A questão dos riscos no trabalho tem ocupado um grande espaço nas discussões a respeito da saúde e segurança dos trabalhadores, sendo abordado por uma diversidade de enfoques teóricos, alguns essencialmente tecnicistas e outros que adotam uma perspectiva que privilegia os aspectos sociais. Cada um desses enfoques atribui uma importância diferente para a posição dos trabalhadores em relação aos riscos, mas, em ambos, os acidentes ocupam lugar de destaque em detrimento do adoecimento no trabalho. A presente pesquisa teve por objetivo investigar as representações dos trabalhadores a respeito dos riscos a que eles estão expostos na sua atividade profissional a partir da perspectiva sociológica de Bourdieu e da Teoria das Representações Sociais de Moscovici. Buscou-se comparar as representações dos riscos mais evidentes, como os de acidentes, com aqueles menos identificáveis pelo olhar leigo, como, por exemplo, a contaminação por produtos químicos. Para tal, optou-se por um estudo de caso de orientação etnográfica em uma única empresa - uma usina química de grande porte com uma estrutura organizacional complexa - cuja atividade se caracterizava pela presença de diferentes tipos de risco. A diversidade encontrada permitiu cotejar as representações dos diferentes grupos sociais presentes no local com relação aos distintos tipos de risco. Verificou-se, assim, que o acesso às informações técnicas (que depende da posição ocupada pelo trabalhador na estrutura da empresa) e a forma como se estabelecem as relações entre a empresa e os trabalhadores (que está diretamente vinculada à organização do trabalho) foram os fatores mais relevantes na construção das representações. A composição desses dois aspectos fez com que algumas representações fossem bastante próximas do discurso oficial da empresa, enquanto outras foram completamente diferentes. E estas últimas costumavam ser identificadas pela equipe técnico-gerencial da empresa como uma visão errônea dos trabalhadores. Conclui-se que uma verdadeira política de segurança, que inclua um enfoque de ‘análise de risco’ mais completo e efetivo do que o tradicional, que adota somente a perspectiva técnica como verdade, tem de estabelecer espaços realmente participativos, onde, além de possibilitar aos trabalhadores o acesso às informações técnicas normalmente capitalizadas pelos engenheiros, também favoreça a expressão das representações desses trabalhadores a respeito dos riscos. / Risk at work is a matter that has always prominent in discussions about workers’ health and safety. It has been studied for several theoretical approaches, some essentially ‘technicists’ and others adopting a point of view that attributes special relevance to the social features. Each one of these approaches gives a different importance to the workers’ opinion about the risks, but both give more attention to accidents than diseases caused by work. This research intended to investigate workers’ representation of risks that they are exposed to in their professional activity. By using Bourdieu’s sociological theory and the Moscovici’s Theory of Social Representation, it has sought to compare the representations of more evident risks, such as accidents, with those that are less obvious to a layman, like contamination by chemical products. A case study was carried out making use of the ethnographic approach in one particular company - a large chemical plant with a complex organizational structure - whose activity is characterized by the presence of different kinds of risks. The variety and complexity found allowed a comparison of the representations of different kinds of risk within the different social groups present in the plant. It was verified that the access to technical information (which depends on the position occupied by the worker in the company structure) and the way that relationship between the company and workers is established (which is direct linked to work organization) were the more relevant aspects in the construction of representations. The way these two aspects were composed in each case meant that some representations were closer to the ‘official discourse’ of the company, while others were completely different. And, the later were usually identified by the companies’ technical and management staff as an erroneous view held by the workers. It was concluded that a true safety policy is one which encompasses a more complete and effective approach to 'risk analysis' than the traditional one, which adopts only the technical point of view as a truth. This policy needs to be participative in that the workers are allowed access to the relevant technical information and have a forum in which to express their representations of the risks.

Although the Job Demands-Resources Model (JD-R) is the dominant theoretical framework used to understand the relationship between workplace factors and employee well-being, the cross-cultural generalizability of this model has seldom been directly tested. Therefore, this study examined whether and to what extent relationships between: 1) job demands (i.e., organizational constraints) and strain (i.e., job satisfaction, and turnover intentions) and 2) job resources (i.e., job control, participation in decision-making, direct supervisor support, senior leader support, and clear goals and performance feedback) and strain were moderated by cultural dimensions (i.e., individualism-collectivism and uncertainty avoidance). Survey data from workers in 28 countries were used to examine these questions. Results revealed that culture-level individualism-collectivism and uncertainty avoidance independently and significantly moderated some job demands-strain and job resources-strain outcomes relationships. Specifically, job control and senior leaders support was consistently and more strongly, negatively related to strain in more individualistic cultures, and participation in decision-making was more strongly, negatively related to strain in more collectivistic cultures when using cultural scores from both Hofstede and GLOBE taxonomies. In contrast, although I also uncovered some significant moderating effects of culture-level uncertainty avoidance on job demands-strain and job resources-strain relationships, the results from these analyses were often in the opposite pattern when GLOBE versus Hofstede cultural scores were used. Overall, the present study sheds light on the generalizability versus specificity of the JD-R model across cultural contexts.

