Cooccurrence entre le harcèlement psychologique et la détresse psychologique chez des travailleurs québécois

The purpose of this study is to explore the co-occurrence between psychological harassment and psychological distress among workers, and to determine the extent to which the characteristics of the immediate work environment (i.e., psychosocial risks, work contract) can explain this co-occurrence. The issue of co-occurrence between psychological harassment and psychological distress among workers is of particular interest to workers and employers in the province of Quebec. On the one hand, the review of the reports of the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et la sécurité du travail (CNESST) reveals that accepted complaints of psychological harassment have in the past led to compensation claims of a psychological nature, suggesting that the two phenomena may be related. In addition, the Enquête québécoise sur des conditions de travail, d’emploi et de santé et de sécurité du travail (EQCOTESST) showed that psychological harassment and psychological distress did co-exist among the Quebec workforce. It is not known yet whether the co-occurrence between psychological harassment and psychological distress depends on the type of harassment experienced (i.e, psychological, sexual, physical) and to what extent the psychosocial work environment contributes to explain this co-occurrence. In order to examine this question, we used data from the SALVEO study, a cross-sectional study from which a sample of 1,950 Quebec workers from 38 Québec clients of an insurance company was derived. In terms of analytical strategy, we used latent class analysis (LCA) to identify the typical patterns of co-occurrence between psychological harassment and psychological distress; and examine the characteristics of the psychosocial work environment associated with it. The results of the LCA revealed three distinct patterns of co-occurrence: a vi first typical pattern of "healthy workers"; a second typical pattern associated with "moderate psychological harassment (without physical violence) and moderate psychological distress"; and a third typical pattern associated with " high psychological harassment (physical, psychological and sexual harassment) and high psychological distress". The following psychosocial risks were associated with class membership to latent class 2 "moderate psychological harassment and moderate psychological distress (without physical violence)": psychological demands, abusive supervision, working hours and job insecurity. In terms of latent class 3 "high psychological harassment (all forms expressed) and high psychological distress", the following explanatory factors were associated with class membership: psychological demands, job insecurity, abusive supervision, working hours, social support from supervisors and an irregular scheduling frequency, all more intensely present than with latent class 2. In sum, this study sheds new light on two related phenomena in Quebec workplaces: psychological harassment and psychological distress. Our results suggest that sound management of psychosocial risks from the work environment may have an advantage in the common prevention of psychological harassment and psychological distress among workers.

Keyphrases: Coocurrence, Co-occurence, Psychological harassment, Psychological distress, Psychosocial work environment, Latent class analysis, SALVEO study