Psychosocial Factors at Work and the Impact on Workers

The objective of this work is to analyze organizational climate in a regional public hospital and its association with satisfaction, perceived health, and the health problems of workers. We designed a cross-sectional descriptive study developed in the General Hospital of Jaén during the period January 2008 to April 2009 for employees with an active contract at the start of the study. The study variables were age, gender, marital status, education level, occupational status, working status, type of contract, and length of service. We also assessed overall organizational climate and its different dimensions, perceived health, and health problems. We used chi-square test, Student t-test, the one-way ANOVA, and Spearman correlation to determine the existence of statistically significant differences between groups. Finally, 217 workers were surveyed. The average total score of Workplace and Employee Survey (WES) questionnaire is 4.38 points (SD: 1.43). The scores achieved were: maintenance personnel and attendants 4.57, managerial and administrative assistants 4.09, social workers 4.03, nursing assistants and technicians 5.01, registered nurses, midwives and physiotherapists 4.83, and doctors, pharmacists, dieticians and radiophysicists 4.03. The factors associated with organizational climate were: workplace, professional category, and educational level. The organizational climate was statistically significantly associated with job satisfaction and perceived health. Health problems stayed at the threshold of association (p = 0.068). The levels of organizational climate were consistent with those found in the literature. Thus we emphasize the association of the organizational climate with the satisfaction and perceived health of workers, and not with the health problems reported.