Job demands and damage to health at two Latin American universities in Mexico and Argentina

Studying job demands, also known as requirements, mental load or psychosocial risk factors, is increasingly important in the world of work. These workplace conditions refer to situations that, due to their magnitude, intensity and frequency, could damage physical and mental health. The concept of jo...

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Autores principales: Martínez Alcántara, Susana, Ramírez Jiménez, Leslie, Martín, Mariel Cecilia
Formato: Artículo revista
Lenguaje:Español
Publicado: Facultad de Ciencias Económicas de la Universidad Nacional del Nordeste - UNNE 2023
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job
Acceso en línea:https://revistas.unne.edu.ar/index.php/rfce/article/view/7159
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Sumario:Studying job demands, also known as requirements, mental load or psychosocial risk factors, is increasingly important in the world of work. These workplace conditions refer to situations that, due to their magnitude, intensity and frequency, could damage physical and mental health. The concept of job demands is used here to refer to job requirements that can cause such damage, including domestic work, which is analyzed as an additional demand. The objective was to carry out a comparative analysis of work demands and damage to health at the Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP) and the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM-X). Two cross-sectional studies were carried out. Job variables and some disorders of interest were measured. The X2 statistic was used, with p<0.05 and 95% CI. Informed consent was obtained. More women (63%) participated at the UNMdP and more men at the UAM-X (57.8%). The demands reported at both universities were: working more than 48 hours per week, computer use, and doing work on non-working days. At the UAM, the perception that work is causing damage to health was nearly twice as prevalent (P.R. 1.9; P<0.003). Depression and fatigue had a higher prevalence at the UNMdP (1.7 and 1.6). Diversity, multiple tasks, and long workdays are affecting the health of university staff. A rethinking about their work and the conditions under which it is carried out is required.