by the stakeholders as inadequate. This opinion was more marked in the new EU27 countries than the older EU15, and the difference was significant as regards the impact of the Directive on the assessment and management of psychosocial risks. Overall, psychosocial risks and work-related stress were reported to be important occupational health and safety concerns; however there were important differences among stakeholders in different countries.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the development of knowledge and activities on both the policy and practice levels in recent years, further work is still needed to harmonize stakeholder perceptions in this area in the various EU member states.

Perceived occupational stress, affective, and physical well-being among telecommunication employees in Greece

The present study examined four potential roles of work-related negative affectivity on the associations between self-reported occupational stress and physical well-being among telecommunication employees in Greece. Participants (764, predominantly male) completed a battery of self-report measures on perceived occupational stress, negative affectivity, and illness symptoms. In line with previous research, negative affectivity exerted a nuisance effect, by inflating the association between reported stressors and illness symptoms, and significantly predicted illness symptoms, over and above the effects of stressors. In addition, negative affectivity influenced reported illness symptom indirectly, through the effects of stressors, and moderated the relationship between interpersonal conflict at work and illness symptoms. The findings suggest that negative affectivity can largely explain and influence in different ways the associations between self-reported stress and physical strain. It is recommended that future studies of occupational stress should control for the effects of negative affectivity, and that health professionals should be cautious of its effects when interpreting relationships between self-reported occupational stress and physical well-being.

Long-term associations of stress and chronic diseases in ageing and retired employees

Long-term associations of prolonged stress symptoms and work-related stressors with chronic diseases were assessed in a sample of ageing and retired food industry workers (N = 100, mean age 62 years) using independent samples t-test, chi-squared test and binary logistic regression analyses. Data was gathered at health checkups and using self-report questionnaires in 1989 and 2000. Prolonged stress symptoms were associated with overall morbidity. Higher scores of stress symptoms predicted musculoskeletal disorders, diseases of the nervous system, eye and ear, endocrine and metabolic diseases, and mental disorders. Of work-related stressors, only job dissatisfaction had a long-term association with endocrine and metabolic diseases. Importantly, prolonged stress symptoms could not be explained by job strain and demands. Identification of prolonged stress symptoms along with traditional and potential risk factors, and combining this knowledge with stress reduction and management is essential for disease prevention and in postponing subsequent onset of disease.