Table 1_Non-support from the immediate boss is associated with stress and unsafety at work.docx

BackgroundWork-related complaints are often caused by stress and increased mental strain. Support from your immediate boss and colleagues is crucial to buffer against the negative health effects of the psychosocial working environment.
AimThe aim of this study was to investigate if support from the immediate boss and colleagues was associated with biological stress levels, unsafety at work, and other work-related conditions.
MethodsData derives from a subsample of the SCAPIS study, a major Swedish prospective population-based study. In this subsample, a total of N = 5 058 middle-aged persons (50-64 years) from the general population participated; of these, 68.4% (N = 3 462 individuals) provided hair samples. Questionnaires included socio-demographic and self-reports of occupation, stress, and health status. The demand and control questionnaires were used. A biomarker of long-term stress, hair cortisol concentrations (HCC), was also applied.
ResultsIn this studied cohort, 9.1 % reported a lack of support from their immediate boss, while 90.9% reported that they did get support at work. Significantly more women (p < 0.001) reported non-support. Those with support or not did not differ in terms of age, education, civil status, smoking, or ethnicity. Those with non-support reported a higher extent (p < 0.001) of lower perceived health. The risk for hypertension and high cholesterol was increased by 28 %, respectively, 13 % being in the non-support group. The main findings were associations between lack of support and feelings of unsafety at work (p < 0.001), higher long-term cortisol levels (p < 0.009), lack of support from colleagues (p < 0.001), and feelings of dejected/sad (p < 0.001) and high work pace (p = 0.03).
ConclusionIndividuals who did not have the necessary support from their immediate boss and colleagues reported they felt more insecure at work and had higher biological long-term stress. In workplace health promotion, an awareness of the link between social support at work and health could be an important component.

背景：职场相关不适常由压力与精神负荷加重引发。直属上司与同事的支持，对缓冲社会心理工作环境带来的健康负面影响至关重要。
研究目的：本研究旨在探究直属上司与同事的支持，是否与生物应激水平、职场不安全感及其他职场相关状况存在关联。
研究方法：数据源自瑞典大型前瞻性人群队列研究SCAPIS的子样本。本次子研究共纳入5058名来自普通人群的中年参与者（年龄50~64岁），其中68.4%（共3462人）提供了毛发样本。调查问卷涵盖社会人口学信息，以及职业、应激与健康状况的自我报告；本研究采用了需求-控制问卷（Demand and Control Questionnaire）。此外，还检测了反映长期应激的生物标志物——毛发皮质醇浓度（hair cortisol concentrations, HCC）。
研究结果：本研究队列中，9.1%的参与者报告未获得直属上司的支持，而90.9%的参与者表示在工作中获得了支持。女性报告未获得支持的比例显著更高（p < 0.001）。是否获得支持的参与者在年龄、受教育程度、婚姻状况、吸烟情况与种族方面均无显著差异。未获得支持的参与者自评健康状况较差的比例显著更高（p < 0.001）。未获得支持组的高血压与高胆固醇风险分别升高28%和13%。本研究的主要发现包括：未获得支持与职场不安全感（p < 0.001）、更高的长期皮质醇水平（p < 0.009）、未获得同事支持（p < 0.001）、感到沮丧/悲伤（p < 0.001）以及工作节奏过快（p = 0.03）存在显著关联。
研究结论：未获得直属上司与同事必要支持的个体，报告其在工作中更缺乏安全感，且长期生物应激水平更高。在职场健康促进工作中，认识到职场社会支持与健康之间的关联，可作为一项重要的工作内容。