Top

International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health

Published in:

01-11-2009 | Original Article

Comparing working conditions and physical and psychological health complaints in four occupational groups working in female-dominated workplaces

Authors: Karina Nielsen, Karen Albertsen, Sten-Olof Brenner, Lars Smith-Hansen, Christian Roepsdorff

Published in: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health | Issue 10/2009

Abstract

Background

Dominant theories of working conditions and their effects on poor employee health have been criticized for failing to consider how psychosocial factors interact and how such relationships may differ across occupational groups.

Goal

This paper examines the associations between psychosocial factors and physical and psychological health complaints while at the same time taking into account differences between occupational groups in female-dominated professions.

Method

Four female-dominated occupational groups were included: nurses, health care assistants, cleaners, and dairy industry workers. The relationships between influence, emotional and quantitative demands, social support, back pain, and behavioural stress were examined using structural equation modelling.

Results

Results supported a group-specific model: the overall pattern remained the same across groups while psychosocial factors had different impacts on poor health and interacted differently across groups. The results also indicated links between psychosocial factors and poor physical health.

Conclusion

The study confirmed the importance of differentiating between female-dominated occupations rather than talking about women’s working conditions as such. The study also emphasized the importance of considering psychosocial risk factors when examining physical health, in this case back pain.

Ahlberg-Hultén G, Theorell T, Sigala F (1995) Social support, job strain and musculoskeletal pain among female health care personnel. Scand J Work Environ Health 21:435–439

Bakker A, Demerouti E, Verbeke W (2004) Using the job demands-resources model to predict burnout and performance. Human Resour Manage 43:83–104CrossRef

Baron R, Kenny D (1986) The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. J Pers Soc Psychol 51:1173–1182CrossRef

Bradley JR, Cartwright S (2002) Social support, job stress, health, and job satisfaction among nurses in the United Kingdom. Int J Stress Manage 9:163–182CrossRef

Browne M, Cudeck R (1993) Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In: Long JS, Bollen KA (eds) Testing structural equation models. Sage, London

Bru E, Mykletun R, Svebak E (1996) Work-related stress and musculoskeletal pain among female hospital staff. Work Stress 10:309–321CrossRef

Byrne BM (1991) The Maslach burnout inventory: validating factorial structure and invariance across intermediate, secondary, and university educators. Multivar Behav Res 26:583–605CrossRef

Byrne BM (1994) Burnout: testing for the validity, replication, and invariance of causal structure across elementary, intermediate, and secondary teachers. Am Educ Res J 31:645–673

Byrne BM (1998) Structural equation modeling with LISREL, PRELIS, and SIMPLIS. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah

Cheng E (2001) SEM being more effective than multiple regression in parsimonious model testing for management development research. J Manage Dev 20:650–667CrossRef

de Lange A, Taris T, Kompier M, Houtman I, Bongers P (2004) The relationships between work characteristics and menatal health: examining normal, reversed and reciprocal relationships in a 4-wave study. Work Stress 18:282–305

DWECS (2000) http://www.arbejdsmiljoforskning.dk/Nationale%20Data.aspx

Evans O, Steptoe A (2002) The contribution of gender-role orientation, work factors and home stressors to psychological well-being and sickness absence in male- and female-dominated occupational groups. Soc Sci Med 54:481–492CrossRef

Fagan C, Burchell B (2002) Gender, jobs and working conditions in the European Union. European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Dublin

Firth H, Britton P (1989) Burnout, absence and turnover among nurses: integrating research findings across studies. Nurs Res 44:246–253

Fourth European Working Conditions Survey (2005) Ireland, Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

Hall EM (1992) Gender, work control, and stress: a theoretical discussion and an empirical test. Int J Health Serv 19:725–745

Hochschild AR (1983) The managed heart: the commercialization of human feeling. UCP, Berkeley

Hoogendoorn W, Van Poppel M, Bongers P, Koes B, Bouter L (2000) Systematic review of psychosocial factors at work and private life as risk factors for back pain. Spine 25:2114–2125CrossRef

Houkes I, Janssen PPM, de Jonge J, Bakker A (2003) Specific determinants of intrinsic work motivation, emotional exhaustion and turnover intention: a multisample longitudinal study. J Occup Organ Psychol 76:427–450CrossRef

Jackson P, Sprigg C, Parker S (2000) Interdependence as a key requirement for the successful introduction of teamworking: a case study. In: Procter S, Mueller F (eds) Teamworking. MacMillan Business, Basingstoke, pp 83–137

Jex S, Adams G, Ehler M (2002) Assessing the role of negative affectivity in occupational stress research. In: Nelson D, Burke R (eds) Gender, work stress and health. APA, Washington

Jöreskog KG, Sörbom D (2000) LISREL 8.3: structural equation modelling with the SIMPLIS command language. Lawrence Erlbaum, London

Kanter RM (1977) Men and women of the corporation. Basic Books, New York

Karasek R, Theorell T (1990) Healthy work: stress, productivity and the reconstruction of working life. Basic Books, New York

Krause N, Ragland DR, Griener BA, Syme L, Fisher JM (1997) Psychosocial job factors associated with back and neck pain in public transit operators. Scand J Work Environ Health 23:179–186

Kristensen T, Bjorner JB, Christensen JB, Borg V (2004) The distinction between work pace and working hours in the measurement of quantitative demands. Work Stress 18:305–322CrossRef

