Psychological Approaches to OSH Research—An Evaluation of 20 Years of Psychological Research on Industrial Safety and Health in Germany

During the past 20 years of research in occupational safety and health (OSH), major contributions have been made by psychology in general, foremost German work and organizational psychology. This is the result of an empirical study with 216 scientific projects that were analyzed by content, and 32 interviews on OSH with experts on science, as well as in professional occupations and federations. Its sound methodological and theoretical approach has helped work and organizational psychology to embody itself as a driving force of OSH. The research focuses on the development of tools for job analysis, striving for the valid diagnosis of occupational hazards and mental load. Consequently, work and organizational psychology provides a solid foundation for deriving human and personality ameliorating organizational measures. Among the predominant means of intervention are training in coping with stress, behavioral training and modeling, health circles, and the arrangement of environments sensitive to occupational load. Major deficits in the field of research show up within evaluation and transfer as well as within quality control of the developed diagnostic and devices regarding intervention. Future scientific effort by means of application-orientated methods is vital to detect and overcome effectively a mounting mental load in the occupational world.     

The changing significance of different stressors after the announcement of bankruptcy: a longitudinal investigation with special emphasis on job insecurity

The author investigates the effect of job insecurity and other job stressors on the mental health of steel workers. Levels of job stress and mental health were measured seven years before and seven months after the company at which they worked had gone into receivership, a method that can be described as a quasi‐experimental field study with a sample of blue‐collar non‐supervisory male workers. Two out of four job stressors were found to be at a lower level when the second wave of research took place. Regression analyses showed that the correlation between these job stressors and psychosomatic complaints is now lower than during the first wave but that they reach the former level when job insecurity is added. Job insecurity was mainly connected to an increase in psychosomatic complaints and in anxiety. Self‐esteem, depression, and irascibility showed no important relationship to job insecurity when the variables were controlled for mental health status before the onset of job insecurity. Social support, opportunities in the labor market, and duration of contract in the company are identified as moderating the relation between mental health and job insecurity. One conclusion is that positive health effects due to reduction in the stress level may be offset by acute job insecurity. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The relationship of occupational injury and use of mental health care

Introduction: Symptoms of depression and anxiety are a common consequence of occupational injury regardless of its cause and type. Nevertheless, mental health care is rarely covered by workers’ compensation systems. The aim of this study was to assess the use of mental health care post-injury. Methods: We used a subsample of patient-care workers from the Boston Hospital Workers Health Study (BHWHS). We matched one injured worker with three uninjured workers during the period of 2012–2014 based on age and job title (nurse or patient-care associate) and looked at their mental health care use pre- and post-injury using medical claims data from the employer sponsored health plan. We used logistic regression analysis to assess the likelihood of mental health care use three and six months post-injury controlling for any pre-injury visits. Analyses were repeated separately by job title. Results: There were 556 injured workers between 2012 and 2014 that were matched with three uninjured workers at the time of injury (n = 1,649). Injured workers had a higher likelihood of seeking mental health care services than their uninjured counterparts during the six months after injury (OR = 1.646, 95% CI: 1.23–2.20), but not three months post-injury (OR = 0.825, 95% CI: 0.57–1.19). Patient-care associates had a higher likelihood to seek mental health care post-injury, than nurses (OR: 2.133 vs OR: 1.556) during the six months period. Conclusions: Injured workers have a higher likelihood to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety based on their use of mental health care post-injury and use is more predominant among patient-care associates; however, our sample has a small number of patient-care associates. Practical Applications: Treating depression and anxiety as part of the workers’ compensation system has the potential of preventing further physical ailment and improving the return to work process regardless of nature of injury.     

Work environment and the well-being of clerical and VDT workers

This paper explores the relationships between extent of video display terminal usage, perceptions of the physical work environment, task characteristics, and workers' health and well-being among a group of 1032 female office clerical workers. Data are drawn from responses to a 30-minute questionnaire administered at four employment sites during 1981 and 1982. All-day terminal users reported significantly higher levels of job and physical environment stressors than part-day VDT users, typists and non machine-interactive clerical workers. Reports of musculo-skeletal strain and dissatisfaction were also highest among all day terminal users. Part-day VDT users, typists and clerks all reported relatively similar levels of job and physical working conditions, health symptoms and job satisfaction. No significant differences between any of the groups were observed for gastrointestinal, respiratory, psychological and other non-specific health complaints. Typists and clerical workers who also held supervisory positions reported fewer stressors and greater job satisfaction than workers with no supervisory tasks; however there were no such differences between supervisors and non-supervisors engaged in all-day VDT work. Implications of these findings for further research and for job redesign strategies to alleviate the potentially stressful aspects of office automation are discussed.     

