Estrés laboral, género y bienestar psicológico en personas trabajadoras jóvenes en España

Abstract

Work-related stress is common in young workers and is a threat to their health and psychological well-being. The objective of this study was to analyze the relevance that work-related events and changes have on the psychological well-being of young women and men. A cross-sectional study was carried out in a sample of 505 and 376 employed men and women between the ages of 18 and 30 years, evaluated through self-reports. Results showed that 61.7% of the sample had experienced at least one work-related event or change during the previous year, the most frequent being changes in working conditions, which affected 41.1% of men and 35.9% of women, followed by starting a new job during the previous year, which occurred in 33.7% of men and 41.8% of women. The number of work-related events and changes was independent of the psychological well-being of men, but in women more events and changes were associated with lower psychological well-being, although the effect size of the association was very low. Multiple regression analyses showed that the best predictors of psychological well-being were the styles of coping with stress, with less emotionality and greater rationalization, in addition to a higher level of education in women. We conclude that job events and changes are frequent in young workers, although they seem to have little effect on the psychological well-being of men.