The aim of this study was to investigate employees' work satisfaction at a construction company and if the employees' working position, age and length of service were the basis for differences in work satisfaction. The participants in this study included all employees (N = 116) at a Swedish medium-sized construction company and the respondents were selected through a convenience sample. To collect data, the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (Weiss, Dawis, England & Lofqvist, 1967) was used and it consists of three subscales: intrinsic, extrinsic and general work satisfaction. The study's reliability was ensured by Cronbach’s Alpha, which showed .83. Continuously, the result was obtained through a one-way ANOVA analysis for all variables. The results showed that the work position had a significant impact on intrinsic work satisfaction (p = .004) and general work satisfaction (p = .036), and that age had a significant impact on intrinsic work satisfaction (p = .009) and general work satisfaction (p = .020). The study concluded that length of service did not have a significant impact on work satisfaction (p = .550, n.s.). This suggests that work position and age are relevant factors in relation to employee's work satisfaction and since previous research has shown that work satisfaction contributes to countless benefits, these factors should not be neglected by organisations.

Brazilian public institutions are facing recovery actions to encourage a greater appreciation of its human resources through the development of new organizational policies. Even with all this development, there is still a lack of quantitative information updated, when available, present difficult concepts comparisons difficult. On the other hand, the relationship between job satisfaction and performance has attracted much attention throughout the history of industrial and organizational psychology. Many researchers believe that there is a causal relationship between satisfaction and performance, empirical studies, however, has not confirmed whether or not this relationship. This study aims to determine the impact of factors. The determinants of job satisfaction on the performance of individual server‟s administrative staff of a federal institution of higher education. The analysis was conducted through questionnaires server administrative staff of the Federal University of Santa Maria - UFSM in Santa Maria / RS, randomly, in its various sectors. The present study was carried out taking as basis the questionnaire developed by Valle (2007) and rotated with the method PLS Path Modeling (PLS-PM). The results of the study indicate the latent variable Challenging Work as primarily responsible for the performance perceived by the server. The low coefficient of determination suggests that the determinants of job satisfaction have little impact on the performance perceived by the Institution's servers. These results corroborate previous studies. / As instituições públicas brasileiras estão voltadas para ações em busca de uma maior valorização de seus recursos humanos, por meio do desenvolvimento de novas políticas organizacionais. Mesmo com todo esse desenvolvimento, ainda há uma carência de informações quantitativas atualizadas que, quando disponíveis, apresentam conceitos difíceis dificultando comparações. Por outro lado, a relação entre satisfação no trabalho e o desempenho tem atraído muita atenção ao longo da história da psicologia industrial e organizacional. Muitos pesquisadores acreditam que exista uma relação causal entre satisfação e desempenho, os estudos empíricos, entretanto, ainda não confirmaram a existência ou não dessa relação. Este trabalho tem como objetivo verificar o impacto dos fatores. Os determinantes da satisfação no trabalho sobre o desempenho individual dos servidores técnico- administrativos de uma Instituição Federal de Ensino Superior. A análise foi realizada por meio de questionários aplicados em servidores técnico-administrativos da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria - UFSM, em Santa Maria/RS, de forma aleatória, em seus diversos setores. O presente estudo foi realizado tomando-se por base o questionário desenvolvido por Valle (2007) e rodados com o método PLS Path Modeling (PLS-PM). Os resultados obtidos no estudo apontaram para a variável latente Trabalho Desafiador como principal responsável pelo desempenho percebido pelo servidor. O baixo coeficiente de determinação do modelo sugere que os fatores determinantes de satisfação no trabalho têm pouco impacto no desempenho percebido pelos servidores da Instituição. Estes resultados corroboram com estudos realizados anteriormente.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the structure of jobs and burnout, and to assess to what extent, if any this relationship was moderated by individual coping methods. This study was supported by the Karasek's (1998) Job Demand-Control-Support theory of work stress as well as Maslach and Leiter's (1993) theory of burnout. Coping was examined as a moderator based on the conceptualization of Lazarus and Folkman (1984). Two overall overarching questions framed this study: (a) what is the relationship between job structure, as operationalized by job title, and burnout across different occupations in support services in a large municipal school district? and (b) To what extent do individual differences in coping methods moderate this relationship? This study was a cross-sectional study of county public school bus drivers, bus aides, mechanics, and clerical workers (N = 253) at three bus depot locations within the same district using validated survey instruments for data collection. Hypotheses were tested using simultaneous regression analyses. Findings indicated that there were statistically significant and relevant relationships among the variables of interest; job demands, job control, burnout, and ways of coping. There was a relationship between job title and physical job demands. There was no evidence to support a relationship between job title and psychological demands. Furthermore, there was a relationship between physical demands, emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment; key indicators of burnout. Results showed significant correlations between individual ways of coping as a moderator between job structure, operationalized by job title, and individual employee burnout adding empirical evidence to the occupational stress literature. Based on the findings, there are implications for theory, research, and practice. For theory and research, the findings suggest the importance of incorporating transactional models in the study of occupational stress. In the area of practice, the findings highlight the importance of enriching jobs, increasing job control, and providing individual-level training related to stress reduction.

