Changes in the content and organisation of work in recent decades have resulted in an intensifica... more Changes in the content and organisation of work in recent decades have resulted in an intensification of work, which is commonly regarded as a cause of stress. This report presents trends in the risks and consequences of work-related stress, and identifies how these can be prevented. The focus iswithin the European Working Conditions Observatory (EWCO) network of seven European countries in its initial phase: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. In many countries, there has been a combination of increasing and stabilising job demands, together with decreasing job autonomy. This would have resulted in an increasingly stressful situation within countries. High and increasing quantitative demands, combined with low or decreasing control over work pace, increase stress-related outcomes. Risk groups for work-related stress were mainly identified at sectoral level. Sectors in which relatively many women are occupied appeared to be risk groups, i.e. health ...
Health care workers are exposed to psychosocial work factors. Autonomy and social support are psy... more Health care workers are exposed to psychosocial work factors. Autonomy and social support are psychosocial work factors that are related to stress, and are argued to largely result from the psychosocial safety climate within organisations. This study aimed to assess to what extent the relation between psychosocial safety climate and stress in health care workers can be explained by autonomy and social support. In a cross-sectional study, psychosocial safety climate, stress, autonomy, co-worker support, and supervisor support were assessed using questionnaires, in a sample of health care workers (N = 277). Linear mixed models analyses were performed to assess to what extent social support and autonomy explained the relation between psychosocial safety climate and stress. A lower psychosocial safety climate score was associated with significantly higher stress (B = -0.21, 95% CI = -0.27 - -0.14). Neither co-worker support, supervisor support, nor autonomy explained the relation betwee...
European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2015
DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of t... more DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers. Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal. If the publication is distributed under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the "Taverne" license above, please follow below link for the End User Agreement:
To evaluate psychometric properties the Chinese (mainland) version of the 30-item Job Content Que... more To evaluate psychometric properties the Chinese (mainland) version of the 30-item Job Content Questionnaire was administered to 889 employees in 4 industries of PetroChina. A retest at 3 months with 296 randomly chosen employees showed reliabilities ranged from .76 to .93. Cronbach coefficients alpha for the 8 dimensions ranged from .43 to .88, indicating that the Job Insecurity subscale had low internal consistency. Exploratory factor analysis showed 8 meaningful factors corresponding to the 8 theoretical dimensions of this questionnaire. This version has variable a but suitable retest to be a reliable and valid measure of job strain, applicable to the Chinese industrial working population of PetroChina.
Objectives-Due to recent changes in legislation on occupational health and safety, a national mon... more Objectives-Due to recent changes in legislation on occupational health and safety, a national monitor on stress and physical load was developed in The Netherlands to monitor (a) risks and consequences of stress and physical load at work, (b) preventive actions in companies to reduce these risks, and (c) organisational and environmental variables that facilitate preventive actions. Methods-Information was gathered from employers, employees, and employees' representatives. The monitor was used with a nationally representative sample of companies in industry, wholesale trade, and banking and finance, 782 companies in total. Results and conclusions-The information from the employees, aggregated at the company level, was not found to be correlated with that from the employer from the same companies. Although many employers do recognise risk factors for both physical load and stress as a problem they often seem to underestimate the problem when compared with employees or their representatives. This is particularly the case for psychosocial risk factors. Also, the perception of outcome measures, especially employers who consider emotional exhaustion to be work related, were fewer than the employees' representatives of the same organisation. Preventive measures on physical load are much more popular than measures against stress. It is the responsibility of the employer to take more preventive action of all kinds. They need to recognise risk factors as problems and health outcomes to be related to work. Employees of larger companies should participate with employers to consider eVective measures, and more use should be made of support at branch level. For specific preventive measures, specific predictors emerged. Except for measures to prevent work stress, information from employees did not suYciently contribute to the initiation of preventive measures in the workplace.
27 Chapter 2. Depression and other mental disorders, sickness absenteeism and work disability pen... more 27 Chapter 2. Depression and other mental disorders, sickness absenteeism and work disability pensions in Finland Jorma Järvisalo, Raimo Raitasalo, Jouko K. Salminen, Timo Klaukka, Elina Kinnunen 2.1 Introduction This article describes the trend towards a growing role of ...
