Literature review

Transcription

1 Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir Gender, Work and Occupational Health Working environment through the work life Celebrating 60 years of Nordic work environment Reykjavík 7. October 2014 Grand Hotel Literature review reviewed articles + 3 reports Europe = 15 Thereof 7 from Sweden and 5 from Spain Canada = 2 USA = 2 Latin America = 1 Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir 2 1

2 World Health Organization - WHO Occupational diseases: Diseases caused directly by work Work related diseased: Work is among factors causing the diseases Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir 3 Why study women and men separately? Gender segregation in the labour market Differences in family responsibility Biological factors Ill health, pain and other symptoms can manifest in different ways in women and men Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir 4 2

3 Differences within each sex Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir 5 Why is it important to focus on women? Less is known about occupational determinants of health in women than in men Prevention efforts are less common in women s jobs Women s work has been seen to incur less risk to health than men s work More studies on work traditionally carried out by men Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir 6 3

4 Main focus on health care professions To much focus on visible problems associated with men and men s work environment To little focus on mental and social risk factors To little focus on the work organisation Work in the home, volunteer work and caretaking work has been ignored Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir 7 What do we know? Result studies show both differences and similarities between women and men We find some contradictory or conflicting results Men more likely to have accidents Women more likely to get sick and get disability Gender equal companies = positive relation to women s self-rated health Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir 8 4

5 Campos-Serna, et al (2013) Gender inequalities in occupational health related to the unequal distribution of working and employment conditions: a systematic review. International Journal for Equity in health. 12:57 Women More job insecurity Lower job control Worse contractual working conditions Poorer self-perceived physical and mental health Men Higher degree of physical demanding work Lower support Higher levels of effortreward imbalance Higher job status More exposed to noise Worked longer hours Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir 9 Two hypothesis Role stress hypothesis Attending to both family and work can cause too much pressure, induce stress, increase risk of accidents and even lead to mental and physical illness and malaise, especially among women. Role expansion theory More roles increase an individual s opportunities for success in at least one capacity. The social network expands and there are more opportunities for support and varied communication. Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir 10 5

6 Work- family balance? Halla Sólveig Þorgeirsdóttir Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir 11 Methodology Most of the available data on work related well-being is gender blind Men and women who have the same title do not always have the same job Traditional men s jobs have been categorised much more rigidly than traditional women s jobs General definitions for hard work tend to be male oriented and be concerned with physical, rather than mental or social demands Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir 12 6

7 Future studies Work life balance Pregnant women Changing labor market globalization Review current research critically Review standard surveys critically Review current regulations critically Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir 13 Researchers, policymakers, labour inspectors everyone must use gender lenses while working with occupational health and well-being Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir 14 7

8 Thank you Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir 15 8