Affiliations: Chair in Occupational Health and Safety Management,
Faculty of Administration, Laval University, Québec, Canada
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Jean-Pierre Brun, Chair in
Occupational Health and Safety Management, Pavillon Palasis-Prince, Laval
University, Quebec, Canada, G1K 7P4. Tel.: +1 418 656 2405; Fax: +1 418 656
7028; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Canadian higher education sector has undergone numerous changes
during the past decades. Increased student enrolments, massive cuts in human
resources and constant restructuring are changes likely to have had a
considerable impact on all employees (e.g., administrative, trades, and
faculty). While many studies conducted in different countries have shown that
stress in universities is a problem of alarming proportions, to date, no study
of the entire staff of a university has been carried out in Canada. This
research uses an approach based on the prevention and management of the sources
of occupational stress to study 1086 employees of a Quebec university. Data
were collected by means of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. It
was found that the proportion of individuals who reported a high level of
psychological distress was twice as high (40%) than that reported for a
Quebec-wide sample (20%). Work overload, the relationship with one's
superior and participation in decision making were systematically reported as
high risks to employees' health. It was found that human resources management
practices have not followed the rapid organizational changes which affected the
university in the past years. The results are discussed in light of the risk
management approach.