Dit artikel beschrijft de arbeidsomstandigheden van werknemers in Nederland vergeleken met die in... more Dit artikel beschrijft de arbeidsomstandigheden van werknemers in Nederland vergeleken met die in Europa (EU-15), en de veranderingen die zich hierin de afgelopen twintig jaren hebben voorgedaan. Het artikel maakt gebruik van twee grootschalige periodieke vragenlijstonderzoeken: de 'European Working Conditions Survey' (EWCS) en de Nationale Enquête Arbeidsomstandigheden (NEA). We zien dat Nederlandse werknemers betere arbeidsomstandigheden rapporteren dan de werknemers in Europa (de EU-15), met uitzondering van agressie en geweld door derden. Dit laatste wordt vooral veroorzaakt door de relatief grote groep werknemers in de dienstverlening in Nederland, die bovendien meer agressie en geweld rapporteert dan werknemers uit deze sector in de EU-15. Trendanalyses laten weinig tekenen zien van intensivering van werk sinds 2005 noch in Nederland, noch in de EU-15. De autonomie in het werk van Nederlandse werknemers is gedaald, maar Nederlandse werknemers onderscheiden zich hierin ...
Work pressure in Europe: extent, trends and explanations Work pressure in Europe: extent, trends ... more Work pressure in Europe: extent, trends and explanations Work pressure in Europe: extent, trends and explanations In order to (1) describe the extent of, and developments in high work pace within Europe, (2) position the Netherlands on work pace, and (3) identify causes of work pace in Europe, data from the European Working Conditions Survey are analysed that contain information on work and health from a representative sample of workers in EU member states in 1990, 1995 and 2000. The sample was about 1000-1500 workers per member state each year. About 60% works at a high pace for at least 50% of their working time (in 2000: EU = 59%, NL= 68%). This was much higher than in the early 90's. High work pace was explained by high physical job demands, job complexity and working with the computer. High work pace in men is explained by long working hours and tele-working as well, which is non-significant for women. High work pace in low income jobs is determined by high physical load, m...
Trends in the quality of work in the Netherlands and Europe Trends in the quality of work in the ... more Trends in the quality of work in the Netherlands and Europe Trends in the quality of work in the Netherlands and Europe This paper presents trends in the quality of work in the Netherlands, and compared these with Europe. Globalisation, technological innovation and a labour market shift towards the service sectors are hypothesized to be main drivers of these trends. An increase of work intensification, an expected trait of globalisation, is seen in Europe but not in the Netherlands (anymore). The Netherlands was leading in work pressure up till 2000 but rates average on this since then. In addition, there has been an increase in temporary contracts since the nineties, and a recent decrease in job security in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, possibly as an effect of the increase of the service sectors, physical and environmental risks at work, the number of working hours and shift work remained the same or slightly decreased. Social support by supervisors and co-workers is high a...
Tijdschrift Voor Arbeidsvraagstukken 1 20 90 106, 2004
Oorzaken van werkdruk: een onderbelicht thema Er is veel onderzoek gedaan naar de effecten van we... more Oorzaken van werkdruk: een onderbelicht thema Er is veel onderzoek gedaan naar de effecten van werkdruk in termen van stress, burnout en ziekteverzuim, maar weinig naar de oorzaken en de risicogroepen in beroep of bedrijf. Op basis van veronderstellingen in arbo-en HRM-tijdschriften hebben we getracht acht hypothesen op te stellen inzake mogelijke veroorzakers van werkdruk. De relatie van deze acht factoren^geoperationaliseerd met 17 variabelen^met werkdruk hebben we getoetst met een grote representatieve dataset, met circa 3100-3500 werknemers, verzameld met de TNO Arbeidssituatie Survey in oktober 2000. Multivariate analyses toonden aan dat de belangrijkste werkdrukvoorspellers waren: complex, onvoorspelbaar, zwaar en repeterend, emotioneel en beeldschermwerk, alsmede leidinggevend werk. Ongeacht hun werksituatie, rapporteerden vrouwen meer werkdruk dan mannen. Tevens ging het hebben van kinderen en gehuwd of samenwonend zijn significant samen met het rapporteren van meer werkdruk. Bij de beroepsgroepen scoorden docenten van basis, voortgezet en hoger onderwijs, artsen, verpleegkundigen & ziekenverzorgenden, verzekeringsagenten & makelaars, boekhouders & kassiers, en leidinggevenden hoog op werkdruk. Bij docenten, geneeskundigen en verpleegkundigen speelde naast de complexiteit en onvoorspelbaarheid van het werk, met name de emotionele veeleisendheid van het beroep een sterke rol. Bij leidinggevende functies, verzekeringsagenten & makelaars speelde nog een andere factor een rol, namelijk het relatief vele computer-of beeldschermwerk. Ten slotte was een derde factor er vooral debet aan dat de werkdruk relatief hoog is bij metselaars, timmerlieden, schilders en van agrarische beroepen. Daar was namelijk zwaar en relatief repeterend werk de hoofdfactor. Aan het slot van het artikel worden de vernieuwende implicaties van onze resultaten bediscussieerd, mede in het licht van de arbeid-& zorgproblematiek. Trefwoorden: werkdruk, oorzaken, risicogroepen Inleiding en probleemstelling Werkdruk is in de kranten en in de min of meer populaire HRM-, Arbo-en OR-bladen een vaak terugkerend onderwerp. Onderstaande krantenkoppen van de laatste paar jaar getuigen daarvan. Werkdruk is nergens zo hoog als in Nederland,
Dit trendrapport is door TNO Arbeid geschreven in het kader van het TNOdoelfinancieringsprogramma... more Dit trendrapport is door TNO Arbeid geschreven in het kader van het TNOdoelfinancieringsprogramma 'Arbeid' dat wordt uitgevoerd in samenwerking met het ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid. Het is totstandgekomen mede dankzij waardevol commentaar van medewerkers van het ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid. Uiteraard zijn de auteurs volledig verantwoordelijk voor de inhoud van de hoofdstukken in dit trendrapport.
Psychosocial stress at work has been proposed to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. How... more Psychosocial stress at work has been proposed to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, its role as a risk factor for stroke is uncertain. We conducted an individual-participant-data meta-analysis of 196 380 males and females from 14 European cohort studies to investigate the association between job strain, a measure of work-related stress, and incident stroke. In 1.8 million person-years at risk (mean follow-up 9.2 years), 2023 first-time stroke events were recorded. The age- and sex-adjusted hazard ratio for job strain relative to no job strain was 1.24 (95% confidence interval, 1.05;1.47) for ischemic stroke, 1.01 (95% confidence interval, 0.75;1.36) for hemorrhagic stroke, and 1.09 (95% confidence interval, 0.94;1.26) for overall stroke. The association with ischemic stroke was robust to further adjustment for socioeconomic status. Job strain may be associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke, but further research is needed to determine whether interventi...
Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 2005
Objectives The number of longitudinal studies reporting evidence for reversed effects of strain o... more Objectives The number of longitudinal studies reporting evidence for reversed effects of strain on work is growing, but evidence regarding the mechanisms underlying such effects is scarce. In this study, earlier longitudinal findings were reviewed, and the following four mechanisms for reversed effects were proposed that reflect within-person or environmental changes: (i) the rosy perception mechanism, (ii) the gloomy perception mechanism, (iii) the upward selection mechanism, and (iv) the drift mechanism. Methods These mechanisms were tested using structural equation modeling and longitudinal data from a Dutch four-phase study (N=1588 participants). Results The results revealed that work characteristics and mental health influenced each other reciprocally and longitudinally. The reversed effects were examined in more detail, and it was found that these could be accounted for by both within-person and environmental change mechanisms. The rosy perception mechanism was found to explain the positive effects from health on job demands; the upward selection mechanism explained the positive (environmental) effects from health on job control; the gloomy perception mechanism explained the reversed (evaluation) effects from health on supervisory social support. No support was found for the drift mechanism. Conclusions Mechanisms that may explain reversed causation are yet poorly understood. The main contribution of the present study lies in the fact that it proposes (i) a conceptual framework with which to analyze the effects of health on work characteristics and (ii) methods for testing these mechanisms. The study revealed that there is good reason to pursue research on reversed causality.
Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 2004
Objective This study examined the effects of exposure to job strain on independent predictors of ... more Objective This study examined the effects of exposure to job strain on independent predictors of cardiovascular disease (ambulatory blood pressure, heart rate, and heart rate variability). Methods The participants comprised a homogeneous group of 159 healthy female nurses [mean age 35.9 (SD 8.5) years]. The choice of this population minimized variance attributable to gender, socioeconomic status, and work characteristics. Job demands, decision latitude, and social support were measured with the Karasek job content questionnaire, which was administered twice with an average interval of 12.2 months. The nurses' scores for job demands and decision latitude on both occasions were used to define their job-strain category. Ambulatory blood pressure, heart rate, and heart rate variability were assessed on a workday and a day of leisure. Results No effect on the ambulatory levels of blood pressure, heart rate, or heart rate variability was found for job strain by itself or in interaction with social support. In addition, job strain was not associated with differences in short-term or long-term physiological recovery during sleep after a workday or a day of leisure. High job demand was associated with higher systolic blood pressure at work and with higher diastolic blood pressure at work, but the latter association was found only when decision latitude was concurrently high, rather than low. Conclusions High job strain among young female nurses is not associated with an unfavorable ambulatory cardiovascular profile. The robust effect of job strain on male health appears to be less apparent for women.
Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 2001
Objectives This study investigated the relationship between psychosocial work characteristics and... more Objectives This study investigated the relationship between psychosocial work characteristics and low-back pain and the potential intermediate role of psychological strain variables in this relationship. Methods The research was part of a prospective cohort study of risk factors for musculoskeletal symptoms. The study population consisted of 861 workers from 34 companies in The Netherlands who had no low-back pain at baseline and for whom data on the occurrence of low-back pain were obtained with annual questionnaires during a 3-year follow-up period. Information on psychosocial work characteristics and psychological strain variables was collected using a questionnaire at baseline. Cases of low-back pain were defined as workers who reported, in at least one of the annual follow-up questionnaires, that they had had regular or prolonged low-back pain in the previous 12 months. Results After adjustment for individual factors and quantified physical load at work, nonsignificant relative risks ranging from 1.3 to 1.6 were observed for high quantitative job demands, high conflicting demands, low supervisory support, and low co-worker support. Decision authority and skill discretion showed no relationship with low-back pain. In general, the estimated relative risks for the psychosocial work characteristics were scarcely influenced by additional adjustment for job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, and sleeping difficulties. Conclusions It can be concluded that low social support, from either supervisors or co-workers, appears to be a risk factor for low-back pain. Some indications of a relationship between high quantitative job demands and high conflicting demands and low-back pain were also found. Little evidence was found for an intermediate role for the psychological strain variables under study.
Changes in the content and organisation of work in recent decades have resulted in an intensifica... more Changes in the content and organisation of work in recent decades have resulted in an intensification of work, which is commonly regarded as a cause of stress. This report presents trends in the risks and consequences of work-related stress, and identifies how these can be prevented. The focus iswithin the European Working Conditions Observatory (EWCO) network of seven European countries in its initial phase: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. In many countries, there has been a combination of increasing and stabilising job demands, together with decreasing job autonomy. This would have resulted in an increasingly stressful situation within countries. High and increasing quantitative demands, combined with low or decreasing control over work pace, increase stress-related outcomes. Risk groups for work-related stress were mainly identified at sectoral level. Sectors in which relatively many women are occupied appeared to be risk groups, i.e. health ...
Health care workers are exposed to psychosocial work factors. Autonomy and social support are psy... more Health care workers are exposed to psychosocial work factors. Autonomy and social support are psychosocial work factors that are related to stress, and are argued to largely result from the psychosocial safety climate within organisations. This study aimed to assess to what extent the relation between psychosocial safety climate and stress in health care workers can be explained by autonomy and social support. In a cross-sectional study, psychosocial safety climate, stress, autonomy, co-worker support, and supervisor support were assessed using questionnaires, in a sample of health care workers (N = 277). Linear mixed models analyses were performed to assess to what extent social support and autonomy explained the relation between psychosocial safety climate and stress. A lower psychosocial safety climate score was associated with significantly higher stress (B = -0.21, 95% CI = -0.27 - -0.14). Neither co-worker support, supervisor support, nor autonomy explained the relation betwee...
European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2015
DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of t... more DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers. Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal. If the publication is distributed under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the "Taverne" license above, please follow below link for the End User Agreement:
To evaluate psychometric properties the Chinese (mainland) version of the 30-item Job Content Que... more To evaluate psychometric properties the Chinese (mainland) version of the 30-item Job Content Questionnaire was administered to 889 employees in 4 industries of PetroChina. A retest at 3 months with 296 randomly chosen employees showed reliabilities ranged from .76 to .93. Cronbach coefficients alpha for the 8 dimensions ranged from .43 to .88, indicating that the Job Insecurity subscale had low internal consistency. Exploratory factor analysis showed 8 meaningful factors corresponding to the 8 theoretical dimensions of this questionnaire. This version has variable a but suitable retest to be a reliable and valid measure of job strain, applicable to the Chinese industrial working population of PetroChina.