Workaholism and mental health among Polish academic workers

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between workaholism and mental health among 126 Polish academic workers. The participants' mean age was 45.9 years, 51.6% of them were women. The participants completed 2 questionnaires: the work addiction risk test and the general health questionnaire. Even though 66% of the subjects were classified in the group of moderate-to-high risk of workaholism, the overall state of mental health was categorized as average. The results revealed that workaholism was associated with poorer mental health. Employees with higher levels of workaholism had worse state of health, i.e., more somatic symptoms, higher levels of anxiety, insomnia, social dysfunction and symptoms of depression. Emotional arousal/perfectionism was the strongest predictor of the state of general health and was mostly responsible for harmful effects on mental health. However, the general effect of workaholism on health was not as strong as expected.     

Improving mental health status and coping abilities for long‐term unemployed youth using cognitive‐behaviour therapy based training interventions

This paper reports on immediate and long‐term well‐being outcomes for a group of long‐term unemployed youth who attended specially devised training courses based on the cognitive‐behaviour therapy (CBT) model. The courses were aimed specifically at improving the mental health of participants, and providing them with coping skills to deal better with the negative consequences of prolonged unemployment. Results for participants were compared with a waiting‐list, control group. Outcomes investigated were well‐being (psychological distress, self‐esteem, positive and negative affect), and coping behaviours (social support, self care, recreation, and cognitive coping strategies). Behavioural plasticity effects were also examined by comparing outcomes for participants who had higher distress scores prior to the course with participants who reported lower scores at that time. Immediate benefits were identified for both mental health and coping behaviours, and many of these benefits persisted into the long term. Participants with higher levels of pre‐course psychological distress improved more than their low distressed counterparts, supporting the behavioural plasticity hypothesis. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Occupational stress in (inter)action: the interplay between job demands and job resources

The present study addresses theoretical issues involving different interaction effects between job demands and job resources, accompanied by a thorough empirical test of interaction terms in the demand–control (DC) model and the effort–reward imbalance (ERI) model in relation to employee health and well‐being (i.e., exhaustion, psychosomatic health complaints, company‐registered sickness absence). Neither the DC model nor the ERI model gives a clear theoretical rationale or preference for a particular interaction term. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted among 405 nursing home employees and cross‐validated in a comparable sample (N = 471). Results including cross‐validation showed that only a multiplicative interaction term yielded consistent results for both the DC model and the ERI model. Theoretical as well as empirical results argue for a multiplicative interaction term to test the DC model and the ERI model. Future job stress research may benefit from the idea that there should be a theoretical preference for any interaction form, either in the DC model or in the ERI model. However, more research on interactions is needed to address this topic adequately. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于CiteSpace的高校教师职业心理健康文献计量分析

为系统把握高校教师职业心理健康领域近10年的主要研究内容和研究方向,以中国知网(CNKI)作为数据源,经过2次检索得到2011—2020年10年间的文献,统计分析发文量,使用CiteSpace软件可视化处理,得到关键词共现图谱。结果表明:高校教师职业心理健康的相关研究主要集中于职业倦怠和职业压力,研究热点是成因和对策,重点研究对象为体育教师、青年教师、英语教师和女教师;通过内容分析发现,职业压力和职业倦怠均对高校教师职业心理健康存在消极影响;从社会、学校、个人3个层面有效干预可改善教师职业压力和职业倦怠,进而提升其心理健康。     

Parents’ work injuries and children’s mental health: The moderating role of children’s work centrality

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between parents’ work-related injuries and their children’s mental health, and whether children’s work centrality – the extent to which a child believes work will play an important part in their life – exacerbates or buffers this relationship. Method: We argue that high work centrality can exacerbate the relationship between parental work injuries and children’s mental health, with parental work injuries acting as identity-threatening stressors; in contrast, high work centrality may buffer this relationship, with parental work injuries acting as identity-confirming stressors. We test this relationship with a sample of Canadian children (N = 4,884, 46.2% female, M age = 13.67 years). Results:Children whose parents had experienced more frequent lost-time work-related injuries reported worse mental health with high work centrality buffering this negative relationship. Conclusions: Our study highlights the vicarious effects of work injuries on salient others, specifically parental work injuries on children’s mental health, as well as the role of work centrality in shaping children’s sense-making and expectations about the consequences of work.     

