Effort-reward imbalance at work and satisfaction with life in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil)

The scope of this study was to analyze the association between effort-reward imbalance (ERI) at work and satisfaction with life among Brazilian public servants. It involved a cross-sectional study with 9,199 active participants in the second stage (2012-2014) of ELSA-Brasil. Sex-stratified analyses were performed using logistic regression at a 5% significance level. Women and men who reported ERI at work were more likely to report dissatisfaction with life (OR = 2.38; 95%CI: 1.93-2.93 and OR = 2.01; 95%CI: 1.68-2.39, respectively) compared to those without ERI. Among women, those in higher/teaching positions revealed a stronger association between ERI and dissatisfaction with life (OR = 2.77; 95%CI: 1.90-4.04) compared to those in support/medium-level positions (OR = 1.71; 95%CI: 1.38-2.12). Occupational stressors, as measured by ERI, were associated with dissatisfaction with life among public servants of both sexes. Functional level acted as an effect modifier in the association between ERI and satisfaction with life among women, potentially reflecting the increased educational and professional requirements women face to access and remain in the labor market as part of efforts to mitigate gender inequality.

Key words:
Occupational stress; Satisfaction with life; Worker’s health