Objectives-Due to recent changes in legislation on occupational health and safety, a national mon... more Objectives-Due to recent changes in legislation on occupational health and safety, a national monitor on stress and physical load was developed in The Netherlands to monitor (a) risks and consequences of stress and physical load at work, (b) preventive actions in companies to reduce these risks, and (c) organisational and environmental variables that facilitate preventive actions. Methods-Information was gathered from employers, employees, and employees' representatives. The monitor was used with a nationally representative sample of companies in industry, wholesale trade, and banking and finance, 782 companies in total. Results and conclusions-The information from the employees, aggregated at the company level, was not found to be correlated with that from the employer from the same companies. Although many employers do recognise risk factors for both physical load and stress as a problem they often seem to underestimate the problem when compared with employees or their representatives. This is particularly the case for psychosocial risk factors. Also, the perception of outcome measures, especially employers who consider emotional exhaustion to be work related, were fewer than the employees' representatives of the same organisation. Preventive measures on physical load are much more popular than measures against stress. It is the responsibility of the employer to take more preventive action of all kinds. They need to recognise risk factors as problems and health outcomes to be related to work. Employees of larger companies should participate with employers to consider eVective measures, and more use should be made of support at branch level. For specific preventive measures, specific predictors emerged. Except for measures to prevent work stress, information from employees did not suYciently contribute to the initiation of preventive measures in the workplace.
27 Chapter 2. Depression and other mental disorders, sickness absenteeism and work disability pen... more 27 Chapter 2. Depression and other mental disorders, sickness absenteeism and work disability pensions in Finland Jorma Järvisalo, Raimo Raitasalo, Jouko K. Salminen, Timo Klaukka, Elina Kinnunen 2.1 Introduction This article describes the trend towards a growing role of ...
Dit artikel beschrijft de arbeidsomstandigheden van werknemers in Nederland vergeleken met die in... more Dit artikel beschrijft de arbeidsomstandigheden van werknemers in Nederland vergeleken met die in Europa (EU-15), en de veranderingen die zich hierin de afgelopen twintig jaren hebben voorgedaan. Het artikel maakt gebruik van twee grootschalige periodieke vragenlijstonderzoeken: de 'European Working Conditions Survey' (EWCS) en de Nationale Enquête Arbeidsomstandigheden (NEA). We zien dat Nederlandse werknemers betere arbeidsomstandigheden rapporteren dan de werknemers in Europa (de EU-15), met uitzondering van agressie en geweld door derden. Dit laatste wordt vooral veroorzaakt door de relatief grote groep werknemers in de dienstverlening in Nederland, die bovendien meer agressie en geweld rapporteert dan werknemers uit deze sector in de EU-15. Trendanalyses laten weinig tekenen zien van intensivering van werk sinds 2005 noch in Nederland, noch in de EU-15. De autonomie in het werk van Nederlandse werknemers is gedaald, maar Nederlandse werknemers onderscheiden zich hierin ...
Work pressure in Europe: extent, trends and explanations Work pressure in Europe: extent, trends ... more Work pressure in Europe: extent, trends and explanations Work pressure in Europe: extent, trends and explanations In order to (1) describe the extent of, and developments in high work pace within Europe, (2) position the Netherlands on work pace, and (3) identify causes of work pace in Europe, data from the European Working Conditions Survey are analysed that contain information on work and health from a representative sample of workers in EU member states in 1990, 1995 and 2000. The sample was about 1000-1500 workers per member state each year. About 60% works at a high pace for at least 50% of their working time (in 2000: EU = 59%, NL= 68%). This was much higher than in the early 90's. High work pace was explained by high physical job demands, job complexity and working with the computer. High work pace in men is explained by long working hours and tele-working as well, which is non-significant for women. High work pace in low income jobs is determined by high physical load, m...
