Work-related psychosocial risk factors and psychiatric disorders: A cross-sectional study in the French working population

Social issues relating to Vladimir Bekhterev's concept of reflexology: a hitherto underestimated aspect of his work

This article investigates the diversity of social and political assertions in the work of Vladimir M Bekhterev. Its findings reveal that he drew social and political conclusions based on his doctrine of reflexology. Moreover, he propagated the use of statistical investigations by scientific and governmental institutions to estimate the social and healthcare needs of the population. These conclusions accord with Bekhterev's desire for a transformation of society that would bring continued progress to people's social and living conditions. Additionally, the findings of this research work also support the idea that Bekhterev should be regarded as an important protagonist of neuroethics, a relatively recent field of research.

A new ranking index to identify the work-related psychosocial factors most impacting mental health: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

In modern professional life, mental health prevention and promotion have become a major challenge for decision-makers. Devising appropriate actions requires better understanding the role played by each work-related psychosocial factor (WPSF). The objective of this study was to present a relevant tool to hierarchise WPSFs that jointly takes into account their importance (impact on mental health) and their prevalence (the proportion of the population exposed to WPSF).

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study was conducted in March 2018 among 3200 French workers which are representative of the French working population.

SETTING

France.

PARTICIPANTS

Individuals aged 18-80 years who declared currently having a job (even a part-time job) whatever their occupation or status (employee or self-employed) were eligible. We excluded students, unemployed individuals, housewives/husbands and retired people. The mental health level was assessed using the General Health Questionnaire-28 and 44 items were gathered from theoretical models of WPSFs. We assessed two distinct multivariate methods for calculating WPSF importance: (1) weifila (weighted first last) method in a linear regression context and (2) random forests in a non-linear context. Both methods were adjusted on individual, health and job characteristics.

RESULTS

The WPSF rankings obtained with the two methods to calculate importance are strongly consistent with each other (correlation coefficient=0.88). We highlighted nine WPSFs that are ranked high by both methods. In particular, irrespective of the chosen method, lack of communication, lack of social and hierarchy support and personal-professional life imbalance, emotional demands at work and dissatisfaction with the compensation received came out as top-ranking WPSFs.

CONCLUSIONS

A total of nine WPSFs were identified as key for decision-making. The easy-to-use tools we propose can help decision-makers identify priority WPSFs and design effective strategies to promote mental health in the workplace.

Job Dissatisfaction Mediated the Associations Between Work Stress and Mental Health Problems

Objective: This study aimed to explore the relationships and the underlying mechanisms between work stress and mental health problems, and potential mediation effects through job dissatisfaction in a working population. Methods: A large population-based study among workers in China was conducted. The self-reported scales of assessing job dissatisfaction and work stress were included in the questionnaire. Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 and Patient Health Questionnaire-2 were used for assessment of mental health. Univariate logistic regression was conducted to test the associations between work stress and mental health. Path analysis was conducted to test the proposed mediation model. Results: Of the 6,190 included employees, 27.72% reported that they perceived work stress, 14.84% of them reported that they were not satisfied with their work, 5.01% of the employees reported depressive symptoms, and 3.75% of the employees reported anxiety symptoms. The results of univariate logistic regression showed that employees who perceived work stress were more likely to report anxiety symptoms (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.78; 95% CI: 2.03-3.79) or depressive symptoms (AOR = 1.61; 95% CI: 1.22-2.12). The path analysis showed that work stress was positively associated with job dissatisfaction. Job dissatisfaction mediated the relationship between work stress and mental health problems among Chinese working adults. Conclusion: This study suggests the importance of psychosocial work environment for mental health among Chinese working adults. Work dissatisfaction is a stressor that may induce negative consequences on the mental health among Chinese workers. Interventions to help workers with stress management may be beneficial for their mental health.