Essential…but also vulnerable? Work intensification, effort/reward imbalance, fatigue and psychological health of Spanish cargo drivers during the COVID-19 pandemic

PeerJ

Adela Gonzalez-Marin¹  Javier Llamazares²  Boris Cendales³  Sergio A. Useche⁴  Luis Montoro⁴  Francisco Alonso⁴  Ignacio Lijarcio⁴ 

[1] Department of Economic and Legal Sciences, University Center of Defense, Santiago del la Ribera, Spain;Department of Technology, ESIC Business and Marketing School, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Community of Madrid, Spain;Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences, El Bosque University, Bogotá, Colombia;Research Institute on Traffic and Road Safety (INTRAS), Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain;

关键词: Professional drivers;    Spain;    Job stress;    Fatigue;    Working conditions;    Work intensification;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.13050

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Objective This study investigates the combined effect of the Effort/Reward Imbalance (ERI) model of stress and work intensification within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological health (general and work-related fatigue, and psychological strain) of cargo drivers, one of the most demanded workforces during the first year of this pandemic. Methods For this cross-sectional research, the data provided by n = 1,013 professional drivers from the different 17 autonomous communities (regions) of Spain were analyzed. Participants answered a questionnaire composed of the short version of the Effort Reward Imbalance (ERI) questionnaire, a Work Intensification Scale (WIS) designed for this study, the fatigue subscale of the Checklist Individual Strength (CIS), the Need for Recovery after Work Scale (NFR), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Results Hierarchical regression analyses show that both (ERI and work intensification) models significantly predict driver’s fatigue and psychological strain. The effect of work intensification exists above and beyond the effect of effort/reward imbalance, which has been previously related to the safety performance of cargo drivers. Conclusions These findings suggest that the ERI and work intensification models can be complementarily used, especially in scenarios introducing substantial changes in the work environment, such as the COVID-19 crisis. Also, the results of this study support the need to intervene in the working conditions of professional drivers in order to improve their psychological health and well-being during both pandemic and post-pandemic times, as crisis-related management interventions are necessary to promote health and safety in professional drivers in potentially similar contexts in the future.

【 授权许可】

Unknown