Biron Caroline, Brun Jean-Pierre, Ivers Hans
Chair in Occupational Health and Safety Management, Faculty of Administration, Laval University, Québec, Canada.
Work. 2008;30(4):511-22.
Canadian higher education sector has undergone numerous changes during the past decades. Increased student enrolments, massive cuts in human resources and constant restructuring are changes likely to have had a considerable impact on all employees (e.g., administrative, trades, and faculty). While many studies conducted in different countries have shown that stress in universities is a problem of alarming proportions, to date, no study of the entire staff of a university has been carried out in Canada. This research uses an approach based on the prevention and management of the sources of occupational stress to study 1086 employees of a Quebec university. Data were collected by means of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. It was found that the proportion of individuals who reported a high level of psychological distress was twice as high (40%) than that reported for a Quebec-wide sample (20%). Work overload, the relationship with one's superior and participation in decision making were systematically reported as high risks to employees' health. It was found that human resources management practices have not followed the rapid organizational changes which affected the university in the past years. The results are discussed in light of the risk management approach.
在过去几十年中，加拿大高等教育部门经历了诸多变革。学生入学人数增加、人力资源大幅削减以及持续的结构调整，这些变革可能对所有员工（如行政人员、技术工人和教师）产生了相当大的影响。虽然在不同国家进行的许多研究表明，大学中的压力是一个比例惊人的问题，但迄今为止，加拿大尚未对一所大学的全体员工进行过研究。本研究采用一种基于预防和管理职业压力源的方法，对魁北克一所大学的1086名员工进行了研究。数据通过问卷调查和半结构化访谈收集。结果发现，报告有高度心理困扰的个体比例（40%）是魁北克全省样本报告比例（20%）的两倍。工作负担过重、与上级的关系以及参与决策被系统地报告为对员工健康的高风险因素。研究发现，人力资源管理实践并未跟上过去几年影响该大学的快速组织变革。将根据风险管理方法对结果进行讨论。
