Abstract
Work is a core activity for individuals and society. Participation in the labour market determines a wide range of life chances that are mediated through regular wages and salaries. Work and employment confer social status, and paid work contributes to the realization of important human needs of performance, agency, skill development and personal control, of reward, recognition and related self-esteem, and of participating in wider social networks providing support and a sense of belonging. Yet, we observe marked social inequalities in the quality of work and employment between and within countries, and these inequalities contribute to a high burden of work-related diseases that continues to challenge science and policy, especially so in times of economic globalization. One such challenge to science concerns the development of theoretical concepts that successfully identify the critical ‘toxic’ and salutary components within the complexities of modern working and employment conditions that may instruct evidence-based prevention. This chapter presents one such theoretical model, ‘effort-reward imbalance’. Given its broad application in international research and its relevance for policy this model sets the frame and defines the core content of this book.
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Siegrist, J. (2016). A Theoretical Model in the Context of Economic Globalization. In: Siegrist, J., Wahrendorf, M. (eds) Work Stress and Health in a Globalized Economy. Aligning Perspectives on Health, Safety and Well-Being. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32937-6_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32937-6_1
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