GoalsTo describe the exposure to psychosocial risks at work and the consumption of psychotropic drugs and opioids among women working as cleaners; and to analyse the association between their exposure to psychosocial risks and drug use.MethodsObservational cross-sectional study based on an online survey (collected during April and May 2021) from the wage-earning population in Spain. In this study, only women working in manual occupations were included (n=3430). Working conditions and drug consumption of cleaning workers were compared with those of other manual workers through bivariate analysis. The adjusted prevalence ratios and the corresponding 95% CIs were estimated using Poisson regression models with robust variance.ResultsCleaning workers were older and had more problems making ends meet than other manual workers and were significantly more exposed to low possibilities for development (85.2 (95% CI 81.8 to 88.0)), high strain (51.9 (95% CI 47.3 to 55.9)) and low social support from colleagues (72.0 (95% CI 68.1 to 75.7)) and supervisors (61.7 (95% CI 57.3 to 65.6)). They also scored higher prevalence rates for the use of tranquillisers (37.7 (95% CI 32.0 to 43.3)) and opioids (33.3 (95% CI 27.9 to 38.6)) consumption indicators. This consumption was associated significantly with high strain exposure and high insecurity over working conditions.DiscussionUnder the umbrella of the 2012 labour reform, cleaning companies shift the pressure and burden they have on ordinary cleaning staff in the form of low wages and precarious working conditions. Our results imply that addressing adverse working conditions, mainly high strain and insecurity over working conditions, may significantly contribute to reducing the gender and social inequalities among cleaning workers.

Objective The aim of the study is to test the relationship between different conceptualizations of job insecurity and health over time by applying a longitudinal design. Methods 543 workers were reinterviewed after 1 year to check if being exposed to job insecurity affected their general and mental health. Robust Poisson regressions were fitted to calculate the incidence rate ratio between job insecurities and two health outcomes. Results Cognitive job loss insecurity increases the risk of poor mental and general health. Other expressions of job insecurity such as labor market insecurity and working conditions insecurity, as well as affective job insecurity, are not significantly related to health across time. Conclusions Caution is needed when interpreting cross-sectional results. Protection against the threat of losing a job would prevent mental health issues and poor general health.

BackgroundThis study addresses the contribution of worker representation to health and safety in the pandemic context. To do so, we examine whether the self-reported presence of representatives in workplaces is associated with the implementation of anti-COVID-19 protective action and with which type of measures their existence is most strongly associated (individual, collective or organizational). The article also explores how the presence of worker representatives and anti-COVID-19 protective measures are distributed according to workers' socio-professional characteristics and company features.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study based on an online survey conducted in Spain (n = 19,452 workers). Multiple Correspondence Analysis was used for the multivariate description while the association between worker representation and protective measures was assessed by robust Poisson regressions.ResultsThe maps resulting from the Multiple Correspondence Analysis allow for the identification of patterns of inequalities in protection, with a clear occupational social class divide. The regression models show that protective measures are applied more frequently where worker representatives exist, this association being particularly strong in relation to organizational measures.ConclusionsThe presence of worker representation is systematically associated with a greater presence of protective measures, which could have implications for the reduction of social inequalities resulting from labor-management practices.

Introduction: It is well known that work has a great influence on the well-being of workers. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems evident that work organization, in particular, plays a key role to face and control a pandemic. Consequently, it is essential to establish specific and sustainable tools to further study the relationship between work organization and workers' health. The aim of this paper is to describe the study design and baseline data of the OTS PANEL ("OTS" stands for "Work Organization and Health" in Spanish). Methods: Panel -type cohort study to be carried out annually applying an online self-administered questionnaire. Work organization and health indicators and their corresponding questions were selected through a multistep process carried out by a team composed by professionals of different disciplines. The sample is composed of n = 1824 salaried workers, aged 25-64, residing in Spain. Results: Mean response time was 17.4 +/- 7 min (median 15.8). 84.6 % of the indicators had percentages of missing values lower than 3 %, with labor market insecurity being the highest (5.8 %). We compute 39 indicators in which, except for a few cases, women and manual workers show consistently worse results. Conclusions: OTS PANEL can represent a valuable information source in Spain to contribute to generate solid evidence for research and for decision-making to improve the living and health conditions of the working population.