The effect of turnover on work satisfaction and mental health: Support for a situational perspective

This study finds support for the situational approach to affect determination in a prospective, two-year longitudinal field study. Specifically, turnover was shown to predict changes in subsequent job measures of work satisfaction and mental health. Employees who changed jobs and occupations showed greater increases in both work satisfaction and mental health than employees who only changed jobs or employees who remained in their initial positions. Further research directions are introduced.     

Does job insecurity lead to impaired well‐being or vice versa? Estimation of cross‐lagged effects using latent variable modelling

Although research suggests that job insecurity is associated with impaired employee well‐being, there is insufficient empirical evidence to draw any causal inferences since most studies are cross‐sectional and thus do not control for previous levels of health symptoms. We used longitudinal questionnaire data to investigate the direction of the relationship between job insecurity and health complaints. After controlling for prior levels of mental and physical health complaints and five other variables that could potentially confound the results (gender, age, organizational tenure, family status, and education), the results of latent variable modelling showed that the cross‐lagged effect of job insecurity on mental health complaints, one year later, was significant whereas the reversed effects of mental and physical health complaints on subsequent insecurity were non‐significant. However, there was no significant cross‐lagged effect of job insecurity on physical health complaints. The results provide empirical support for the theoretical notion that job insecurity leads to health complaints, and imply that prior levels of health should be taken into consideration in order to explain the relative effect of perceived job insecurity on the physical and mental health of the workforce. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Managers' reactions to a corporate acquisition: A test of an integrative model

Drawing upon previous theoretical and empirical work on mergers and acquisitions, survivors' reactions to layoffs, organizational stress, and perceived personal control, we proposed a structural model of managers' reactions to the acquisition of their company. The model was evaluated on the basis of survey data collected from a sample of middle-level managers (N=91) whose company was acquired through a hostile takeover by another company. Both were Fortune 500 companies. Though most variables were measured 16 months after the initial implementation phase of the merger, manifest indicators of change in job control were measured twice: at the beginning of the implementation phase and 16 months later. Mixed latent/manifest variable structural equations analyses provided results that were generally consistent with the proposed model. Implications of the results as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Long work hours: a social identity perspective on meta‐analysis data

The current study utilizes social identity theory to investigate employees' work hours. Specifically, we use meta‐analysis to examine the relationships between hours worked and indicators of organizational identity (e.g., organizational support and tenure), occupational identity (e.g., human capital investments and work centrality), and family identity (e.g., family responsibilities and family satisfaction). The meta‐analysis also allowed us to explore other important correlates of hours worked (e.g., situational demands, job performance, mental health, and physical health), moderating variables (e.g., age, gender, and job complexity), and curvilinear relationships of work hours to social identity indicators. Overall, we found that occupational factors and situational demands had the strongest relationships with hours worked, hours worked were negatively associated with measures of employee well‐being, gender had several significant moderating effects, and there were curvilinear relationships between hours worked and well‐being and work–family conflict variables. The article concludes with directions for future theoretical and empirical research. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

铁路一线职工心理健康评估及风险预警模型研究

对某铁路机务段420名一线职工进行心理健康状况的现况研究并探索其影响因素,初步建立心理健康风险评估模型。整群抽取420例样本,采用症状自评量表(SCL-90)进行心理健康水平测评,与全国常模比较,采用二分类Logistic心理健康风险预警模型进行回归分析。结果表明,铁路一线职工在躯体化、饮食睡眠情况、敌对、强迫症状方面的得分均高于全国常模。年龄、文化程度、现职工种、劳动班制、工龄等因素影响职工心理健康状况。进而提出应做好职工心理疏导工作,探索一线职工心理健康预警指标,实现风险识别关口前移,保障铁路运输安全。     

