[Work and distress among managers in a state-owned company undergoing a restructuring process]
Luiz Carlos Brant1, Elizabeth Costa Dias
1Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. interfaz@interfaz.com.br
Cadernos De Saude Publica
|August 10, 2004
Summary
Managers in a Brazilian company undergoing restructuring experienced significant distress, primarily anxiety and sadness. Female managers reported substantially higher distress levels than males, highlighting gender disparities in workplace mental health.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Psychology
- Sociology
Context:
- Cross-sectional study in a state-owned company during restructuring in Greater Metropolitan Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
- Focus on managerial staff experiencing workplace changes and potential distress.
Purpose:
- To identify and analyze manifestations of psychological distress among managers.
- To explore the relationship between sociodemographic factors and distress.
- To evaluate the utility of mixed methods (questionnaires, focus groups) in assessing distress.
Summary:
- High prevalence of distress reported: anxiety (73.2%), sadness (43.7%), and dissatisfaction (39.0%).
- Gender emerged as a significant factor, with females exhibiting considerably higher distress (OR = 6.0) than males (p < 0.05).
- Self-Report Questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20), socioeconomic data, document analysis, and focus groups were employed.
Impact:
- Demonstrates the effectiveness of mixed-methods research in understanding occupational distress.
- Highlights the need for targeted interventions for managers, particularly females, in restructuring environments.
- Contributes to the advancement of the Workers' Health field by integrating diverse methodological insights.
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