Background: In recent years, substantial changes have occurred in the work organization and arrangements. One of the main ones has been the popularization of teleworking among non-manual workers. This paper aims to assess the exposure of psychosocial risks among non-manual Spanish wage-earners, depending on the working modality (mainly telework, combining teleworking with onsite work, or onsite work). Methods: Based on an online survey conducted between April and May 2021, a cross-sectional study was carried out among n=11,519 members ofa trade union where Psychosocial Risks (PSR) were measured through COPSOQ Questionnaire Scales. All analyses were performed stratifying by sex. Results: Women who combine telework and face-to-face work (aPR: 1.21; 95%CI 1.07-1.37) and men who mainly telework (aPR: 1.26; 95%CI 1.11-1.43) and that combine (aPR: 1.27; 95%CI 1.11-1.45) are more exposed to quantitative demands than men and women who do not telework. On the other hand, women who telework, either entirely (aPR: 0.89; 95%CI 0.82-0.97) or combining (aPR: 0.89; 95%CI 0.81-0.98), are less exposed to emotional demands than women who do not telework, and the same occurs among men who mainly telework (aPR: 0.84; 95%CI 0.76-0.92). Telework and horizontal or vertical social support are not associated, except for supervisor support among males, nor with work-life conflict. Conclusions: Except for quantitative demands, employees who combine telework and face-to-face work are less exposed to psychosocial risks than those who mainly telework or work face-to-face only. More studies with a gender and class perspective are needed in this area.

Looking at psychosocial risk prevention, this paper analyses changes in working conditions arising from the implementation of direct consultative group participation practices at three companies with a Taylorist work setup. Trade union representatives negotiated and supervised implementation of these practices to enrich work and avoid competitiveness and intensi-fication, in order to make employment healthy. This sub-study is based on focus groups and category content analysis of manual workers' testimony. The study aims to understand how implementing these practices could lead to better working conditions in these jobs, as indicated by some quantitative population-based studies in Spain and the EU. Consultative direct group participation does not represent a questioning of corporate prerogative or imply democracy in the workplace. However, applied under the right conditions, it would reduce the dramatic division between design and execution at work at an operational level; would enrich simple and standardised work; and would create collaborative dynamics and solidar-ity in individualised roles, thereby increasing influence and opportunities for acquiring and applying skills and knowledge and enabling support from colleagues and superiors without intensifying or extending work. In this way, group direct participation could reduce harm-ful and unequal exposure to psychosocial risks, leading to working conditions which would generate fewer mental and cardiovascular health problems. Nothing more, nothing less.

Desde la mirada de la prevención de riesgos psicosociales, este artículo analiza los cambios en las condiciones de trabajo que supuso la implementación de prácticas de participación directa consultiva grupal en tres empresas con una organización del trabajo taylorista y autoritaria. La representación laboral sindicalizada negoció y supervisó su implantación para conseguir enriquecer el trabajo y evitar la competitividad y la intensificación, con el fin de que resultara saludable. Este estudio se basa en grupos focales y un análisis de contenido categorial de los testimonios de trabajadoras y trabajadores en puestos de ejecución. Su objetivo es comprender en qué sentido la aplicación de estas prácticas podría suponer unas mejores condiciones de trabajo en estos puestos, como señalan algunos estudios cuantitativos poblacionales en España y en la UE. La participación directa consultiva grupal ni representa el cuestionamiento de la prerrogativa empresarial ni la democracia en el trabajo. Sin embargo, aplicada en las condiciones adecuadas, permitiría atenuar operativamente la drástica separación entre diseño y ejecución, enriquecer un trabajo simple y estandarizado y crear dinámicas de colaboración y solidaridad en puestos individualizados, incrementando la influencia y las posibilidades de aplicar y adquirir habilidades y conocimientos y posibilitando el apoyo de compañeras, compañeros y superiores, sin intensificar ni extensificar el trabajo. De esta manera, la participación directa grupal podría reducir la exposición nociva y desigual a los riesgos psicosociales, lo que conllevaría unas condiciones laborales que generarían menos problemas de salud mental y cardiovascular. Ni más ni menos.

