Yamna Taouk PhD Completion Seminar

Centre for Mental Health PhD Completion Seminar - Yamna Taouk

A study of the effect of adverse psychosocial work stressors on health and mortality

Date: Tuesday December 15 - 10.00am - 11.00am
Presenter: Yamna Taouk

Via Zoom - all welcome.
https://unimelb.zoom.us/j/84081044484?pwd=ejREbU8zQUJnZ1IxMlhFKzZzS05vZz09
Password: 511166

The working environment is central in individuals’ lives, influencing health outcomes including psychological and physical wellbeing. Psychosocial work stressors are common exposures in the workplace and are important determinants of health. There is broad support that exposure to adverse psychosocial work stressors, such as high job demands, low job control, low job security and high effort-reward imbalance is associated with adverse health outcomes including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders and depressive disorders. However, whether exposure to these psychosocial work stressors associated with adverse health outcomes translates into increased mortality is not yet certain and barriers to making causal interpretations about the relationship between psychosocial work stressors and health persist mostly due to inherent biases in the methodology across studies.

Yamna’s PhD research attempts to clarify the relationship between psychosocial work stressors, and health and mortality. The initial focus of the research includes establishing and quantifying the risks associated with adverse psychosocial work stressors, that workers are commonly exposed to in the workplace, on mortality. The final study in the PhD focuses on understanding the exposure-outcome dynamics. The dynamics of the connexions between psychosocial work stressor perceived job control and general health, a strong predictor of future morbidity and mortality are investigated for evidence of a causal relation.

Awareness of the implications of the adverse effects of psychosocial work stressors on health and mortality in workplaces and appropriate work stress interventions reducing exposure to work stressors may contribute to better health and wellbeing, reducing sickness absence and presenteeism, to the benefit of the workers, workplaces and society.

Event flyer