Quality of working life and psychological distress: comparing shift and non-shift workers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21134/pssa.v14i1.8Keywords:
shift work, quality of working life, Anxiety, Somatization, Depression, well-beingAbstract
Occupational life is a source of stress for workers, and in particular for those working in shifts, leading to consequences to their psychological well-being and mental health. This study aims to analyze the psychological distress and quality of working life (QoWL), comparing them among shift and non-shift workers. Also, it aims to explore QoWL’s role as a predictor of psychological distress. A total of 472 workers (of which 222 work in shifts), with a mean age of 37.5 years (SD = 11.9), participated in the current study. Data were collected with an online survey including a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Work-Related Quality of Life Scale (WRQoL), and the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18). The results show that shift workers have higher psychological distress (t = 3.96, p = <.001) and a more negative perception of their QoWL (t = -3.28, p = <.001) than non-shift workers. QoWL was found to be a statistically significant predictor of psychological distress in all workers (β = -.567; t = -14.916; p = <.001). QoWL dimensions were explored as predictors of somatization, depression and anxiety showing that general well-being at work predicts psychological distress among both groups of workers (i.e., shift and non-shift), contributing to improve workers’ mental health. The study adds to previous research, finding that working in shifts can be detrimental to QoWL and well-being, and that general well-being of workers is key to improve workers’ mental health. Practical implications are drawn from the results.
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