Ocupar cargos de responsabilidad, ¿un factor protector de la salud?*

Resumen

espanolObjetivo: analizar la relacion del trabajo en puestos de responsabilidad con los factores de riesgo psicosocial, entendidos segun el modelo demanda-control-apoyo, y con el estado de salud percibido y la satisfaccion laboral. Metodos: la poblacion de estudio fueron los trabajadores de una administracion publica que acudieron voluntariamente a la revision medica de empresa, de febrero a junio de 1999. La recogida de datos se realizo a traves de un cuestionario autoadministrado. La ocupacion de puestos de responsabilidad se midio a traves de la pregunta «?tiene trabajadores a su cargo?». Los factores de riesgo psicosocial se recogieron con el cuestionario de «Contenido del trabajo». Ademas se incluyo una pregunta sobre el estado de salud percibido y otra sobre satisfaccion laboral. Se ajustaron modelos de regresion logistica para analizar la asociacion multivariada entre los puestos de jefatura y el resto de las variables. La edad y la ocupacion se trataron como variables de ajuste. Resultados: el cuestionario fue contestado por 1.550 personas (tasa de respuesta = 89%). El 24% de los hombres y el 17% de las mujeres ocupaban puestos de responsabilidad. Ejercer cargos de responsabilidad se asocio, en ambos sexos, a altas demandas psicologicas y alto control sobre las tareas y, ademas en mujeres, a un mayor apoyo social de los companeros. Aun ajustando por la ocupacion y por la edad, trabajar en este tipo de puestos tuvo un efecto protector sobre la salud y la insatisfaccion laboral. Mientras el efecto protector sobre la salud se mantuvo tras ajustar por los factores de riesgo psicosocial, el de la insatisfaccion laboral desaparecio. Conclusion: en ambos sexos, ejercer cargos de responsabilidad, como minimo, parece no ser un factor de riesgo sino que incluso podria tener un efecto protector de la salud y promotor de satisfaccion laboral. Seria necesario profundizar en el analisis de los factores asociados a los cargos de responsabilidad en otros colectivos de trabajadores, mediante estudios longitudinales y, preferentemente, fuera del contexto de la revision medica EnglishObjective: To analyse the relation of working in jobs of responsibility with the psychosocial risk factors, understood according to the demand-control-model, the self-perceived health status and the job satisfaction. Methods: The subjects were the 1,550 workers of a public administration that voluntarily attended the medical check-up, from February to June 1999. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Working in a job of responsibility was asked with the question «Do you have workers under your supervision?». The psychosocial work factors were collected with the Job Content Questionnaire. One question about the self-perceived health status and another about job satisfaction were also included. Logistic regression models were adjusted for analysing the multivariate associations between working in jobs of responsibility and the rest of variables. Models were adjusted by age and occupation. Results: The questionnaire was answered by 1550 persons (response rate = 89%). 24% of men and 17% of women worked in jobs of responsibility. In both sexes working in such a jobs was associated with high psychological demands and high control over the tasks and among women also with high co-workers social support. There was no association with social support. Even after adjusting by age and occupation, working in these jobs had a protective effect on health and on job dissatisfaction. The protective effect on health disappeared after adjusting by the psychosocial factors but that on job dissatisfaction remained. Conclusion: In both sexes, working in jobs of responsibility, at least, was not a risk factor but even it may have a protective effect on health and it could be a promoter of job satisfaction. In the future, it would be interesting to analyse the factors associated to working in jobs of responsibility in other workers collectives, through longitudinal studies, preferably out of the medical check-up context