Abstract
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.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aust B, Ducki A (2004) Comprehensive health promotion interventions at the workplace: experiences with health circles in Germany. J Occup Health Psychol 9:258–270
Bech P, Olsen LR, Kjoller M, Rasmussen NK (2003) Measuring well-being rather than the absence of distress symptoms: a comparison of the SF-36 Mental Health subscale and the WHO-Five Well-Being Scale. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res 12:85–91
Bender R, Lange S (2001) Adjusting for multiple testing—when and how? J Clin Epidemiol 54:343–349
Bildt C, Michélsen H (2002) Gender differences in the effects from working conditions on mental health: a 4-year follow-up. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 75:252–258
Bonde JP (2008) Psychosocial factors at work and risk of depression: a systematic review of the epidemiological evidence. Occup Environ Med 65:438–445
Borritz M, Bültmann U, Rugulies R, Christensen KB, Villadsen E, Kristensen TS (2005) Psychosocial work characteristics as predictors for burnout: findings from 3-year follow up of the PUMA Study. J Occup Environ Med Am Coll Occup Environ Med 47:1015–1025
Bültmann U, Kant IJ, Van den Brandt PA, Kasl SV (2002) Psychosocial work characteristics as risk factors for the onset of fatigue and psychological distress: prospective results from the Maastricht Cohort Study. Psychol Med 32:333–345
Burr H, Albertsen K, Rugulies R, Hannerz H (2010) Do dimensions from the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire predict vitality and mental health over and above the job strain and effort—reward imbalance models? Scand J Public Health 38:59–68
Cohidon C, Santin G, Imbernon E, Goldberg M (2010) Working conditions and depressive symptoms in the 2003 decennial health survey: the role of the occupational category. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 45:1135–1147
De Raeve L, Jansen NW, Kant IJ (2007) Health effects of transitions in work schedule, workhours and overtime in a prospective cohort study. Scand J Work Environ Health 33:105–113
Eurofound (2012) Fifth European working conditions survey—overview report. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg
Frone MR, Russell M, Cooper ML (1995) Job stressors, job involvement and employee health: a test of identity theory. J Occup Organ Psychol 68:1–11
Fryers T, Brugha Traolach, Brugha Traolagh, Morgan Z, Smith J, Hill T, Carta M, Lehtinen V, Kovess V (2004) Prevalence of psychiatric disorder in Europe: the potential and reality of meta-analysis. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 39:899–905
Griffin JM, Fuhrer R, Stansfeld SA, Marmot M (2002) The importance of low control at work and home on depression and anxiety: do these effects vary by gender and social class? Soc Sci Med 54:783–798
Hämmig O, Gutzwiller F, Bauer G (2009) Work-life conflict and associations with work- and nonwork-related factors and with physical and mental health outcomes: a nationally representative cross-sectional study in Switzerland. BMC Public Health 9:435
Harnois G, Gabriel P (2000) World Health Organization Noncommunicable Disease and Mental Health Cluster, Mental Health and Work. World Health Organization, Geneva
Harnois G, Gabriel G, Harnois P (2002) Mental health and work. World Health Organization, Geneva
Häusser JA, Mojzisch A, Niesel M, Schulz-Hardt S (2010) Ten years on: a review of recent research on the Job Demand-Control (-Support) model and psychological well-being. Work Stress 24:1–35
Headey B, Kelley J, Wearing A (1993) Dimensions of mental health: life satisfaction, positive affect, anxiety and depression. Soc Indic Res 29:63–82
Houdmont J, Kerr R, Addley K (2012) Psychosocial factors and economic recession: the Stormont Study. Occup Med Oxf Engl 62:98–104
Karasek R, Brisson C, Kawakami N, Houtman I, Bongers P, Amick B (1998) The Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ): an instrument for internationally comparative assessments of psychosocial job characteristics. J Occup Health Psychol 3:322–355
Karasek R, Choi B, Ostergren PO, Ferrario M, de Smet P (2007) Testing two methods to create comparable scale scores between the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) and JCQ-like questionnaires in the European JACE Study. Int J Behav Med 14:189–201
Kivimaki M (2003) Workplace bullying and the risk of cardiovascular disease and depression. Occup Environ Med 60:779–783
Kopp MS, Stauder A, Purebl G, Janszky I, Skrabski A (2008) Work stress and mental health in a changing society. Eur J Public Health 18:238–244
Kristensen TS (2010) A questionnaire is more than a questionnaire. Scand J Public Health 38:149–155
Kristensen TS, Hannerz H, Høgh A, Borg V (2005) The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire—a tool for the assessment and improvement of the psychosocial work environment. Scand J Work Environ Health 31:438–449