Introduction: The aim is to describe the health and psychosocial risk factors of Spanish healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study by means of an online questionnaire (April-May 2020). The data comes from the database resulting from the COTS project "Working conditions, insecurity, and health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic". The sample consisted of 1989 health care workers. Results: Women, young people (doctors and nurses) and the middle-aged (assistants) had poorer health and greater exposure to psychosocial risks. Geriatric assistants were the most-affected occupational group. Conclusions: gender, occupation, and age are focuses of inequality in the exposure of health care workers to psychosocial risks.

To estimate the prospective relationships between exposure to psychosocial risks dimensions included in the COPSOQ-Istas21 and the deterioration of general and mental health and sleep problems among workers residing in Spain.Cohort whose baseline corresponds to the 2016 Psychosocial Risks Survey with a new measurement after one year.Social capital and interpersonal relations and leadership dimensions, as well as work̶life conflict, were related to all health variables. Dimensions of work organization and job contents did it especially with the mental health, the quantitative demands with the general health and the emotional ones with the mental health. The dimensions related to job insecurity did not show relationships with health.The results obtained reinforce the role of the COPSOQ-Istas21 as a useful instrument for the evaluation and prevention of psychosocial risks at work.

Los riesgos psicosociales configuran uno de los aspectos más relevantes del ambiente de trabajo en relación con la salud, y con la salud mental en particular. Existe abundante evidencia en relación con el efecto que tiene la exposición a diversos de estos riesgos sobre la incidencia de episodios de depresión, burnout, trastornos ansiosodepresivos, problemas del sueño e incluso en la ideación suicida. La salud mental entre la población trabajadora en España se ha mantenido relativamente estable de 2005 a 2016 con un deterioro muy importante en 2021 con la irrupción de la COVID-19. Así, en 2021 más de la mitad de los/las trabajadores/as estaban a riesgo de padecer algún trastorno moderado ansiosodepresivo (55,9 %), cifra que triplicaba la de 2016, mientras que el 18,9 % estaban a riesgo de trastornos severos, más de nueve veces lo estimado cinco años atrás. De forma similar, la exposición a riesgos psicosociales se ha incrementado de forma abrupta, siendo que los trabajos demandantes emocionalmente e ítems relacionados con el conflicto trabajo-familia muestran patrones de exposición similares a los de la salud mental.

Background Studying the working population’s mental health in times of crisis (such as the 2008 recession or the COVID-19 pandemic) is very relevant. This study aims to assess the prevalence of poor mental health among the Spanish salaried population, according to the labour market inequality axes (2005–2021). Methods Repeated cross-sectional study by comparing different surveys from 2005, 2010, 2016 and 2021 on workers residing in Spain who had been working in a salaried job during the week preceding the survey. n=7197 (2005), n=4985 (2010), n=1807 (2016) and n=18 870 (2021). Outcome variable: poor mental health (Mental Health Inventory of the 36-item Short Form Health Survey scale). Explanatory variables: gender, age, occupational class and type of contract. Prevalence of poor mental health was estimated for each year by means of logistic regression models with robust clustered SEs, stratifying by the explanatory variables. Additionally, prevalence ratios (PR) were estimated by means of robust Poisson regression models to assess differences between the explanatory variables’ categories. All analyses were weighted to address unrepresentativeness. Results Poor mental health significantly increased in 2021 (55.92%), compared with the previous years of study (15%–17.72%). Additionally, pattern changes were identified on inequality axes in 2021, with better mental health status among older workers (oldest group PR: 0.76; 95% CI 0.71 to 0.8) and permanent workers (PR: 0.9; 95% CI 0.85 to 0.94). Conclusion This study shows a steep worsening of mental health among the salaried population in 2021 compared with previous periods. In 2021, health inequalities have apparently narrowed, although not by improving the disadvantaged groups’ mental health but by worsening the typically advantaged groups’ mental health.

