The impact of decision latitude, psychological load and support at work on the development of neck, shoulder and low back symptoms among female human service organization workers

• The aim of the present study was to investigate longitudinal relations between decision latitude, psychological workload and social support and musculoskeletal neck, shoulder and low back symptoms. In this longitudinal two-wave cohort study a questionnaire survey was conducted among female human service organization workers (n=1690). The analyses were based on respondents who were considered free from the respective symptoms at baseline measurements, resulting in study samples of n=741 for neck symptoms, n=670 for shoulder symptoms, and n=640 for low back symptoms. In general support was found for the job demand-control-(support) model. High strain work (high psychological load coupled with low decision latitude) in combination with low social support ("iso-strain") was related to increased risks of developing symptoms (occurence of new episode) in all the body regions studied (neck, shoulder and low back). Relevance to industry: The results indicate that, in order to minimize the occurence of musculoskeletal symptoms, it is important to ensure that employees have adequate levels of decision latitude, to keep the workload at optimal levels, and to provide supervisor support and structures that facilitate coworker support.

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Maskinteknik -- Produktionsteknik, arbetsvetenskap och ergonomi (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Mechanical Engineering -- Production Engineering, Human Work Science and Ergonomics (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Arbetslivsstudier (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Work Sciences (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi -- Tillämpad psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology -- Applied Psychology (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Arbetsmedicin och miljömedicin (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Occupational Health and Environmental Health (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

musculoskeletal symptoms

decision latitude

psychological load

social support

human service organization workers

Karasek demand-control model

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