László KD, Pikhart H, Kopp MS, Bobak M, Pajak A, Malyutina S, Salavecz G, Marmot M (2010) Job insecurity and health: a study of 16 European countries. Soc Sci Med 70:867–874
Leka S, Jain A, Cox T, Kortum E (2011) The development of the European framework for psychosocial risk management: PRIMA-EF. J Occup Heal 53:137–143
Marchand A, Demers A, Durand P (2005) Does work really cause distress? The contribution of occupational structure and work organization to the experience of psychological distress. Soc Sci Med 1982(61):1–14
Murcia M, Chastang J-F, Niedhammer I (2013) Psychosocial work factors, major depressive and generalised anxiety disorders: results from the French national SIP study. J Affect Disord 146:319–327
Netterstrom B, Conrad N, Bech P, Fink P, Olsen O, Rugulies R, Stansfeld S (2008) The relation between work-related psychosocial factors and the development of depression. Epidemiol Rev 30:118–132
Niedhammer I, Goldberg M, Leclerc A, Bugel I, David S (1998) Psychosocial factors at work and subsequent depressive symptoms in the Gazel cohort. Scand J Work Environ Health 24:197–205
Niedhammer I, Chastang J-F, David S, Barouhiel L, Barrandon G (2006a) Psychosocial work environment and mental health: job-strain and effort-reward imbalance models in a context of major organizational changes. Int J Occup Environ Health 12:111–119
Niedhammer I, David S, Degioanni S (2006b) Association between workplace bullying and depressive symptoms in the French working population. J Psychosom Res 61:251–259
Niedhammer I, Chastang JF, Sultan-Taïeb H, Vermeylen G, Parent-Thirion A (2013) Psychosocial work factors and sickness absence in 31 countries in Europe. Eur J Public Health 23(4):622–629. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/cks124
Probst TM, Brubaker TL (2001) The effects of job insecurity on employee safety outcomes: cross-sectional and longitudinal explorations. J Occup Health Psychol 6:139–159
Richman JA, Rospenda KM, Nawyn SJ, Flaherty JA, Fendrich M, Drum ML, Johnson TP (1999) Sexual harassment and generalized workplace abuse among university employees: prevalence and mental health correlates. Am J Public Health 89:358–363
Roberts RK, Swanson NG, Murphy LR (2004) Discrimination and occupational mental health. J Ment Health 13:129–142
Rugulies R, Bültmann U, Aust B, Burr H (2006) Psychosocial work environment and incidence of severe depressive symptoms: prospective findings from a 5-year follow-up of the Danish work environment cohort study. Am J Epidemiol 163:877–887
Rugulies R, Aust B, Pejtersen JH (2010) Do psychosocial work environment factors measured with scales from the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire predict register-based sickness absence of 3 weeks or more in Denmark? Scand J Public Health 38:42–50
Rugulies R, Aust B, Madsen IEH, Burr H, Siegrist J, Bültmann U (2013) Adverse psychosocial working conditions and risk of severe depressive symptoms. Do effects differ by occupational grade? Eur J Public Health 23(3):415–420. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/cks071
Schaufeli WB (1992) Unemployment and mental health in well-and poorly-educated school-leavers. In: Verhaar CHA, Jansma L-G, de Goede MPM, van Ophem JAC, de Vries A (eds) On the mysteries of unemployment, studies in operational regional science. Springer, Netherlands, pp 253–271
Schütte S, Chastang J-F, Parent-Thirion A, Vermeylen G, Niedhammer I (2013) Association between socio-demographic, psychosocial, material and occupational factors and self-reported health among workers in Europe. J Public Heal Oxf, Engl
Siegrist J, Marmot M (2004) Health inequalities and the psychosocial environment-two scientific challenges. Soc Sci Med 1982(58):1463–1473
Siegrist J, Starke D, Chandola T, Godin I, Marmot M, Niedhammer I, Peter R (2004) The measurement of effort-reward imbalance at work: European comparisons. Soc Sci Med 58:1483–1499
Stansfeld SA, Pike C, McManus S, Harris J, Bebbington P, Brugha T, Hassiotis A, Jenkins R, Meltzer H, Moran P, Clark C (2013) Occupations, work characteristics and common mental disorder. Psychol Med 43:961–973
Van der Doef M, Maes S (1999) The job demand-control (-support) model and psychological well-being: a review of 20 years of empirical research. Work Stress 13:87–114
Virtanen M, Ferrie JE, Singh-Manoux A, Shipley MJ, Stansfeld SA, Marmot MG, Ahola K, Vahtera J, Kivimäki M (2011) Long working hours and symptoms of anxiety and depression: a 5-year follow-up of the Whitehall II study. Psychol Med 41(12):2485–2494. doi: 10.1017/S0033291711000171
Wege N, Dragano N, Erbel R, Jockel K-H, Moebus S, Stang A, Siegrist J (2008) When does work stress hurt? Testing the interaction with socioeconomic position in the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study. J Epidemiol Community Health 62:338–341
WHO Collaborating Center for Mental Health (1998) WHO (Five) well-being index. World Health Organization, Geneva
Wieclaw J, Agerbo E, Mortensen PB, Burr H, Tüchsen F, Bonde JP (2006) Work related violence and threats and the risk of depression and stress disorders. J Epidemiol Community Health 60:771–775
