Health Psychology

Occupational Health Psychology (OHP)
Syed Md. Sajjad Kabir
Lecturer, Dept. of Psychology, CUSMS Kabir, smskabir@psy.jnu.ac.bd;
smskabir218@gmail.com 1

Occupational Health and Safety
• Direct, immediate--killed or injured on the job.
• An effect over time--exposure to toxic substances.
• Can be indirect--job stress may increase use of alcohol.
• Some are the result of the physical environment; e.g.,
outdoor workers can be exposed to extremes in weather
or loud noises.
• Others may be nonphysical conditions, such as changes
in work schedules, night shift work, and heavy
workloads.
SMS Kabir, smskabir@psy.jnu.ac.bd;

Accidents and Safety
Accidents are a major cause of death on and off the job.
Some occupations are more dangerous than others.
Organizations are interested in controlling accidents because of their
costs.
Both individual and organizational factors are associated with work
accidents.
Employee factors associated with accident rates include: alcohol and
drug use on the job; exposure to stressful life incidents; personality
characteristics; and job satisfaction.
Organizational factors associated with accidents range from low safety
climate; improper equipment design; low turnover and absence rates;
management commitment to safety; and degree of safety training.
Employees could be issued goggles, equipment could be redesigned, or
work rules could be changed.
Employees do not always cooperate by using safety equipment and
following safety rules.
Often the equipment is seen as inconvenient, uncomfortable, or
contrary to accepted practice in the work group (i.e., it wastes time; is
too much trouble; or reflects a lack of courage).

Physical Conditions Affecting Health and Safety
 Physical work conditions tend to have direct physical effects.
 Physical effects may be followed by psychological effects, especially
when illness or injury is serious.
•Infectious disease
 Professions where the employee has a lot of contact with the public.
 Professionals must deal with exposure to serious infectious diseases
such as hepatitis or AIDS.
Universal Precautions are a set of safety procedures that can reduce
exposure to infection.

Loud noise
Very loud noises, such as explosions, can severely damage hearing,
sometimes permanently.
Loud noise occurs in many jobs, especially those with heavy equipment
or machinery--airports, mines, factories, etc.
Many countries have set legal levels of noise to which an employee can
be exposed, and laws have been passed requiring the use of hearing
protection by employees who work in noisy environments.
Noise is also associated with heart disease.
Repetitive actions
Some jobs involve making the same movements repeatedly all day--
such as typing at a computer.
Most well known is carpal tunnel syndrome, a wrist injury causing
pain, numbness, and weakness in the hands.
Repetitive strain injuries can be reduced with two strategies:
a. Proper design of tools and equipment can reduce strain on the body.
b. Frequent rest breaks can reduce strain.

Toxic substances
 Difficult to determine if effects take years to develop and not everyone exposed
is affected.
 Chemical plant employees, exterminators, and farmers can expect exposure.
 Less obvious employees may be exposed, such as office workers exposed to
copy machine toner, etc.
Workplace Violence
Fatal assault
 Fatal violence is most often the result of crime, and only 15% of fatalities are committed
by co-workers or former co-workers.
 Taxi drivers, liquor store clerks, police officers, and gas station attendants have a more
significant risk of fatal assaults.
Nonfatal assault
 Physical assault is a fairly common occupational hazard. May be assaulted by
co-workers, clients, the public, or animals.
 Occupational hazards inherent in some jobs: e.g., those who work with
psychiatric patients, police officers, or convenience store clerks.

Work Schedules
Require eight hours work schedules each weekday is increasing.
Interest to I/O psychology are night shifts, long work shifts, and
flextime.
Night shifts
Organizations that run 24 hours typically have three shifts--day,
evening, and night shifts.
Major problem with night shifts: the typical sleep/waking cycle
is disturbed, and along with it the circadian rhythms of changes
in the body--such as temperature and hormone level changes.
Digestive system problems are also more frequent in night shift
workers.
Permanent night shift workers may be able to adjust.
Night work may also lead to social problems—isolation from
family and friends due to the fact that their sleep/wake schedule
differs from the norm.SMS Kabir, smskabir@psy.jnu.ac.bd;

Long shifts
Some employees (truck or bus drivers) can have very long days.
Some organizations now have a 4 day, 10-hour shift, or two 12 hour
shifts a day.
Important difficulty with long shifts is fatigue.
Many employees like long shifts since they commute less and have
more usable free time.
Study of long shifts in Australian bus drivers showed increased
sleep problems, alcohol and stimulant use, job dissatisfaction, and
poor health.
Flexible schedules
Employees choose some or all of own hours
Reduces absence
Sometimes increased productivity
Small increase in job satisfaction

Occupational Stress
 Most jobs include stressful situations-- reprimands by supervisors, insufficient
time for a task, possibility of being fired or laid off, etc.
 Job stressor is a condition or situation at work that requires an adaptive response
on the part of the employee.
 Job strain is an aversive reaction by an employee to a stressor. Strains are
categorized into:
 Psychological reactions: emotional responses such as anxiety or frustration.
 Physical reactions: symptoms such as headaches or stomach upset, illnesses such
as cancer.
 Behavioral reactions: responses such as substance use, smoking, or accidents.
 A five-step model presents how job stressors may lead to job strains.
Step 1: Job stressor appears (objective condition or situation in the work
environment).
Step 2: Employee perceives the stressor.
Step 3: To proceed to job strain, employee must appraise the stressor as aversive or
threatening.
Step 4: Employee experiences short term (immediate) job strain.
Step 5: Employee experiences long term job strain.

Job Stressors
Role ambiguity: Uncertainty about what you should do
Role conflict: Incompatible demands
Workload: Too much to do or too difficult
Social Stressors: Stressors arising from interpersonal
contact
Interpersonal conflict
Mistreatment
Organizational politics: Self-serving behaviors and
favoritism

Control
Extent to which employees make decisions about work
Autonomy: Control over how, when, where work is
done
Relates to many strains
Job satisfaction
Organizational commitment
Health symptoms
Negative emotions
Absence
Machine pacing: Machine determines how fast one
works
Leads to strains
Anxiety
Health Symptoms

Demand/Control Model
Control buffers negative effects of stressors
Low control and high demand leads to strain
High control and high demand doesn’t lead to strain
Widely believed but research support inconclusive
Control in studies not linked to demands
Other variables might buffer stress
Self-efficacy
 High self-efficacy buffered effects of demands

Work-Family Conflict (WFC)
Incompatible demands between work and family
Gallup poll found 34% of Americans experience WFC
Causes
Work hours
Inflexible work schedules
Negative affectivity
Effects
Absence and Lateness
Depression
Health Symptoms
Job dissatisfaction
Interventions
Flexible work schedules
On-site child care

Burnout
Distressed psychological state in response to occupational
stressors
Emotional exhaustion
Depersonalization
Reduced personal accomplishment
Effects
Absence
Fatigue
Low motivation
Poor performance

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