Centre for Global Health Inequalities Research, Department of Sociology and Political Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Institute of Medical Sociology, Centre for Health and Society, Medical Faculty and University Hospital, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Sep 11;24(1):2477. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-19815-w.
Constant organizational change is the norm in many companies today. At present, evidence on the impact of organizational change on psychosocial risks at work and employee mental health is limited. We investigate organizational change and its association with psychosocial risks and mental health in three consecutive surveys covering 12 years.
The study was based on data from three cross-sectional waves (2006, 2012, 2018) of the German BIBB/BAuA Employment Survey, comprising 53,295 employees. Four change indicators (i.e., introduction of new software, changes in goods and services produced/provided, downsizing and restructuring), five indicators of psychosocial risks (i.e., time pressure, interruptions, multitasking, working to the limits of capability, and working very quickly) and four mental health indicators (i.e., sleep disturbances, nervousness, tiredness and depressive symptoms) were investigated. We applied Poisson regression analysis to examine associations between organizational change, psychosocial risks, and mental health.
According to the pooled analysis of all three waves, the majority of employees reported having experienced at least one organizational change, such as downsizing or restructuring, between 2006 and 2018. Organizational change was negatively associated with psychosocial risks (e.g., working to the limits of one's capability, PR: 1.66; 95% CI: 1.48-1.86) and with employee mental health (PR: 1.82; 95% CI: 1.61-2.04).
Organizational change is omnipresent in the modern economy. Our research suggests that transformation processes in organizations can bear risks to employees' health as psychosocial risks increase. Therefore, companies planning organizational change should accompany such processes with occupational health and safety measures.
当今许多公司的常态是不断进行组织变革。目前，有关组织变革对工作中的心理社会风险和员工心理健康影响的证据有限。我们在三次连续调查中（2006 年、2012 年和 2018 年）调查了组织变革及其与心理社会风险和心理健康的关系，这些调查共涵盖了 12 年的数据。
本研究基于德国 BIBB/BAuA 就业调查的三次横断面波（2006 年、2012 年和 2018 年）的数据，共包括 53295 名员工。我们调查了四个变革指标（即引入新软件、所生产/提供的货物和服务的变化、裁员和重组）、五个心理社会风险指标（即时间压力、中断、多任务处理、工作能力达到极限和快速工作）和四个心理健康指标（即睡眠障碍、紧张、疲劳和抑郁症状）。我们应用泊松回归分析来研究组织变革、心理社会风险和心理健康之间的关联。
根据所有三次波的汇总分析，大多数员工报告在 2006 年至 2018 年间至少经历过一次组织变革，如裁员或重组。组织变革与心理社会风险（例如，工作能力达到极限，PR：1.66；95%CI：1.48-1.86）和员工心理健康（PR：1.82；95%CI：1.61-2.04）呈负相关。
组织变革在现代经济中无处不在。我们的研究表明，组织内部的转型过程可能会增加员工的健康风险，因为心理社会风险会增加。因此，计划组织变革的公司应在这些过程中伴随职业健康和安全措施。
