HC1 Introduction to challenges in work, health and wellbeing:
Well-being is the combination of feeling good and functioning well. Development of one’s
potential, having some control over one’s life, having a sense of purpose, and experiencing
positive relationships.
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.
How does work affect health and wellbeing?
Work affects health and wellbeing in complex, reciprocal, heterogeneous ways (Landsbergis
et al., 2018; Ahonen et al., 2018)
• Complex: work affects health/wellbeing differently in different circumstances (and
vice versa) – and work can even be both health enhancing and health-damaging at the
same time
• Reciprocal: causal relations run in both directions
• Heterogeneous: work affects the health/wellbeing of different groups of workers
differently (lecture part 3)
• The physical and psycho-social demands and resources of jobs are unequally distributed
• Different jobs are associated with different exposure to physical and psycho-social risks,
demands and resources
• A range of factors like gender, age, education, disability, ethnicity and socio-economic
background affect the types of jobs people have access to as well as their health status
• Workplaces/organizations are spaces where these inequalities are legitimized, created and
re-created through exploitation, social closure and claims making
HC2 How does work make you sick?:
The bio-psycho-social model looks at biological, psychological and social causes and
consequences of health and wellbeing in the workplace as interconnected dimensions
• Physical, mental and emotional demands and resources can reinforce each other and balance
each other out (J-DR model)
• Workers perform emotional labor when managing their own emotions and those of others as
part of their jobs. Much emotional labor performed by:
• Workers in occupations dealing with patients, customers, etc
• Categories of workers more distant from the ‘workplace norm’
o Mental health comprises more than just the absence of disorders or diseases
o Burnout is a state of work-related distress, characterized by exhaustion, mental distancing
and reduced personal efficacy
Well-being is the combination of feeling good and functioning well. Development of one’s
potential, having some control over one’s life, having a sense of purpose, and experiencing
positive relationships.
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.
How does work affect health and wellbeing?
Work affects health and wellbeing in complex, reciprocal, heterogeneous ways (Landsbergis
et al., 2018; Ahonen et al., 2018)
• Complex: work affects health/wellbeing differently in different circumstances (and
vice versa) – and work can even be both health enhancing and health-damaging at the
same time
• Reciprocal: causal relations run in both directions
• Heterogeneous: work affects the health/wellbeing of different groups of workers
differently (lecture part 3)
• The physical and psycho-social demands and resources of jobs are unequally distributed
• Different jobs are associated with different exposure to physical and psycho-social risks,
demands and resources
• A range of factors like gender, age, education, disability, ethnicity and socio-economic
background affect the types of jobs people have access to as well as their health status
• Workplaces/organizations are spaces where these inequalities are legitimized, created and
re-created through exploitation, social closure and claims making
HC2 How does work make you sick?:
The bio-psycho-social model looks at biological, psychological and social causes and
consequences of health and wellbeing in the workplace as interconnected dimensions
• Physical, mental and emotional demands and resources can reinforce each other and balance
each other out (J-DR model)
• Workers perform emotional labor when managing their own emotions and those of others as
part of their jobs. Much emotional labor performed by:
• Workers in occupations dealing with patients, customers, etc
• Categories of workers more distant from the ‘workplace norm’
o Mental health comprises more than just the absence of disorders or diseases
o Burnout is a state of work-related distress, characterized by exhaustion, mental distancing
and reduced personal efficacy
