Psychosocial work environment

Are you building a cathedral or just a brick wall? ^{© Colourbox}

Having a job is important and has a positive impact on one’s health

The understanding of the work is important for the worker’s well-being. If you are a part of a team, it is a great feeling to know you are working together to achieve a great goal – like building a cathedral. If you have not been told what you will build, and only see a brick wall emerging, it is not that great. Workers need to know they are important, that they are doing an important job. It does not have to be cathedral building, it can be anything – as long as it serves a purpose that the workers understand and find meaningful.

Another important factor for all workers is the salary; we work for a living, we need to be paid. This is fundamental! We work to earn money for house and food, and the salary needs to be sufficient. Also, work gives us an identity. By working, you participate and play a role in society, and this has importance for your well-being and self-esteem.

In general, there is strong evidence to show that work is generally good for physical and mental health. Unemployment, on the other hand, is associated with poorer physical and mental health. Employment is important for obtaining economic resources, which again is essential for participation in society. Work is considered essential for individual identity, social roles and social status.

Good working conditions are necessary

There can also be negative factors related to the job. If there are few jobs available, and one needs a job for survival, a person might accept a job with less than ideal working conditions. This is particularly important to consider in low income countries. A worker who desperately needs a job or needs to keep their job, will not feel that they are in a position to ask for benefits and improvements in their work place. To improve working conditions, it is therefore very important to have laws and legislation in place that protect workers’ rights. Clear statements are needed to enable relevant authorities, such as the Labor Inspection Agencies, to enforce standards at work places on behalf of the workers. The establishment of Unions seems to be important as well, as the larger groups of workers in Unions may be stronger and more able to discuss working conditions with the employers than small groups. Work place regulations are beneficial for the employers as well. By establishing good working conditions, work places will attract the best and most competent workers and the loyalty of the workers will increase. A loyal worker is a clear advantage for a work place and for production.

We need to be successful

There is a psychological model related to working conditions which is called the “effort-reward” model, we have tried to illustrate it below. This is a model showing the relationship between performance and reward. It is unfortunate if we feel that we do not get enough reward in relation to the efforts we put into our work. We need to be successful and obtain sufficient rewards for our work. There are obvious rewards such as monetary gain or salary at work places, but there may be other things that also count as rewards as well, such as prestige, recognition, renown, praise, and even satisfied customers. There needs to be a balance between the demands of the work place and the perceived rewards gained from the work.

Efforts and rewards at work should be balanced. ^{© University of Bergen}

Definition of psychosocial work environment

We often use the expression “psychosocial” working conditions. What does this mean? The expression, “psychosocial work environment” covers aspects concerning both our work and our working conditions. In the English scientific literature, we find the expression “psychological and social factors in the work arena”. The psychological factors are perceptions and interpretations of work-related matters, while the social factors involve the influence of the social context and the interpersonal factors. These concepts have merged into the term “psychosocial”. The expression “psychosocial work environment” can be divided into three components, to make this easier to understand:

1. Organization

The organization of the working environment can be defined as the individual’s relation to their duties and to others in the workplace, and the practical organization of work.

2. Social interaction

Psychosocial working conditions are also determined by the interaction between environmental factors, other workers and the individual. Included here are “psychological effects” of the work.

3. Individual perception

All people are unique. This component of the psychosocial work environment emphasizes the worker’s individual interpretation; how external influences are perceived, processed and disseminated.

Negative psychosocial work environment may cause diseases

If employees experience adverse psychosocial factors at their workplace, they may ultimately experience various health ailments. These can be relatively innocuous ailments such as a few days of headaches or neck pain, or they may be a contributing cause to certain chronic diseases.

Diseases of this type are for example:

• Cardiovascular diseases: High blood pressure, heart attack.
• Gastro-intestinal diseases: Gastritis, ulcerative colitis.
• Mental diseases: Anxiety, depression.
• Sleep disorders
• Musculoskeletal diseases: Myalgia, tendinitis, pain conditions.
• Immunological effects: An increased incidence of infections, indicating impaired immunity.

We think most persons have experienced these types of problems, such as having a headache after a situation such as working long hours on a major problem under time pressure. The headache usually fades away when leaving the job. If such situations continue at work every day, the symptoms may manifest themselves daily, and may become chronic – long-lasting. Many of these diseases are named “psychosomatic disorders”, meaning that although the symptoms are clearly somatic, their development is connected with the psychological side of life.

The mechanisms behind the development of such diseases have been studied extensively. However, many of the factors involved remain poorly understood. Effects on the blood stream seem to be important, as environmental stress situations may shunt the blood stream to the brain and the large muscle groups, and away from other parts of the body. Hormones are affected, metabolism in the body is affected, and both the immune system and digestive systems may be influenced. All these changes may cause physical symptoms, and if the stress situation continues for longer periods, these may become chronic.

All the described diseases related to negative psychosocial factors at work are multi-factorial, and many factors may play a role in their development. Important factors, in addition to the work situation, might be the family situation, smoking, drug abuse or genetics. While it is often difficult to know which factors are most important, it is important to try to figure this out. Adverse conditions in the workplace can often be improved, and there is the potential to help the patient or worker if these are the cause of the diseases.