Exploratory study for an overall assessment of past and current constraints at work

Outline of reasons and objectives
Repeated and/or prolonged exposure to physical, organisational, psychosocial, and environmental constraints at work can lead to a degradation in health. Various tools make it possible to assess such constraints. However, they are only rarely used simultaneously and they do not therefore make it possible to assess the various dimensions of such constraints jointly. And yet an overall approach to the constraints is necessary to take prevention action. In addition, collecting data on the career path and the related past constraints should make it possible to understand better the relationship between prior exposure to constraints and current state of health. The objectives of this exploratory study were to propose a data collection approach making it possible to implement an overall approach to constraints, so as to describe:
what dimensions of the work were perceived by the employees as constraints;
what were the links between the past and present constraints and the current state of health;
what relationships could be established between observed constraints and perceived constraints. This overall exploratory approach was experimented on a limited sample of employees from two companies in order to appraise its feasibility.
Approach
The health of 54 employees was assessed by means of measurements of functional capacities and of questionnaires. Questionnaires also made it possible to analyse the constraints perceived by the employees in their current jobs. These collections of data were supplemented by measurements and observations of constraints at the work station. A tool (made up of a bibliographic table and of a questionnaire) has also been developed to assess the perceived constraints of the jobs previously held.
Main results
For the sample in question, health was related not only to the perceived constraints of the previous jobs, but also to the observed constraints of the currently held job. The perceived constraints concerned various dimensions of the work (physical, organisational, environmental, and psychosocial) and varied with age. Thus, for the younger group (< 40 years), the psychosocial dimension appeared preeminent in the perception of constraints. For the older group ( 40 years), in addition to the psychosocial dimension there are constraints related to the physical demands of the work.
Discussion
Assessing work constraints and their relationship with state of health is complex. Firstly, it is to consider a degradation in the state of health as a possible consequence of exposure to current and past constraints, generating more or less long-term damage. Conversely, a reduction in functional capacities and/or a degradation in health, in particular with advancing age, could induce and/or increase the constraints. In addition, the constraints perceived by the employees of our sample covered various dimensions of the work and seemed to be expressed differently depending on age. From the point of view of occupational health, it is thus essential to consider all of these constraints through an overall approach in order to grasp their complexity and in order to associate lasting prevention actions with them. From a methodological point of view, the tools used in this study appear to be pertinent for exploring the various components of work constraints. However, this overall approach can be difficult, in particular because of the time required to implement all of the tools. A study based on a larger number of employees could make it possible to reinforce these preliminary results and to optimise the choice of tools to be used.