Prospective evaluation of the impact of a change in the organization of work on perceived stress and health in assembly-line workers in an automobile plant

Background: Although the competitive climate of the automobile industry is modifying the organization of work in French plants, the health consequences of these changes have not been investigated. The objective of this study was to determine the health impact on employees of an automobile manufacturing plant in northern France of a change to a Total Quality Management type of organization. Methods: This before-and-after study concerned 80 factory employees. The health impact of their work was measured before the change and then 4 and 12 months after the reorganization began, with a French version of the Job Content Questionnaire, which assesses stress at work, a self-rated health scale, and the rate of infirmary visits. Paired comparisons were used to assess before-and-after changes. Results: Scores for psychological and physical demands increased significantly at 4 and 12 months after the organizational changes began, while the self-rated health score diminished significantly during both follow-ups. Decision latitude and social support scores remained unchanged during follow-up, and the number of subjects under stress in the study group (high psychological demands and low decision latitude) did not increase significantly. Finally, the rate of infirmary visits increased significantly during the study period. Conclusion: These results show that employees' reaction to these organizational modifications differed according to the scale studied and that their overall perceptions were more complex than expected in view of the changes that occurred.