Abstract Background Despite the growing number of studies on direct participation labor‐management practices, little is known about the role of their different discretionary degrees (delegation or consultation) and topics in their relationship with the psychosocial work environment by occupational groups. Methods Cross‐sectional study on the relationship between direct participation and work‐related psychosocial risks (using COPSOQ‐ISTAS21 v3) on a representative sample of the salaried and wage‐earning employees in Spain (n = 1807). Prevalence ratios were calculated using adjusted Poisson regression models, controlling for 10 other labor‐management practices, sex, and age, and stratified by occupational group. Results The use of direct participation was either associated consistently with a healthier psychosocial work environment (mostly in manual occupations, which presented twice as many positive associations as nonmanual occupations, and of greater strength, mostly in the control and social support dimensions) or there were no significant associations (mostly among nonmanual occupations and in relation to work pace). More frequent and stronger associations were observed when consultation and delegation were used in combination. If used separately, consultation achieved better results among manual occupations and delegation among nonmanual occupations. Direct participation topics were not important for results in manual occupations whereas results were better on tactical (vs. operational) issues in nonmanual occupations. Conclusions Direct participation does not change power structure, but it may be a useful intervention at the company level to reduce work‐related psychosocial exposures and associated diseases among workers in manual occupations, and consequently for decreasing occupational exposures and health inequalities.

Objecives: To describe the characteristics of the workers of activity sectors other than sanitary and socio-sanitary, who go to work with COVID-19 symptoms (GWC19S) during the lockdown or first phase of the lockdown de-escalation in Spain. Study design: An observational cross-sectional study based on a convenience sample selected from the COTS online survey. Methods: A cross-sectional study based on a sample of n = 9601 workers. Descriptive analyses were performed calculating GWC19S prevalences and fitting robust Poisson regressions to obtain crude and adjusted prevalence ratios. Results: The overall GWC19S prevalence is 5.6%, greater in young people (8.7%), manual workers (8.7%), workers with low salaries (9.5%), and workers of essential sectors (7.4%). Among those workers who went to work regularly to their workplaces, the GWC19S prevalence is 10.0%, greater in young (15.1%), workers with low salaries (14.2%), and women (13.2%). Conclusions: The axes of inequality of the labor market are clearly represented in the GWC19S phenomenon. (C) 2021 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fundamentos: El Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) es uno de los mas utilizados en investigacion y evaluacion de riesgos psicosociales en el trabajo. En este articulo se describio la adaptacion de la tercera version internacional a Espana y se presentaron las pruebas de su validez y fiabilidad. Metodos: La mayoria de los items ya formaban parte de las versiones anteriores I y II. La traduccion de los nuevos items fue realizada mediante traduccion/traduccion inversa. El cuestionario se incluyo en la Encuesta de Riesgos Psicosociales de 2016, estudio transversal de una muestra representativa de la poblacion asalariada en Espana (N=1.807). Se analizaron los estadisticos descriptivos, consistencia interna, efectos suelo y techo y estructura factorial. Se calcularon las Razones de Prevalencia ajustadas por edad, sexo y clase ocupacional (aRP) con salud mental, salud general y satisfaccion laboral. Finalmente, se calcularon los valores de referencia poblacionales para todas las dimensiones del instrumento. Resultados: El cuestionario mostro una excelente estructura factorial. Todas las escalas, excepto una, mostraron α de Cronbach

