Effort-Reward Imbalance and Heart Disease
For most adults, work is both a source of income and stress. The presence and absence of many factors leads to phenomena known as job strain and effort-reward imbalance, both of which are believed to have negative effects on a worker’s health in the long run. Job strain is characterized by low autonomy and high stakes, while effort-reward imbalance refers more generally to a worker’s efforts not being recognized. Examples of effort-reward imbalance include poor job security, doing unfamiliar with the work, and doing work unqualified. A study conducted by researchers from the University of Düsseldorf, the University of Helsinki, the Karolinska Institute, and other European schools of medicine and sociology explored the link between effort-reward imbalance and heart health and identified varying risk levels between different demographic groups.
Poverty and youth, either separately or together, leave an individual at higher risk of developing heart problems.
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Currently, researchers are in agreement that job strain causes workers to be at higher risk for coronary heart disease. The authors of this study, however, believed that effort-reward imbalance has the potential to be a separate but equally-valid metric to determine a person’s risk of developing heart disease because both job strain and effort-reward imbalance cause workers to experience stress, which is associated with weaker immune systems and poor heart health. To distinguish between the effects of effort-reward imbalance and job strain, the researchers conducted a total of 11 different studies with subjects from different demographics, such as age, socioeconomic status, and sex. The one thing that every participant in the study had in common was that none of them had heart disease at the beginning of the study. To assess their level of effort-reward imbalance, the researchers had the participants complete two questionnaires that measured both job strain and effort-reward imbalance. The type of study is called a longitudinal study, which followed the same group of people over a long period of time. In this case, subjects were followed for an average of 10 years. If the people in the study experienced non-lethal or fatal heart attacks in that time, the researchers made a note of it. By analyzing this data, the researchers were able to come to several conclusions about the effect that this type of stress had on people in the workforce.
Overall, in the 11 groups analyzed, there was a connection between effort-reward imbalance and how often workers suffered heart attacks. When individual subgroups were analyzed, it was also found that there was a stronger correlation if the workers were younger and poorer. The researchers do mention, however, that there may be other factors contributing to this correlation, reminding readers that correlation does not equal causation. In addition, the researchers discovered that the relationship between effort-reward imbalance and heart disease is independent of the relationship between job strain and heart disease. Therefore, the researchers hypothesized that job strain and effort-reward imbalance are different but complementary causes of stress, and they build up on top of each other to cause greater stress to the person affected.
Though this research is in its infancy, further development may have wide-reaching implications for the workforce, especially for the younger and poorer workers who are more heavily affected. Perhaps in the future, with more substantial evidence to support this research paper’s claims, workers and companies may have the incentive to work towards widespread change in office culture and attitudes towards work, reducing the debilitating stress that affects the health and welfare of countless employees today.
Overall, in the 11 groups analyzed, there was a connection between effort-reward imbalance and how often workers suffered heart attacks. When individual subgroups were analyzed, it was also found that there was a stronger correlation if the workers were younger and poorer. The researchers do mention, however, that there may be other factors contributing to this correlation, reminding readers that correlation does not equal causation. In addition, the researchers discovered that the relationship between effort-reward imbalance and heart disease is independent of the relationship between job strain and heart disease. Therefore, the researchers hypothesized that job strain and effort-reward imbalance are different but complementary causes of stress, and they build up on top of each other to cause greater stress to the person affected.
Though this research is in its infancy, further development may have wide-reaching implications for the workforce, especially for the younger and poorer workers who are more heavily affected. Perhaps in the future, with more substantial evidence to support this research paper’s claims, workers and companies may have the incentive to work towards widespread change in office culture and attitudes towards work, reducing the debilitating stress that affects the health and welfare of countless employees today.
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