Multilevel datasets are commonly used and increasingly popular in research in the organizational and other social sciences. These models are complex and have many elements beyond those found in more traditional linear models. However, research on how multilevel models perform is lacking. The current paper examined the impact of common factors (average cluster size, cluster size distribution, average number of clusters, strength of the intraclass correlation coefficient, and effect sizes of individual and cluster level variables, and their interaction) in multilevel datasets. Monte Carlo data simulation was used across 6,144 factor-combination conditions. The results of study factors on observed intraclass correlation coefficients, calculated design effect, and empirical design effect are discussed. The results of this study have implications for both researchers in both academic and applied fields. The scale of the simulation variables allow it to be germane to datasets from across the social sciences. However, the nature of data simulation and analysis is such that there are still many elements that can and should be accounted for in future research.

This dissertation consists of two studies examining the utility and distinctiveness of learning agility in the workplace. The first study examines the nomological networks of two proprietary measures of learning agility in sample of 832 individuals. The learning agility simulation is designed to be an objective measure of learning agility ability. The learning agility indicator is a self-report measure designed to measure the preference towards learning agile behaviors. The results of study one indicate two different nomological networks for the learning agility simulation and the learning agility indicator. Specifically, the learning agility simulation was related to cognitive personality variables (i.e., tolerance for ambiguity and cognitive flexibility) and cognitive ability, and the learning agility indicator was more strongly related to personality variables. The second study explores the work-related outcomes associated with the learning agility simulation, and the incremental validity of the learning agility simulation over traditional predictors of performance (i.e., Big Five personality variables, cognitive ability). The second study was performed with a sample of early career employees with supervisor rated performance/potential measures in a sample of 89 paired responses. The results of study two indicated that the learning agility simulation was significantly related to two areas of employee potential (learning from experience and speed-to-competence) and provided incremental validity over traditional predictors of performance/potential for these areas of performance.

This research explored the thesis that organizational personality is related to applicants’ attraction to an organization through a process which involves need motivation, expectancy beliefs, and applicants’ perceptions of person-organization fit. Organizational personality may be defined as a collection of trait-like characteristics that individuals use to describe organizational practices, policies, values, and culture. Specifically, this research investigated the hypothesis that organizational personality information is useful to applicants because it helps individuals to determine their perceptions of fit. A sample of students (N = 198) and working adults (N = 198) participated in an online experiment. Findings indicated that individuals’ beliefs about the instrumentality of desirable work related outcomes are essential to determining their perceptions of fit and organizational attraction. Additionally, organizational personality perceptions interacted with need motivation to affect perceptions of fit and organizational attraction. For instance, perceptions of fit mediated the influence of the interaction between need for achievement and perceptions of innovativeness on organizational attraction. The interaction of need motivation and perceptions of organizational personality helped individuals to better determine their perceptions of fit and subsequent attraction toward organizations.

The purpose of this thesis was to examine the mediating effects of job-related negative emotions on the relationship between workplace aggression and outcomes. Additionally, the moderating effects of workplace social support and intensity of workplace aggression are considered. A total 321 of working individuals participated through an online survey. The results of this thesis suggest that job-related negative emotions are a mediator of the relationship between workplace aggression and outcomes, with full and partial mediation supported. Workplace social support was found to be a buffering variable in the relationship between workplace aggression and outcomes, regardless of the source of aggression (supervisor or co-worker) or the source of the social support. Finally, intensity of aggression was found to be a strong moderator of the relationship between workplace aggression and outcomes.

