Perceived psychosocial working conditions in an industrial company

Abstract

A portrait of the perceived psychosocial working conditions by workers at an industrial wood and furniture processing company in Portugal is presented, based on their assessment of exposure to a set of psychosocial risk factors. A survey was used, through a questionnaire made available in loco in the organization, to obtain data on the perceived working conditions in this industry. It was validated 265 questionnaires. The results showed the existence of favourable psychosocial working conditions. The most concerning risk factors registered a moderate incidence and were related to the job demands, namely in terms of rhythms and cognitive and emotional demands, the interface between person and profession, namely in terms of contractual insecurity and work-family conflict, and the health and well-being of workers, particularly in terms of stress and exhaustion. Additionally, this study demonstrated that the perceived working conditions favour a unique portrait of the organizational dynamics, and create bases to signal contexts of exposure to risks and opportunities for improvement the psychosocial factors at work.