Zest for work? Assessment of enthusiasm and satisfaction with the present work situation and health – A 1.5-year follow-up study

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Josephson, Malin | Vingård, Eva

Affiliations: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

Note: [] Address for correspondence: Malin Josephson, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Akademiska sjukhuset, SE-75185 Uppsala, Sweden. Tel.: +46 18 611 38 88; Fax: +46 18 51 99 78; E-mail: Malin.Josephson@medsci.uu.se

Abstract: The aim of the study was to investigate whether assessing zest for work is a valuable approach in occupational health work. The term "zest for work" comes from the expression "zest for life" and can roughly be interpreted as the degree of enthusiasm and satisfaction with the present work situation. The measurements comprise three components: listing important factors for the feeling of zest for work, attitude rating and stating whether it is possible to have any influence over the listed factors. Included in this study were 5539 employees, mainly women. Low zest for work was associated with job strain and insufficient social support and imposed an increased risk for poor health for working and long spells of sick leave. The results support that assessing zest for work can be useful in occupational health work.

Keywords: Questionnaire, job satisfaction, health, sick-leave

Journal: Work, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 225-231, 2007