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The association between type and number of adverse working conditions and mental health during a time of economic crisis (2010–2012)

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Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Many studies have been published on the association between adverse psychosocial working conditions and mental health, but only a few related types of adverse job conditions and a count of these adversities to workers’ mental health, using standardized diagnostic interviews. This study addresses this issue.

Methods

Data were used from the second wave of the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study-2, a nationally representative face-to-face survey of the general population, including 3,672 workers, 166 unemployed and 239 disabled persons. Among workers, psychosocial working conditions (decision latitude, psychological job demands, job security and co-worker support) were assessed with the Job Content Questionnaire. Mental health symptoms were assessed with the Mental Health Inventory (MHI)-5 and DSM-IV diagnoses/syndromes with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0.

Results

Adverse psychosocial job conditions were related to workers’ mental health. The strongest association was found for low job security which increased the chance of mental health symptoms and mental disorders by twofold. Workers in the poorest quality jobs, i.e. experiencing at least three adverse working conditions, had a 3 to almost 5 times higher chance of mental disorders than those in the most optimal jobs. Having a poor quality job was not associated with better mental health compared to being unemployed or disabled. In general, similar relations were found for mood, anxiety and substance use disorders.

Conclusions

In planning future strategies to prevent mental disorders at the workplace, the focus should be on workers who experience job insecurity and on those who report several adversities.

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Acknowledgments

NEMESIS-2 is conducted by the Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction (Trimbos Institute) in Utrecht. Financial support has been received from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, with supplementary support from the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) and the Genetic Risk and Outcome of Psychosis (GROUP) investigators.

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction, Da Costakade 45, 3521 VS, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Margreet ten Have, Saskia van Dorsselaer & Ron de Graaf

Authors
  1. Margreet ten Have
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  2. Saskia van Dorsselaer
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  3. Ron de Graaf
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Margreet ten Have.

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ten Have, M., van Dorsselaer, S. & de Graaf, R. The association between type and number of adverse working conditions and mental health during a time of economic crisis (2010–2012). Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 50, 899–907 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-015-1009-2

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