Substantiating the concept of work strain: its implication for the assessment of work stressors

Stress at Work and Well-being Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A 1-Year Longitudinal Study in Switzerland

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study is to analyze the development of conditions at work and health-related variables (notably exhaustion) in Switzerland longitudinally before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

Questionnaire data were collected from a population-based sample of 1,553 employees in February 2020 and 1 year later. Health and well-being associated with ( a ) working conditions in general and ( b ) COVID-19-specific predictors such as worries about being infected and conditions for working at home were analyzed using analysis of (co)variance and multiple regression.

RESULTS

Conditions at work and well-being were stable overall, even indicating slight improvements, notably for men compared with women. Both an index representing stressors and resources at work in general (Job Stress Index) and a COVID-19-related demand index showed consistent effects on health and the effect of COVID-19-related demands was stronger if the Job Stress Index deteriorated than when it improved.

The work–family interface in a gendered cultural context: Cross-national analysis of work stress

Work stress is one key health outcome that is responsive to the work–family interface, particularly to the extent to which work and family life lead to conflict outside of their respective spheres. Previous scholarship examining work stress cross-nationally has highlighted the culturally specific work expectations that shape worker experiences in the workplace. However, those work expectations are shaped by cultural opportunities for women and men. This article adds to the literature on cross-national understandings of work using 2010 European Social Survey data ( N = 4,278 women and 3,712 men) to examine the extent to which country-level differences in gender equality shape the experiences of worker stress in 26 countries. After controlling for individual-level demands and resources (in the home and workplace), the analysis yields two key findings. First, there is an association between work-to-family conflict and worker stress for both women and men, but the association between family-to-work conflict and worker stress was evident only among women. Second, the gendered cultural context shapes women’s experience of workplace stress both directly and through moderating the negative influences of work-to-family and family-to-work conflict. The findings have specific significance for understanding how cultural context shapes whether workplace policies can be used as mechanisms to reduce worker stress.

The impact of personal attributes on the association between cumulative exposure to work stressors and cardiovascular disease

OBJECTIVE

To examine the impact of personal attributes (coping and negative affectivity) on the association between cumulative exposure to work stressors and cardiovascular disease (CVD).

METHODS

6154 employees from the Maastricht Cohort Study (MCS) were selected who had complete data on the MCS Work Stressor Score (MCS-WSS) at three consecutive time points during 1998-2000 and free of CVD during the exposure assessment period. CVD was assessed from 2000 until 2008 with questionnaires. Cumulative exposure to work stressors was calculated as the frequency of exposure in the upper quartile of the MCS-WSS and consisted of the categories: none, once, twice or thrice exposed. Cox regression analyses were used to examine the direct effect of personal attributes on CVD incidence and the intermediating, confounding and moderating effect on the association between cumulative exposure to work stressors and CVD. Logistic regression was used to examine the influence of personal attributes on the odds of high cumulative exposure (thrice exposed).

RESULTS

High NA was significantly associated with high cumulative exposure to work stressors. There was no significant evidence supporting an intermediating, confounding or moderating effect of NA or coping on the association between cumulative exposure to work stressors and CVD.

CONCLUSION

The association between cumulative exposure to work stressors and CVD is not confounded or intermediated by NA or coping. High NA showed a direct effect on high cumulative exposure to work stressors. However, it should be examined whether high NA individuals experience more work stressors or are actually exposed to more work stressors.

The prospective relationship between work stressors and cardiovascular disease, using a comprehensive work stressor measure for exposure assessment

PURPOSE

The currently used instruments which measure the psychosocial work environment have been criticized. We analyzed the association between work stressors and cardiovascular disease, using the Maastricht Cohort Study Work Stressor Score (MCS-WSS), a comprehensive measure which has been associated with work strain.

METHODS

At baseline 11,489 employees of the Maastricht Cohort Study were participating. This prospective cohort study started in 1998 in the Netherlands and includes a heterogeneous population of employees. The psychosocial work environment, cardiovascular risk factors and the occurrence of cardiovascular disease were measured with questionnaires at various time points during follow-up, the last follow-up was in 2008. For a subsample of employees, CVD extracted from medical records was available. The MCS-WSS consists of items from emotional demands, psychological demands, role clarity, career possibilities, working overtime, job insecurity, cognitive demands, skills discretion and decision authority. Each item has its own contribution in inducing work strain, represented by its own weighting factor. The association between a high exposure to work stressors at baseline and cardiovascular morbidity was assessed with Cox regression analyses. Analyses were adjusted for age, gender, educational level, smoking, body mass index, alcohol consumption and leisure physical activity.

RESULTS

During a median follow-up of 49 months, 309 employees developed incident cardiovascular disease. Overall, no significant associations were found between a high exposure to work stressors at baseline and cardiovascular morbidity.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study indicate that high exposure to work stressors has no considerable impact on cardiovascular disease.