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Workplace Risks and Worker Outcomes from a Comparative European Perspective

This research examines workplace risks and their impact on worker outcomes in European countries, including Ireland. It compares exposure to different types of risks in 2010 and analyzes their effect on health, mental distress, and injury. The study aims to understand if Ireland can learn from other European countries' policies and improve working conditions.

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Workplace Risks and Worker Outcomes from a Comparative European Perspective

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  1. Workplace Risks and Worker Outcomes from a Comparative European Perspective Dorothy Watson, Bertrand Maître, Helen Russell Geary Research Conference: Health at Work in Ireland Friday November 20th 9.00 to 1.00

  2. Outline • Background and research questions • Data and methods • Key Results • Country patterns • Risk factors in 2010 • Change since 2005 • Impact on health, mental distress, injury • Summary • Policy implications

  3. Background • Healthy working conditions important to job quality, but also to competitiveness, productivity, enabling workers to work for longer (European Commission, 2014, p.2). • Several different ways of grouping countries depending on organisation of work • Varieties of Capitalism (Hall and Soskice, 2001 – co-ordinated or competitive markets) • Employment Regimes (Gallie, 2007, 2013 – involvement of organised labour and employment regulation) • Bukodi and Robert (2007, employment protection legislation)

  4. Research Questions • Is Ireland similar enough to other European countries to learn from their policies? • How did Irish exposure to workplace risks compare to that in other European countries in 2010? • Level and correlates of exposure • Did this change between 2005 and 2010? • How do these risks affect worker outcomes such as health problems, reduced wellbeing, injury?

  5. Background: Employment Rate &Recession in Europe

  6. Data and Methods • European Working Conditions Survey • Sample of about 1,000 workers in each of 34 countries • 2010 and 2005 (30 countries when comparing both years) • Detailed data on working conditions • Analysis includes self-employed and employees 4 kinds of workplace risks 3 worker outcomes (physical health, mental distress, injury)

  7. Types of Workplace Risk • Physical : exposure to vibration from tools or machinery, loud noise and extremes of temperature. • Chemical/biological : smoke, fumes, dust, vapours, skin contact with chemicals or contact with potentially infectious materials. • Physically demanding work: lifting or moving people, carrying or moving heavy loads, painful or tiring positions or constant repetitive hand or arm movements. • Psycho-social : unwanted sexual attention, physical violence, bullying or harassment at work in the last 12 months. • Workers asked how much of the time their job involves these exposures (except Psycho-social risk with yes/no in last year) • Counted as ‘risk’ where 40% of those with this level of exposure say their health or safety is at risk because of their job.

  8. Summary Workplace Risk Scales 2010

  9. Employment Regimes

  10. Adjusted risk exposure: adjustment for composition of jobs and workforce Job characteristics Worker characteristics Gender Age group Level of education Whether born in country • Employee/self-employed • Size of workplace • Public/private sector • Industrial sector • Occupation • Job tenure (length of time) • Hours per week

  11. Adjusted (Net) Mean Exposure to Types of Risk by Country

  12. Risk exposure by Job Characteristics – (34 countries, 2010) Effect Size: LLL or JJJ > +/- 1 .0 LL or JJ > +/- 0.5

  13. Risk exposure Job & Worker Characteristics – (34 countries, 2010)

  14. How is Ireland Different? • Adjusted exposure lower than average for physical, chemical/biological & physically demanding work • Like other North Western European countries, level of exposure to psycho-social risk in the top third • Ireland generally similar to other European countries in the way in which risk exposure depended on the type of job held • A small number of exceptions • E.g. the gap in exposure between skilled manual and managerial workers was larger in Ireland for physical risk and chemical/biological risk

  15. Change between 2005 and 2010 • Physical risk – small fall in exposure overall • Mainly due to shifts in composition of jobs and workers • But an increase in exposure in Ireland • Chemical/biological – general fall in exposure • Including in Ireland • Physically demanding work – no change in about half the countries, including Ireland • Most of the rest had a fall in exposure • Psycho-social risk – fall in exposure in most countries • Including Ireland • Larger fall in countries with highest exposure in 2005 – FI and NL

  16. Worker Outcomes • 3 outcomes: • Poor Health – self-rated health is bad or very bad • Mental Distress – WHO scale based on 5 items ranging from 0 (no distress) to 10 (high distress) • Injury – Experienced injury in the last 12 months • Not specifically linked to employment; cross-sectional data • 34 countries, 2010 • Models controlling for other individual and job characteristics • (Same as previous list) • Results presented as adjusted level of negative outcome at low (0), medium (5) and high (10) levels of risk exposure.

  17. Poor Health (%) by Exposure to Workplace Risk (adjusted)

  18. Mental Distress (0 to 10 scale) by Exposure to Workplace Risk (adjusted)

  19. Injury in last year (%) by Exposure to Workplace Risk (adjusted)

  20. Summary • Irish exposure to physical risk, chemical/biological risk and physically demanding work in lower part of country distribution. • Exposure to psycho-social risks towards the top (like other NW European countries) • Ireland is similar to other countries in relationship between exposure and characteristics of jobs and workers • Since 2005, adjusting for composition of jobs and workforce, fall in exposure to chemical/biological and psycho-social risk in Ireland; rise in exposure to physical risk; no change for physically demanding work. • Workplace risks associated with negative outcomes for workers with particularly strong impact from psycho-social risks.

  21. Limitations and Further Research • Data does not include people who left work because of illness or injury • Risks and outcomes measured at same point in time • Can be difficult to disentangle effects • Some effects may take many years to manifest – e.g. Musculo-skeletal problems, many occupational illnesses • Impact of workplace organisation on risk exposure and outcomes for employees – • Union representation, autonomy, flexibility, supportiveness of employer/colleagues • 2015 survey data will be available next year

  22. Policy Implications • Continue to target prevention strategies towards high-risk sectors and occupations • Lower-skilled jobs, manual work • Agriculture, forestry & fishing; mining & quarrying; manufacturing • Psycho-social risks need to be taken seriously • Strong pattern of negative outcomes associated with risk exposure, especially exposure to psycho-social risks • Ireland could learn from effective prevention strategies in other countries • Ireland compared to other countries – more similarities than differences

  23. Comments or questions welcome. Thank You!

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