Employmentweb_low

EmploymEnt, Work, And hEAlth InEquAlItIEs - a global perspective
traffic controller at the harbour's control
tower. port of Genoa (Italy).
source: © ilo/M. crozet (2008)
Macfarlane, & nicholas, 2007). Good examples of physical
consequences of psychosocial working conditions are provided by
musculoskeletal complaints and cardiovascular outcomes. The
psychosocial work environment is assumed to influence
musculoskeletal complaints through a number of pathways.
People working in adverse psychosocial circumstances are
reported to have a higher secretion of catecholamine, faster heart
rhythm, higher blood pressure and greater muscular tension
(frankenhaeuser & Gardell, 1976). stress-related muscular
tension increases the static load of the muscles, which may result
in more fatigued muscles and the discomfort associated with it
(Westgaard & Bjorklund, 1987). in addition, stressed individuals
may change their behaviour and as a result, increase muscular
tension (lim, sauter, & swanson, 1998). for example, stress may
result in the application of more force than necessary in
performing tasks. furthermore, psychosocial factors can also
increase the ergonomic demands of a task, for example, by having
to work harder or faster (lim et al., 1998). finally, perceptual
mechanisms may also interact with the effects of physical
movements or postures (sauter & swanson, 1996). for example,
symptoms related to a specific working position may emerge
more quickly in dull or routine jobs.
another interesting case is provided by cardiovascular disease
(cVd) and its related risk factors (Belkic, landsbergis, schnall, &
Baker, 2004). high blood pressure appears to constitute one of the
main pathways between adverse psychosocial working conditions
and cVd (Belkic et al., 2004; Brisson, larocque, Moisan, Vezina, &
dagenais, 2000; Greiner, Krause, ragland, & fisher, 2004; schnall,
schwartz, landsbergis, Warren, & Pickering, 1998; Vrijkotte, Van
doornen, & de Geus, 2000). eri has also been associated with other
risk factors, such as ldl/hdl cholesterol (Peter et al., 1998;
siegrist, 1990), body mass index (BMi) (Kivimäki et al., 2002) and
new cases of Type 2 diabetes (Kouvonen et al., 2006). links between
eri and behavioural risk factors, such as being overweight,
smoking, heavy alcohol use, and physical inactivity have also been
demonstrated (Kouvonen et al., 2006; siegrist & rodel, 2006). The
BMi is related to the metabolic syndrome, a cluster of physiological
factors increasing the risk of heart disease and diabetes, which is
linked via a dose-response relationship with situations of job stress
(chandola, Brunner, & Marmot, 2006).
on the other hand, it has also been shown that material
working conditions are related to psychological outcomes (de
croon, Blonk, de Zwart, frings-dresen, & Broersen, 2002;
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