Job insecurity, work-family imbalance, and hostile work environment: prevalence data from the 2010 National Health Interview Survey.

BACKGROUND

Little nationally representative information on job insecurity, work-family imbalance, and hostile work environments experienced by workers in the US is available.

METHODS

Prevalence rates from the 2010 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) were calculated for three workplace psychosocial factors (job insecurity, work-family imbalance, bullying/harassment) using SUDAAN to account for the complex NHIS sample design.

RESULTS

Data were available for 17,524 adults who worked in the 12 months that preceded the interview. Overall prevalence rates were 31.7% for job insecurity, 16.3% for work-family imbalance, and 7.8% for hostile work environment (being bullied or harassed). The highest prevalence rate of job insecurity was found for construction and extraction occupations. Workers in legal occupations had the highest prevalence rate of work-family imbalance. Workers in protective service occupations had the highest prevalence rate of hostile work environment.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified demographic characteristics along with industries and occupations with the highest prevalence rates for three adverse workplace psychosocial factors. These data can be used for benchmarking and identification of targets for investigation and intervention activities.