An exploratory study of the relationship between psychosocial hazard and ambulatory physiological response in higher education employees

Purpose: as exposure to psychosocial hazard at work represents a substantial risk factor for employee health in many modern occupations, being able to accurately assess how employees cope with their working environment is crucial. As the workplace is generally accepted as being a dynamic environment consideration should be given to the interaction between employees and the acute environmental characteristics of their workplace. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of both acute demand and chronic work-related psychosocial hazard upon employees through ambulatory assessment of heart rate variability and blood pressure.Design: a within-subjects repeated measures design was used to investigate the relationship between exposure to work-related psychosocial hazard and ambulatory heart rate variability and blood pressure in a cohort of higher education employees. Additionally the effect of acute variation in perceived work-related demand was investigated.Results: two dimensions of the Management Standards were found to demonstrate an association with heart rate variability; more hazardous levels of “demand” and “relationships” were associated with decreased SDNN. Significant changes in blood pressure and indices of heart rate variability were observed with increased acute demand

Ambulatory physiological assessment: an ergonomic approach to the dynamic work environment and temporal variability in heart rate variability, blood pressure and the cortisol awakening response

Aim: The aim of this thesis was to investigate the psychophysiological response to the dynamic working environment within a cohort of higher education employees via ambulatory assessment of psychosocial and physiological measures.Methods: Data was collected from two observational studies. Study one employed a cross-sectional design to investigate relationships between work-related psychosocial hazard, work-time heart rate variability, blood pressure, and the cortisol awakening response. Consideration was given to occupation type and acute work-related demand. Study two, a single-subject case study, employed an experience sampling methodology to peform a 24 hour assessment over 21 days. Workload, affect and demand were sampled during working hours, while heart rate variability and physical activity were continually sampled (24 hours), with salivary cortisol, being sampled at 3 time points during the awakening period. This study also investigated some of the methodological issues associated with ambulatory assessment of both heart rate variability and the cortisol awakening response.Findings: Chronic work-related demand was found to be positively associated with sympathetic dominance of the autonomic nervous system. Acute work-related demand was associated with ambulatory heart rate variability during work time and evening time whilst the rise in salivary free cortisol over the immediate post awakening period varies according to acute anticipatory demand and prior day’s workload. Substantial intra--individual variation in both the cortisol awakening response and ambulatory heart variability was found to occur across work-days. Work time activity levels accounted for little of the variation in ambulatory heart rate variability and blood pressure. The cortisol awakening response was associated with both heart rate variability and nocturnal movement in the latter stage of sleep.Conclusion: Attending to the psychophysiological response to work at the individual level by means of ambulatory assessment appears to provide a useful means of assessing the balance between employee and environment. This could have significant implications for work design, employee selection and targeting of workplace interventions

Ambulatory physiological assessment: an ergonomic approach to the dynamic work environment and temporal variability in heart rate variability, blood pressure and the cortisol awakening response

Aim: The aim of this thesis was to investigate the psychophysiological response to the dynamic working environment within a cohort of higher education employees via ambulatory assessment of psychosocial and physiological measures.Methods: Data was collected from two observational studies. Study one employed a cross-sectional design to investigate relationships between work-related psychosocial hazard, work-time heart rate variability, blood pressure, and the cortisol awakening response. Consideration was given to occupation type and acute work-related demand. Study two, a single-subject case study, employed an experience sampling methodology to peform a 24 hour assessment over 21 days. Workload, affect and demand were sampled during working hours, while heart rate variability and physical activity were continually sampled (24 hours), with salivary cortisol, being sampled at 3 time points during the awakening period. This study also investigated some of the methodological issues associated with ambulatory assessment of both heart rate variability and the cortisol awakening response.Findings: Chronic work-related demand was found to be positively associated with sympathetic dominance of the autonomic nervous system. Acute work-related demand was associated with ambulatory heart rate variability during work time and evening time whilst the rise in salivary free cortisol over the immediate post awakening period varies according to acute anticipatory demand and prior day’s workload. Substantial intra--individual variation in both the cortisol awakening response and ambulatory heart variability was found to occur across work-days. Work time activity levels accounted for little of the variation in ambulatory heart rate variability and blood pressure. The cortisol awakening response was associated with both heart rate variability and nocturnal movement in the latter stage of sleep.Conclusion: Attending to the psychophysiological response to work at the individual level by means of ambulatory assessment appears to provide a useful means of assessing the balance between employee and environment. This could have significant implications for work design, employee selection and targeting of workplace interventions