OBJECTIVE:The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questio-nnaire (COPSOQ) is one of the most widely used in research and psychosocial risk assessment in the workplace. The adaptation of the third international COPSOQ version to Spain is described and the evidence of its validity and reliability presented.METHODS:Most of the items were already part of the previous versions I and II. The translation of the new items was done by means of translation/reverse translation. The questionnaire was included in the Psychosocial Risk Survey 2016, a cross-sectional study of a representative sample of the wage-earning population in Spain (N=1,807). Descriptive statistics, internal consistency, floor and ceiling effects and factor structure were analysed. Prevalence Ratios adjusted by age, sex and occupational class (aPR) to mental health, general health and job satisfaction were calculated. Finally, population reference values were calculated for all dimensions of the instrument.RESULTS:The questionnaire showed an excellent factorial structure. All scales, except one, showed α of Cronbach >0.70. Comparing the COPSOQ-Istas21 III scales with their international references, Cronbach's α were higher and the ceiling and floor effects were lower; i.e. Organisational Justice: α=0.85 vs 0.74, ceiling and floor 1.6 and 9.4 vs 3.3 and 12.8. The aPR between all the psychosocial dimensions and the Mental Health, General Health and Job Satisfaction were in the expected direction and showed an association gradient.CONCLUSIONS:COPSOQ-Istas21 version III presents psychometric properties analogous or better than the original in English language, and good indicators of validity and reliability, to be used in research and psychosocial risk assessment at the workplace in Spain.

OBJECTIVE:To estimate the prospective relationships between exposure to psychosocial risks dimensions included in the COPSOQ-Istas21 and the deterioration of general and mental health and sleep problems among workers residing in Spain. METHOD:Cohort whose baseline corresponds to the 2016 Psychosocial Risks Survey with a new measurement after one year. RESULTS:Social capital and interpersonal relations and leadership dimensions, as well as work̶life conflict, were related to all health variables. Dimensions of work organization and job contents did it especially with the mental health, the quantitative demands with the general health and the emotional ones with the mental health. The dimensions related to job insecurity did not show relationships with health. CONCLUSIONS:The results obtained reinforce the role of the COPSOQ-Istas21 as a useful instrument for the evaluation and prevention of psychosocial risks at work.

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationships between three domains of job insecurity, namely job loss insecurity, insecurity regarding working conditions and labor market insecurity, taking into account both their cognitive and affective components. Relationships with other related factors such as worker's sociodemographic characteristics, household economic circumstances and occupational factors related to job insecurity are also shown. In order to achieve this we have used log-linear models and multiple correspondence analysis. By considering three domains and two components of perceived insecurity simultaneously, relevant aspects not previously observed of the relationships between them and related factors are revealed. This cross-sectional study of the wage-earning population in Spain in 2016 introduces therefore an element of complexity in the discussion on job insecurity which it would be advisable to incorporate in future research.

OBJECTIVE:To check for associations between various types of job insecurity and self-reported sleeping problems. DESIGN:A population-based, cross-sectional study. SETTING:Spain, 2016. PARTICIPANTS:Salaried workers included in the third Psychosocial Risks Survey (n = 1807). MEASUREMENTS:We investigated the association between 6 subjective and 2 attributed indicators of job insecurity (exposure) with 5 sleep problem variables (difficulty falling sleep, difficulty sleeping through the night, waking up too early, sleeping restlessly, and a composite variable summing all the sleeping problems) using Poisson regression, and controlling for socioeconomic, occupational, and demographic factors. RESULTS:Anticipating a salary decrease or working at a company where staff restructuring had occurred in the preceding year were associated with sleeping problems. Having a temporary or informal employment contract and most domains of perceived job insecurity were not a significant factor in adjusted models. CONCLUSIONS:Recent or anticipated economic hardship within a worker's household was the main predictor of sleeping problems. More research is needed to elucidate the exact mechanisms through which the experience of aspects of downsizing might manifest in disruptions to employees' sleep. Sleep health should be an active part of all employee wellness programs.