基于疲劳模式识别的VDT作业工间休息机制*

为保障作业人员身心健康和作业效率,运用E-Prime软件模拟认知性VDT持续作业,通过方差分析提出作业疲劳综合评价指标体系,并使用客观绩效指标和生理指标作为输入变量,主观疲劳综合指数作为输出变量,训练BP神经网络,对作业疲劳进行模式识别;提出认知性VDT持续作业工间休息机制。结果表明:通过正确反应时间、注视时间、瞳孔直径、眨眼频率4项指标,对VDT持续作业疲劳进行模式识别的结果可信度较高。因此,基于上述4项指标提出的工间休息机制客观有效。     

Job and non-job activities,job satisfaction and mental health among veterinarians

This study examines the relationship between dimensions of job and non-job activity, job satisfaction and mental health among veterinary professionals and tests specific predictions arising from the work of Broad bent (1985) and Karasek (1979). Results are based on an analysis of 411 questionnaires returned in a postal survey. Job and non-job activities contributed a significant proportion of unique variance in total mental health as measured, and related differently to anxiety and depression. Support for Broadbent's (1985) predictions was mixed. Pacing related distinctively to anxiety, but depression showed no relationship to social aspects of activity. Both lack of control over the speed of activities and discretion were related to mental health indices, but support was found for the role of discretion as a buffer in an interactive sense on one outcome measure only. Results are discussed in terms of ideas arising from the clinical literature, and suggestions offered for the potential use of carefully chosen activity in controlling levels of anxiety, depression and well-being.     

Work–family conflicts of women in the Air Force: their influence on mental health and functioning

This paper examined the effects of work and family stressors and conflicts on Air Force women's mental health and functioning. We analyzed data from a 1993 survey of representative stratified samples of 525 Air Force women from the active duty reserve and guard forces. The analyses of the data are guided by the comprehensive model of work–family conflict that has been tested by Frone, Russell, and Cooper (1992) using a large representative community sample. Structural equation modeling analyses provided support for the work–family conflict model. The analyses also provided support for an extension of the model, which included the separate effects of marital and parental roles on mental health. The extended model demonstrated that job and parental stresses had direct effects on work–family conflicts and that job and marital distress and family–work conflict had an independent adverse effect on mental health. Whereas job and parental involvement had a beneficial effect on distress, they had an adverse effect on work–family conflicts. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Leadership,followers' mental health and job performance in organizations: A comprehensive meta‐analysis from an occupational health perspective

The present meta‐analysis investigates the associations between leadership, followers' mental health, and job performance by taking into account different groups of leadership constructs including transformational leadership, relations‐oriented leadership, task‐oriented leadership, destructive leadership, and leader–member exchange. Six categories of mental health‐related outcomes are considered representing both negative and positive mental health states of followers, namely, affective symptoms, burnout, stress, well‐being, psychological functioning, and health complaints. Meta‐analytic models are used to estimate the association between these categories of leadership and mental health. Our results reveal that transformational leadership, a high quality of relations‐oriented and task‐oriented leadership behavior, as well as a high quality of leader–follower interaction are positively associated with mental health. In contrast, destructive leadership is strongly negatively associated with mental health. In addition, the mediation effects of leadership on job performance via mental health are estimated. Results partially support the mediating role of mental health concerning the relationship between leadership and job performance. Our results emphasize the importance of leadership as an occupational health factor, and they may serve as basis for the planning and designing of occupational health policies and interventions despite existing research limitations. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cardiovascular Strain of Sawmill Workers in South-Western Nigeria

This study aimed to assess cardiovascular strain during sawmilling operations in terms of physical workload, based on heart rate changes. We measured resting and working heart rates and calculated cardiovascular load (%CVL), cardiovascular strain (%CVS) and relative heart rate (%RHR) in 35 sawmill workers. Based on heart rate only, the work in sawmills was classified as very heavy and extremely heavy. Similarly, a high-level category was recorded for %CVL and a very high range for %CVS. Thus, the workload in sawmill operations is usually very high and can lead to physiological strain of the workers. There is a need to redesign the work content of this occupation to prevent excessive strain in the workers, as this will increase their productivity and reduce their health risk.     

基于综合素质的飞行员安全风险评价模型的构建

如何预防由飞行员自身原因所导致的航空事故,一直是全球航空系统乃至全球性公共安全重大课题。通过对飞行员综合素质,即飞行员的认知能力、人格特征以及心理健康状况的研究,分析整理出了影响飞行员飞行安全的关键素质,基于这些素质指标,构建出飞行员风险评价模型,为航空安全系统性、区域性保障提供参考。