Pierre Desmarez

Work stress assessment and instability of employment: complementary contribution of different data sources

From 2000 to 2003 a prospective research on work stress was conducted in Belgium. One hypothesis was that besides stress experienced by the worker and induced by local and direct working conditions, additional stress caused by work instability can be identified. In order to take this hypothetical difference into account in our sample, administrative data was used to build a contextual variable relying upon an index of economic sectoral ‘instability’ of employment. Thus 90 semi-structured interviews were conducted in four selected firms presenting contrasted levels of job instability. Additionally, self-administered questionnaires were sent to all workers in these firms. Results issued from the interviews with key informants and from the self-administered questionnaires indicate that our index is a good tool for the selection of firms in terms of instability. Stress appraisal is very congruent across the different sources of information: index of instability, interviews and questionnaires. Copyright

Company size, work-home interference, and well-being of self-employed entrepreneurs

BackgroundThe impact of working conditions on the health and well-being of workers of large enterprises has been widely described. This influence has not been studied as extensively in very small and medium-sized enterprises mainly due to methodological difficulties. Smaller organisations nevertheless constitute a reality that needs to be better understood.MethodologyThe aim of this article is to better understand the working conditions of entrepreneurs in small and medium-sized enterprises, to describe the impact of these conditions on their health and well-being, and to learn how their work affects their private lives.This is why a study was conducted in 2015–2016 on a selected sample of entrepreneurs in the Brussels-Capital Region (n = 140). The survey form included questions pertaining to the work environment, motivations underlying the choice of activities, robustness of the business, work-home interference, work-related stress, work satisfaction, self-reported health indicators, and socio-demographic status. The results were compared with those from another survey on workers in small shops conducted between 2012 and 2015 within the same Region (n = 104).ResultsThe number of entrepreneurs who participated in the survey added up to 140, with an even distribution between men and women. Two results are highlighted. The first concerns the difficulties faced by entrepreneurs working with a small team (1 to 4 employees): they are more stressed, report having heavy workloads, describe their health more negatively, consume more sedatives, and claim to suffer from loneliness more often than those working with larger teams or alone. Comparatively, in the study on shopkeepers, business owners working alone found themselves in a worse situation regarding their health and well-being.The second finding involves the difficulties entrepreneurs face when it comes to combining work and family life, and for which gender inequalities were noted. This phenomenon remains insufficiently explored amongst small business owners.ConclusionIn spite of the difficulties encountered at work, commitment to their chosen profession remains strong amongst entrepreneurs. Our results enable us underscore the aspects of entrepreneurial activity that should be taken into account whilst setting up support mechanisms or promoting entrepreneurship, especially amongst and for women.

Work stress and employment instability assessment: complementary contribution from different data sources

From 2000 to 2003 a prospective research on work stress was conducted in Belgium. One hypothesis was that besides stress experienced by the worker and induced by local and direct working conditions, additional stress caused by work instability can be identified. In order to take this hypothetical difference into account in our sample, administrative data was used to build a contextual variable relying upon an index of economic sectoral ‘instability’ of employment. Thus 90 semi-structured interviews were conducted in four selected firms presenting contrasted levels of job instability. Additionally, self-administered questionnaires were sent to all workers in these firms. Results issued from the interviews with key informants and from the self-administered questionnaires indicate that our index is a good tool for the selection of firms in terms of instability. Stress appraisal is very congruent across the different sources of information: index of instability, interviews and questionnaires. Copyright

Work stress assessment and instability of employment: complementary contribution of different sources

From 2000 to 2003 a prospective research on work stress was conducted in Belgium. One hypothesis was that besides stress experienced by the worker and induced by local and direct working conditions, additional stress caused by work instability can be identified. In order to take this hypothetical difference into account in our sample, administrative data was used to build a contextual variable relying upon an index of economic sectoral ‘instability’ of employment. Thus 90 semi-structured interviews were conducted in four selected firms presenting contrasted levels of job instability. Additionally, self-administered questionnaires were sent to all workers in these firms. Results issued from the interviews with key informants and from the self-administered questionnaires indicate that our index is a good tool for the selection of firms in terms of instability. Stress appraisal is very congruent across the different sources of information: index of instability, interviews and questionnaires. Copyright