Bué, Jennifer

Psychosocial Risk Factors at Work - 2008.


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This article presents the statistical quantification for some of the main factors of psychosocial risks at work susceptible of bringing about mental and physical degradation in employees’ health. Three indicators for these risks were identified through the employees’ answers to the SUMER survey (which assesses employees’ exposure to occupational risks in France): aggressions committed by the public, moral violence at work (long-term hostile behaviour) and job strain. They were analysed using the Karasek model. Beyond the limits of any declarative survey, the results highlight the paramount role workplace organisation (hierarchical constraints, lack of means, time constraints...) plays in the occurrence of psychosocial risk factors, as well as the protective effect that social aid has in the workplace.