The impact of social and organizational factors on workers' coping with musculoskeletal symptoms

Background and Purpose. Workers with musculoskeletal symptoms are often adv ised to cope with their, symptoms by changing their. working technique and by using lifting equipment, The main objective of this study was to test th e hypothesis that negative social and organizational factors where people a re employed malt prevent workers from implementing these coping strategies. Subjects and Methods. A total of 1,567 automobile garage workers (72%) ret urned a questionnaire concerning coping with musculoskeletal symptoms and s ocial and organiza tional factors. Results. When job demands, decision auth ority, social support, and management support related to health, environmen t, and safety (HES) were used as predictor variables in a multiple regressi on model, coping as the outcome variable was correlated with decision autho rity, social support, and HES-relatcd management support (standardized beta = .079, .12, and .13, respectively). When an index for health-related supp ort and control was added to tile model, it correlated with coping (standar dized beta = .36), whereas tile other relationships disappeared. Discussion and Conclusion. Decision authority and social support entail health-relate d support and control that, in turn, influences coping.