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BACKGROUND: The weak preventive culture among workers in the construction sector leads to the underestimation of risks posed by the presence or handling of chemical agents on-site and, consequently, harms workers' health. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this paper are to classify exposure to chemical agents present or used on-site, determine workers' perception of said agents and establish the influence that socio-demographic variables have on chemical agent exposure and the perception of such exposure. METHODS: A total of 490 workers in the Spanish construction sector participated in this study. The data were gathered through a self-administered questionnaire that explored socio-demographic characteristics, the degree of exposure to chemical agents, attitudes toward exposure and the prevention of consequences. The underlying dimensions of perception were researched using an adapted version of the questionnaire used by the Paul Slovic group to apply the psychometric paradigm. RESULTS: The levels of exposure to and handling of chemical agents found in the sample were high and moderate, respectively. The participants were found to have advanced knowledge about the effects of exposure, with the majority of the workers considering the probability of suffering a serious disease to be low. Statistically significant associations were found between the socio-demographic variables identified in the sample and the various exposure characteristics. A factor analysis performed on the underlying dimensions of perception provided a final version of the instrument comprising two factors. CONCLUSION: Measures are needed to improve the preventive culture among workers in the construction sector and reinforce on-site preventive measures aimed at preventing or minimising the consequences of exposure to chemical agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Papers: Revista de Sociologia is the property of Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of this paper is to discuss findings from an analysis of accidents in concrete construction companies in Spain and to compare the accident rates of qualified and non-qualified workers. A total of 125,021 accidents between 2003 and 2008 involving both blue-collar and white-collar workers were analysed, comparing the variables of occupation, age, company staff, length of service, location of the accident, together with the severity of the accidents. Results showed that lack of experience in the first month is more significant in non-qualified workers and experienced supervisors and that head injuries are more likely to lead to fatalities. The most remarkable similarity was that fatal accidents to and from the worksite are a problem common to both groups of workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have highlighted drastic reductions in daily mobility during the early stages of the COVID‐19 pandemic lockdown. But what happened when restrictions were relaxed though risk remained ubiquitous? How did patterns of mobility change and how were they structured by socioeconomic resources and social roles? We address these questions using a cross‐sectional representative sample (n = 2942) of the population of Andalusia, Spain, after a month and a half of severe lockdown in 2020. We find that older people were the least mobile group and that people living with children and in extended households were less likely to move to take care of others, unlike before the pandemic. Men were more likely to carry out daily mobilities for which women had been traditionally responsible, such as care mobilities. Women were also more likely to be immobile and less likely to commute. Finally, manual and nonqualified workers were more likely to commute, but they were just as likely as any other group to carry out other types of mobility. These results highlight the social character of mobility in a unique context. We emphasize the need to disaggregate daily mobility based on different purposes as well analysing how these are practised by different sociodemographic groups if we want to provide rigorous descriptions of a core component of individuals' daily life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic work is a sector characterized by various forms of injustice, prompting some women to embark on a pathway towards activism. Based on the Sociopolitical Development (SPD) framework, this study aims to explore female Latin American migrants' experiences of injustice in the domestic work sector in Spain and how they challenge them, particularly when they become involved in organized collective action. To this end, in‐depth interviews were conducted with 11 women of Latin American origin who actively participate in the Association of Domestic Workers of Seville. The qualitative analysis found that being a domestic worker, having experiences of exploitation, discovering rights, receiving rights training, sharing stories of oppression, and engaging in sociopolitical actions are key experiences in guiding migrant women from the acritical and adaptive stages of SPD towards the pre‐critical, critical, and liberation ones. Knowledge about these significant life‐changing events may be useful for designing interventions aimed at fostering different ways in which oppressed groups can challenge injustice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We attempt to identify the factors that determine the use of production incentives for manual workers in Spanish manufacturing industry. Data relating to 629 manufacturing plants are used in the investigation. Our findings show that intensified competition, membership of a multinational firm and public ownership have a negative effect. Also, production incentives are associated with lower monitoring, narrowness of job description and teamwork. The evidence obtained rejects the hypothesis of a negative association between incentive payment and several features associated with internal labour markets. Finally, union influence is found to have a positive influence on the use of incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of poor mental health and of exposure to psychosocial risks among the working population in Spain in 2005, 2010 and 2016; to analyse the associations between workplace psychosocial exposures and mental health problems according to gender and occupation. Methods: Three representative samples of the Spanish working population were analysed, in 2005 (n = 7,023), 2010 (n = 4,979), and 2016 (n = 1,807). Prevalence ratios between mental health and the five dimensions – job demands, job control, social support, employment insecurity and insecurity over working conditions—were estimated using multilevel mixed-effects Poisson regressions. All the analyses were separated by gender and occupation. Results: In 2016, there were improvements in job control, job demands and social support, and deteriorations in employment insecurity and insecurity over working conditions. The risk of poor mental health among manual workers rose if they were exposed to high demands, low social support and high employment insecurity; among non-manual workers, the risk increased if they were exposed to high demands, low control, low social support and high insecurity over working conditions. There were no differences according to gender. Conclusion: The new findings shed light on the evolution of the working conditions and health of the wage-earning population in Spain over the last 11 years. The stratification by gender and occupational group is relevant, since it allows a detailed analysis of the social disparities in the associations between psychosocial risks and mental health. The most vulnerable groups can be identified and preventive measures developed at source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article looks at the changing configuration of work–family arrangements (WFA) in Spain through the lens of labour market segmentation. Using European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU‐SILC) data for 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2012, it examines occupational differences in WFA comparing the period of prosperity to the period of recession and the implementation of austerity policies. The findings show that the dynamics of labour market segmentation produce differential employment opportunities and degrees of job security for men and women across occupational groups, significantly shaping WFA. The crisis reinforced already balkanized gender contracts, with working‐class households suffering most from job losses and pressing economic needs. Couples whose members were services employees and/or manual workers saw the greatest increases in dual activity over the whole period, as dual earners during the prosperity period and as added workers during the crisis. The economic crisis and austerity policies have reinforced the social divide across work‐poor and work‐rich households, and dual‐earning skilled couples versus those earning out of economic necessity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study explores whether Karasek's Job Demand-Control (JDC) model's strain hypothesis can be applied to target's reports of bullying at work in matched samples of Spanish and Belgian blue-collar workers. In the Spanish sample, results reveal a positive main effect of workload and a negative main effect of autonomy. The relationship between workload and bullying is particularly strong under the condition of low autonomy (i.e., interaction), in line with Karasek's strain hypothesis. In the Belgian sample, results show a positive main effect of workload and a significant workload-autonomy interaction effect in accordance with the strain hypothesis. In sum, high strain jobs associate with target's reports of bullying in both the Spanish and Belgian sample. Karasek's JDC model may accordingly be extended to target's reports of bullying as a form of social behavioural strain. These findings furthermore enhance research in the realm of bullying at work by introducing a well-established theoretical framework to account for the relationship between workload, autonomy, and target's reports of bullying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociología del Trabajo is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Analyzes the factors that influence the adoption by Spanish manufacturing firms of incentive schemes that link blue-collar workers' pay to the results achieved by the organization for which they work. Review of variables that may influence the use of workplace or firm incentives; Methodology; Results and discussion.