Equal health at work? Protocol for an observational study of work organisation, workload and musculoskeletal complaints among women and men in grocery retail

Abstract

IntroductionWomen generally report more work-related musculoskeletal complaints than men and have higher rates of sickness absence, even within occupations. One likely reason is that work tasks within the occupation are gendered, that is, women and men have different tasks, even when sharing the same job title. Retail is an appealing sector for studying working conditions and work environment in a gender context. The prevalence of work-related complaints is high, physical loads may differ considerably between tasks and the distribution of tasks is likely gendered. The overall aim of this study in retail is to examine factors at the organisational and individual level that may, in a gender perspective, explain working conditions, work tasks, workloads and musculoskeletal health.Methods and analysesData will be collected in two grocery stores, each with 50–70 workers, at two occasions interspersed by about 1 year. In each of these four waves, data collection will include a web-based questionnaire to all workers addressing, for example, work tasks, psychosocial factors, fatigue and pain; semistructured interviews with managers and approximately 10 workers addressing, for example, competences and decision levels; and technical measurements of postures, movements and heart rate in about 30 workers. The study is novel in combining an organisational gender perspective addressed through qualitative methods with a quantitative analysis of tasks, workload and health. The design allows an examination of both how genders may differ, and why they may differ, as well as analyses of the extent to which gendered working conditions change over time in the two participating stores.Ethics and disseminationApproval of the study by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (reference number 2017/404) has been obtained. This work will be disseminated by publication of peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals, presentations at scientific conferences and in meetings with representatives from Swedish retail, including unions and employers’ organisations.

Inequality Regimes in Grocery Stores: Intersections of Gender, Hierarchies, and Working Conditions

“…This implies the search for understanding and meaning in a specific context instead of aiming at generalizations regarding the retail sector at large. The study was part of a larger research project that aimed to examine the working conditions, work environment, and workload in grocery retailing from a gender perspective using both qualitative and quantitative methods (Mathiassen et al 2020). In this article, we explore inequalities in working conditions and if-and in that case, how-gender, hierarchical, and spatial divisions intersect to create inequalities in stores.…”

“…Eventually, this gendered distribution of work tasks may lead to differences in physical workloads, with women performing more repetitive and monotonous tasks than men, while men not only have more varied but also more physically demanding work (Balogh et al 2016;Johansson et al 2015a;Zeytinoglu et al 2004). Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are more prevalent in the retail sector than in the general worker population, and women are more often affected than men (Forciera et al 2008;Lundberg et al 1999;Mathiassen et al 2020;Sansone et al 2014). In a study of Swedish supermarkets, Christensen (2000, pp.…”

Protocol for an observational study of working conditions and musculoskeletal health in Swedish online retail warehousing from the perspective of gender and race/ethnicity

“…Thus, anthropometric differences related to place of birth may also lead to differences in loads. Further, differential experiences of psychosocial loads between FB and domestic-born workers including lower workplace decision latitude (2,24) and social support (2,25), have also been documented.…”

“…A custom questionnaire comprised of modules from well-established, validated, and documented questionnaires and modules adapted from questionnaires previously used in our research group to assess other occupational groups (ex (Bergsten et al, 2015;Mathiassen et al, 2020). but adjusted to speci cally capture information about the warehousing work environment.…”

Working hour characteristics in the Finnish retail sector – a registry study on objective working hour data

“…However, research is lacking the prevalence and nature of similar, possible unfavourable working hour characteristics of the retail sector. Earlier studies of the retail sector, even being large and prospective, have relied on survey data of working hours hampering the evaluation of the detailed features of the working hours 18,19) . Questionnaire data on working hours is also prone to reporting bias [20][21][22][23] .…”