Trends in the quality of work in the Netherlands and Europe Trends in the quality of work in the ... more Trends in the quality of work in the Netherlands and Europe Trends in the quality of work in the Netherlands and Europe This paper presents trends in the quality of work in the Netherlands, and compared these with Europe. Globalisation, technological innovation and a labour market shift towards the service sectors are hypothesized to be main drivers of these trends. An increase of work intensification, an expected trait of globalisation, is seen in Europe but not in the Netherlands (anymore). The Netherlands was leading in work pressure up till 2000 but rates average on this since then. In addition, there has been an increase in temporary contracts since the nineties, and a recent decrease in job security in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, possibly as an effect of the increase of the service sectors, physical and environmental risks at work, the number of working hours and shift work remained the same or slightly decreased. Social support by supervisors and co-workers is high a...
Tijdschrift Voor Arbeidsvraagstukken 1 20 90 106, 2004
Oorzaken van werkdruk: een onderbelicht thema Er is veel onderzoek gedaan naar de effecten van we... more Oorzaken van werkdruk: een onderbelicht thema Er is veel onderzoek gedaan naar de effecten van werkdruk in termen van stress, burnout en ziekteverzuim, maar weinig naar de oorzaken en de risicogroepen in beroep of bedrijf. Op basis van veronderstellingen in arbo-en HRM-tijdschriften hebben we getracht acht hypothesen op te stellen inzake mogelijke veroorzakers van werkdruk. De relatie van deze acht factoren^geoperationaliseerd met 17 variabelen^met werkdruk hebben we getoetst met een grote representatieve dataset, met circa 3100-3500 werknemers, verzameld met de TNO Arbeidssituatie Survey in oktober 2000. Multivariate analyses toonden aan dat de belangrijkste werkdrukvoorspellers waren: complex, onvoorspelbaar, zwaar en repeterend, emotioneel en beeldschermwerk, alsmede leidinggevend werk. Ongeacht hun werksituatie, rapporteerden vrouwen meer werkdruk dan mannen. Tevens ging het hebben van kinderen en gehuwd of samenwonend zijn significant samen met het rapporteren van meer werkdruk. Bij de beroepsgroepen scoorden docenten van basis, voortgezet en hoger onderwijs, artsen, verpleegkundigen & ziekenverzorgenden, verzekeringsagenten & makelaars, boekhouders & kassiers, en leidinggevenden hoog op werkdruk. Bij docenten, geneeskundigen en verpleegkundigen speelde naast de complexiteit en onvoorspelbaarheid van het werk, met name de emotionele veeleisendheid van het beroep een sterke rol. Bij leidinggevende functies, verzekeringsagenten & makelaars speelde nog een andere factor een rol, namelijk het relatief vele computer-of beeldschermwerk. Ten slotte was een derde factor er vooral debet aan dat de werkdruk relatief hoog is bij metselaars, timmerlieden, schilders en van agrarische beroepen. Daar was namelijk zwaar en relatief repeterend werk de hoofdfactor. Aan het slot van het artikel worden de vernieuwende implicaties van onze resultaten bediscussieerd, mede in het licht van de arbeid-& zorgproblematiek. Trefwoorden: werkdruk, oorzaken, risicogroepen Inleiding en probleemstelling Werkdruk is in de kranten en in de min of meer populaire HRM-, Arbo-en OR-bladen een vaak terugkerend onderwerp. Onderstaande krantenkoppen van de laatste paar jaar getuigen daarvan. Werkdruk is nergens zo hoog als in Nederland,
Dit trendrapport is door TNO Arbeid geschreven in het kader van het TNOdoelfinancieringsprogramma... more Dit trendrapport is door TNO Arbeid geschreven in het kader van het TNOdoelfinancieringsprogramma 'Arbeid' dat wordt uitgevoerd in samenwerking met het ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid. Het is totstandgekomen mede dankzij waardevol commentaar van medewerkers van het ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid. Uiteraard zijn de auteurs volledig verantwoordelijk voor de inhoud van de hoofdstukken in dit trendrapport.
Psychosocial stress at work has been proposed to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. How... more Psychosocial stress at work has been proposed to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, its role as a risk factor for stroke is uncertain. We conducted an individual-participant-data meta-analysis of 196 380 males and females from 14 European cohort studies to investigate the association between job strain, a measure of work-related stress, and incident stroke. In 1.8 million person-years at risk (mean follow-up 9.2 years), 2023 first-time stroke events were recorded. The age- and sex-adjusted hazard ratio for job strain relative to no job strain was 1.24 (95% confidence interval, 1.05;1.47) for ischemic stroke, 1.01 (95% confidence interval, 0.75;1.36) for hemorrhagic stroke, and 1.09 (95% confidence interval, 0.94;1.26) for overall stroke. The association with ischemic stroke was robust to further adjustment for socioeconomic status. Job strain may be associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke, but further research is needed to determine whether interventi...
Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 2005
Objectives The number of longitudinal studies reporting evidence for reversed effects of strain o... more Objectives The number of longitudinal studies reporting evidence for reversed effects of strain on work is growing, but evidence regarding the mechanisms underlying such effects is scarce. In this study, earlier longitudinal findings were reviewed, and the following four mechanisms for reversed effects were proposed that reflect within-person or environmental changes: (i) the rosy perception mechanism, (ii) the gloomy perception mechanism, (iii) the upward selection mechanism, and (iv) the drift mechanism. Methods These mechanisms were tested using structural equation modeling and longitudinal data from a Dutch four-phase study (N=1588 participants). Results The results revealed that work characteristics and mental health influenced each other reciprocally and longitudinally. The reversed effects were examined in more detail, and it was found that these could be accounted for by both within-person and environmental change mechanisms. The rosy perception mechanism was found to explain the positive effects from health on job demands; the upward selection mechanism explained the positive (environmental) effects from health on job control; the gloomy perception mechanism explained the reversed (evaluation) effects from health on supervisory social support. No support was found for the drift mechanism. Conclusions Mechanisms that may explain reversed causation are yet poorly understood. The main contribution of the present study lies in the fact that it proposes (i) a conceptual framework with which to analyze the effects of health on work characteristics and (ii) methods for testing these mechanisms. The study revealed that there is good reason to pursue research on reversed causality.
Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 2004
Objective This study examined the effects of exposure to job strain on independent predictors of ... more Objective This study examined the effects of exposure to job strain on independent predictors of cardiovascular disease (ambulatory blood pressure, heart rate, and heart rate variability). Methods The participants comprised a homogeneous group of 159 healthy female nurses [mean age 35.9 (SD 8.5) years]. The choice of this population minimized variance attributable to gender, socioeconomic status, and work characteristics. Job demands, decision latitude, and social support were measured with the Karasek job content questionnaire, which was administered twice with an average interval of 12.2 months. The nurses' scores for job demands and decision latitude on both occasions were used to define their job-strain category. Ambulatory blood pressure, heart rate, and heart rate variability were assessed on a workday and a day of leisure. Results No effect on the ambulatory levels of blood pressure, heart rate, or heart rate variability was found for job strain by itself or in interaction with social support. In addition, job strain was not associated with differences in short-term or long-term physiological recovery during sleep after a workday or a day of leisure. High job demand was associated with higher systolic blood pressure at work and with higher diastolic blood pressure at work, but the latter association was found only when decision latitude was concurrently high, rather than low. Conclusions High job strain among young female nurses is not associated with an unfavorable ambulatory cardiovascular profile. The robust effect of job strain on male health appears to be less apparent for women.
Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 2001
Objectives This study investigated the relationship between psychosocial work characteristics and... more Objectives This study investigated the relationship between psychosocial work characteristics and low-back pain and the potential intermediate role of psychological strain variables in this relationship. Methods The research was part of a prospective cohort study of risk factors for musculoskeletal symptoms. The study population consisted of 861 workers from 34 companies in The Netherlands who had no low-back pain at baseline and for whom data on the occurrence of low-back pain were obtained with annual questionnaires during a 3-year follow-up period. Information on psychosocial work characteristics and psychological strain variables was collected using a questionnaire at baseline. Cases of low-back pain were defined as workers who reported, in at least one of the annual follow-up questionnaires, that they had had regular or prolonged low-back pain in the previous 12 months. Results After adjustment for individual factors and quantified physical load at work, nonsignificant relative risks ranging from 1.3 to 1.6 were observed for high quantitative job demands, high conflicting demands, low supervisory support, and low co-worker support. Decision authority and skill discretion showed no relationship with low-back pain. In general, the estimated relative risks for the psychosocial work characteristics were scarcely influenced by additional adjustment for job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, and sleeping difficulties. Conclusions It can be concluded that low social support, from either supervisors or co-workers, appears to be a risk factor for low-back pain. Some indications of a relationship between high quantitative job demands and high conflicting demands and low-back pain were also found. Little evidence was found for an intermediate role for the psychological strain variables under study.
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Papers by Irene Houtman