O adoecimento pelo trabalho esta intrinsecamente ligado ao modo como esse e organizado, sendo crescente a irrupcao de patologias mentais nos trabalhadores na contemporaneidade, em funcao dos processos de producao instaurados no modelo capitalista global vigente em nossos tempos. Ainda que o psicologo esteja entre os profissionais habilitados para a prevencao e tratamento de disturbios psiquicos, esta questao nao se faz presente no cotidiano de trabalho dos psicologos que atuam em empresas, cujas atividades profissionais sao direcionadas essencialmente para funcoes tecnicas e gestionarias. Esta pesquisa buscou investigar as explicacoes tecidas por estes profissionais sobre o adoecimento dos sujeitos na relacao com o trabalho e conhecer suas compreensoes sobre seu papel profissional, visando identificar vinculacoes entre estes dois aspectos. Partindo desta orientacao geral, foi possivel discutir elementos do proprio contexto de trabalho destes psicologos, o qual estabelece os contornos possiveis para sua atuacao. O metodo adotado foi a Etnografia, em uma perspectiva multissituada que abrangeu diferentes terrenos de pesquisa, perseguindo o objeto em suas diversas manifestacoes. O trabalho de campo contou com investigacoes bibliograficas, documentais e entrevistas individuais e grupais, realizadas com psicologos e com trabalhadores adoecidos pelo trabalho. A ligacao entre os materiais empiricos oriundos destes distintos momentos investigativos foi possibilitada pelo aporte de conceitos da teoria sociologica de Pierre Bourdieu, que auxiliou na compreensao do ambiente empresarial como um campo de disputas, cujos agentes ocupam posicoes na estrutura das relacoes que compoem tal campo, que delimitam suas praticas e atuam tambem sobre a construcao da sua subjetividade profissional. Constatou-se que embora a area reconhecida de atuacao profissional destes psicologos seja a Psicologia Organizacional, as teorias que informam suas praticas sao oriundas essencialmente da Administracao de Empresas, estando vinculadas a logica da gestao como principio racionalizador e de gerenciamento do comportamento humano, logica esta que se espraia dos contextos empresariais para os demais dominios da vida social. Consequentemente, as explicacoes produzidas por estes psicologos para o adoecimento dos trabalhadores sao formuladas a partir desta visao, que atribui a cada trabalhador a capacidade de manejar e gerir sua propria saude e, portanto, o adoecimento, que e justificado assim a partir de fatores individuais. Verificou-se que atividades voltadas para a saude dos trabalhadores nao pertencem ao escopo de trabalho dos psicologos organizacionais estudados, nao sendo sequer mencionadas por estes como passiveis de uma acao por parte desta categoria profissional no interior das empresas. Concluiu-se que, mesmo diante das limitacoes impostas pelo contexto, estas questoes devem ser debatidas com os psicologos, desde as etapas iniciais de sua formacao, visando ativar e potencializar resistencias e novos modos de fazer profissional / Work-related illness is intrinsically connected with the way work is organized. This is reflected in the increasing incidence of mental pathologies among workers nowadays as a result of production processes introduced as part of the prevailing global capitalist model. Although psychologists are qualified to prevent and treat these disorders, this is not part of the day-to-day work of psychologists who work in companies, as their professional duties normally involve essentially technical and managerial functions. This study sought to investigate the reasons put forward by these professionals for work-related illnesses and to understand their understandings of their professional role in order to identify links between these two areas. With these objectives in mind, aspects of these psychologists work context, which establishes the boundaries within which they act, were discussed. A multi-sited ethnographic approach covering different research locations and following the study object in its various manifestations was adopted. The fieldwork consisted of bibliographic and document researches and individual and group interviews with psychologists and workers with work-related illnesses. Connections were established between the various empirical data obtained during the different investigative phases with the aid of concepts from the sociological theory of Pierre Bourdieu. These helped to understand the business environment as a field of disputes whose agents occupy positions in the structure of relationships making up this field that impose limits on their practices and influence the construction of their professional subjectivity. It was observed that although organizational psychology is acknowledged to be the professional area in which these psychologists are trained to act, their practices are guided essentially by business administration and tied to the logicwhich spreads from business contexts to the other domains of social lifeof management as the principle by which human behavior can be rationalized and administered. Consequently, the explanations produced by these psychologists for work-related illness are formulated in terms of this view, according to which each worker is able to handle and manage his or her own health and, therefore, illnesses, which in turn are justified based on individual factors. Activities geared toward workers health were found not to fall within the scope of the work of the organizational psychologists studied and were not even mentioned by them as tasks that could be undertaken in companies by this group of professionals. In conclusion, notwithstanding the limitations imposed by the context, these issues must be debated with psychologists from the initial stages of their training in order to activate and reinforce resistance and reinvent their professional activities