Kristensen T, 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(6):438–449

Lagerström M, Wenemark M, Hagberg M, Wigeaus Helm E (1995) Occupational and individual factors related to musculoskeletal symptoms in five body regions among Swedish nursing personnel. Int Arch Occup Environ Med 68:27–35CrossRef

Lennon M, Rosenfeld S (1992) Women and mental health: the interaction of job and family conditions. J Health Soc Behav 31:6–327

Marsh H, Balla J, McDonald R (1988) Goodness-of-fit indexes in confirmatory factor analysis: the effect of sample size. Psychol Bull 1003(3):391–410CrossRef

McGrath A, Reid N, Boore J (2003) Occupational stress in nursing. Int J Nurs Stud 40:555–565CrossRef

Mikkelsen A, Saksvik PØ, Landbergis P (2000) The impact of a participatory approach organizational intervention on job stress in community health care institutions. Work Stress 14:156–170CrossRef

Miller K, Greyling M, Cooper C, Lu L, Sparks K, Spector P (2000) Occupational stress and gender: a cross-cultural study. Stress Med 16:271–278CrossRef

Nelson D, Burke R, Michie S (2002) New directions for studying gender, work stress, and health. In: Nelson D, Burke R (eds) Gender, work stress and health. APA, WashingtonCrossRef

Nielsen K, Randall R, Albertsen K (2007) Participants’ appraisal of process issues and the effects of stress management interventions. J Organ Behav 28:793–810CrossRef

Perrewé P, Carlson D (2002) Do men and women benefit from social support equally? Results from a field examination within the work and family context. In: Nelson D, Burke R (eds) Gender, work stress and health. APA, Washington

Pousette A, Hanse J (2002) Job characteristics as predictors of ill-health and sickness absenteeism in different occupational types—a multigroup structural equation modelling approach. Work Stress 16:229–250CrossRef

Schaubroeck J, Fink L (1998) Facilitating and inhibiting effects of job control and social support on stress outcomes and role behavior: a contingency model. J Organ Behav 19:167–195CrossRef

Setterlind S, Larsson G (1995) The stress profile: a psychosocial approach to measuring stress. Stress Med 11:85–92CrossRef

Siegrist J (2005) Social reciprocity and health: new scientific evidence and policy implications. Psychoneuroendocrinology 30:1033–1038CrossRef

Skues J, Kirkeby R (1999) Women in the workforce: gender differences in occupational stress and coping. In: Cotton P, Fisher B (eds) Psychological health in the workplace, 2nd edn. The Australian Psychological Society, Carlton

Sprigg C, Jackson P, Parker S (2000) Production teamworking: the importance of interdependence and autonomy for employee strain and satisfaction. Hum Relat 53:1519–1543

Tornqvist EW, Kilbom Å, Vingård E, Alfredsson L, Hagberg M, Theorell T, Waldenström M, Wiktorim C, Hogstedt, the MUSIC-Norrtälje Study Group (2001) The influence on seeking care due to neck and shoulder disorders from work-related disorders. Epidemiology 12:537–545CrossRef

Tummers G, Landeweerd J, Van Merode G (2002) Work organization, work characteristics, and their psychological effects on nurses in the Netherlands. Int J Stress Manage 9:183–206CrossRef

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 13:87–114CrossRef

van Vegchel N, Schaufeli W, Dormann C, Söderfeldt M, de Jonge J (2004) Quantitative versus emotional demands among Swedish human service employees: moderating effects of job control and social support. Int J Stress Manage 11:21–40CrossRef

Van Vegchel N, de Jonge J, Bosma H, Schaufeli W (2005) Reviewing the effort–reward imbalance model: drawing up the balance of 45 empirical studies. Soc Sci Med 60:1117–1131CrossRef

Vermeulen M, Mustard C (2000) Gender differences in job strain, social support at work and psychological distress. J Occup Health Psychol 5:428–440CrossRef

Zapf D (2002) Emotion work and psychological well-being: a review of the literature and some conceptual considerations. Hum Resour Manage Rev 12:237–268CrossRef

Zapf D, Dormann C, Frese M (1996) Longitudinal studies in organizational stress research: a review of the literature with reference to methodological issues. J Occup Psychol 1:145–169CrossRef

Title: Comparing working conditions and physical and psychological health complaints in four occupational groups working in female-dominated workplaces
Authors: Karina Nielsen
Karen Albertsen
Sten-Olof Brenner
Lars Smith-Hansen
Christian Roepsdorff
Publication date: 01-11-2009
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health / Issue 10/2009
Print ISSN: 0340-0131
Electronic ISSN: 1432-1246
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-009-0464-z

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Comparing working conditions and physical and psychological health complaints in four occupational groups working in female-dominated workplaces

Abstract

Background

Goal

Method

Results

Conclusion

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Goal

Method

Results

Conclusion

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 10/2009

Longitudinal study on potential neurotoxic effects of aluminium: II. Assessment of exposure and neurobehavioral performance of Al welders in the automobile industry over 4 years

Evaluation of different methods to determine total serum lipids for normalization of circulating organochlorine compounds

Comparison of urinary concentrations of 3-phenoxybenzoic acid among general residents in rural and suburban areas and employees of pest control firms

Skin temperature in the dorsal hand of office workers and severity of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders

Gene expression in nasal lavage from hairdressers exposed to persulphate

Work characteristics and determinants of job satisfaction in four age groups: university employees’ point of view