Wieclaw J, Agerbo E, Mortensen PB, Burr H, Tuchsen F, Bonde JP (2008) Psychosocial working conditions and the risk of depression and anxiety disorders in the Danish workforce. BMC Public Health 8:280
Ylipaavalniemi J, Kivimäki M, Elovainio M, Virtanen M, Keltikangas-Järvinen L, Vahtera J (2005) Psychosocial work characteristics and incidence of newly diagnosed depression: a prospective cohort study of three different models. Soc Sci Med 1982(61):111–122
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the project Epi goes Gender in the scope of the program “young talents create new knowledge” (www.epi-goes-gender.net). The project Epi goes Gender settled at Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology (BIPS) is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and by the European Social Fund (ESF) of the European Union under grant number 01FP1229. The study was funded by the DIM SenT of the Ile de France region (PhD funding for Stefanie Schütte, grant number 10-T1) and by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES, previously called AFSSET, Grant No. 2009-1-43).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
Variable | Items |
|---|---|
Job demands | |
Quantitative demands (3 items) | Working at very high speed Working to tight deadlines Enough time to get the job done |
Emotional demands (1 item) | Emotionally involved in your work |
Demands for hiding emotions (1 item) | Hiding feelings |
Demands for responsibility at work (2 items) | Mistakes could cause physical injury to other people/financial loss to your company |
Influence and development | |
Degree of freedom at work (3 items) | Degree of freedom regarding working time arrangements Able to take an hour or two off during working hours Able to take a break |
Influence at work (7 items) | Able to choose or change tasks order Able to choose or change work methods Able to choose or change speed or rate of work Consulted before targets are set Involved in improving work organisation or work processes Able to choose working partners Influence on decisions that are important |
Predictability (2 items) | Predictability regarding changes of work schedules |
Possibilities for development (3 items) | Monotonous tasks Learning new things Applying ideas in work |
Meaning of work (1 item) | Feeling of doing useful work |
Social relationships and leadership | |
Role clarity (1 item) | Knowing what is expected of you at work |
Role conflicts (2 items) | Feeling of work well done Tasks that are in conflict with personal values |
Quality of leadership (5 items) | In general, immediate manager/supervisor… Provides you with feedback on your work Respects you as a person Is good at resolving conflicts Is good at planning and organising the work Encourages you to participate in important decisions |
Social support (2 items) | Help and support from colleagues Help and support from manager |
Sense of community (2 items) | Feeling at home in this organization Having very good friends at work |
Workplace violence | |
Physical violence Sexual harassment Bullying (1 item each) | Over the past 12 months, at work exposed to: Physical violence Sexual harassment Bullying/harassment |
Discrimination (7 items) | Over the past 12 months, at work exposed to: Age discrimination Discrimination linked to race, ethnic background or colour Discrimination linked to nationality Discrimination on the basis of your sex Discrimination linked to religion Discrimination linked to disability Discrimination linked to sexual orientation At least one situation = exposure |
Working hours | |
Long working hours (1 item) | Number of hours per week in main paid job? Long hours defined by ≥48 h per week |
Night work (1 item) | Working at night, for at least 2 h between 10.00 pm and 05.00 am Night work defined by >4 nights per month |
Shift work (2 items) | Working daily split shifts or permanent shift/alternating shift |
Asocial working hours (3 items) | Working in the evening, for at least 2 h between 6.00 pm and 10.00 pm Working on Sundays Working on Saturdays Asocial working hours defined by >4 days per month (from all 3 items) |
Other psychosocial work factors | |
Job promotion (3 items) | Present skills correspond well with duties Well paid for the work Good prospects for career advancement |
Insecurity at work (2 items) | Fear to lose job in the next 6 months Would be easy to find a job of similar salary |
Work-life imbalance (1 item) | Working hours fit in with family or social commitments outside work |
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schütte, S., Chastang, JF., Malard, L. et al. Psychosocial working conditions and psychological well-being among employees in 34 European countries. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 87, 897–907 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-014-0930-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-014-0930-0