Psychosocial risks in the workplace: conceptualization and assessment contributions in industry

Abstract

Psychosocial risks have become a central concern in contemporary occupational health. The organization of work, more than physical exposures alone, now determines whether workers remain healthy or develop sustained psychological strain. The present thesis examined how psychosocial conditions translate into stress and burnout among Portuguese industrial workers, with particular attention to whether occupational group membership introduces structural differences in this process. The thesis comprises four studies. Study 1, an integrative PRISMA review of 24 articles published between 2017 and 2021, documented substantial conceptual fragmentation and proposed a definition that distinguishes psychosocial risks from psychosocial risk factors and from protective factors. Studies 2 to 4 drew on 764 workers from two Portuguese industrial companies. Study 2 provided validity evidence for the Portuguese middle version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ III), supporting its 31-dimension structure after the removal of two items with inadequate factor loadings, with only one item showing non-trivial differential functioning across occupational groups. Study 3 supported a refined unidimensional model of the short Survey of Perceived Organizational Support (SPOS-8), with high reliability and full measurement invariance across gender and across occupational groups. Study 4 tested the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework through a multigroup structural model. White-collar workers reported higher demands and substantially higher resources than blue-collar workers, yet the two groups did not differ in mean stress or burnout, and the JD-R pathways operated equivalently across both groups. Quantitative and emotional demands were consistent predictors of strain, while recognition was the only resource with a protective effect across the sample. Development opportunities and meaning of work emerged as protective factors specifically among blue-collar workers. The findings argue for a prevention strategy in which reducing excessive demands remains a system-wide priority, while recognition, perceived organizational support, and developmental opportunities carry particular weight under conditions of restricted occupational autonomy.