Influence of psychosocial risks on the quality of life of employees in a higher education institution : a critical perspective

Abstract

According to Muchinsky (2000), the activity in which humans are most involved in their lives is work. Thus, there is an increasing trend towards the humanization of work. Consequently, it is imperative to study the best ways to manage human resources in 21st-century organizations. The main objective of this study is to understand the influence that psychosocial risks in the workplace may have on the personal lives of employees in a Higher Education Institution (HEI), through the application of the Portuguese version of COPSOQ II. Both exploratory and confirmatory statistical analyses were conducted on the results to determine if factors related to work could influence aspects of personal life. It was concluded that great importance is given to employment and that factors related to the professional realm can indeed influence dimensions of these employees' personal lives. Among other things, it was observed that, in the case of the analyzed HEI, cognitive demands directly impact job satisfaction, quantitative demands have direct effects on work-family conflict, and job satisfaction directly influences somatic and cognitive stress. On the other hand, it was found that work-family conflict is primarily influenced by quantitative demands, highlighting the importance of a well-balanced distribution of workload among employees and the definition of concrete objectives.