Why is it that when working in the same company, two people can perceive the working environment which surrounds them as completely different? What are the factors that most influence how happy we are at work? These questions among others gave rise to the doctoral thesis of Inmaculada García García, professor of the Department of Nursing of the University of Granada, whose work was directed by professor Emilio Sánchez Santa-Bárbara, from the Department of Social Psychology and Methodology of Behavioural Sciences.
García’s study centers on the health field, given she is also a professional in the area. As working environment is a subjective variable, the researcher carried out field work based on a survey of 632 workers from two public and two private hospitals in the province of Granada. All kinds of health workers participated in the survey, from nurse assistants to head of service doctors.
Several conclusions can be reached from this doctoral thesis. One of the most important is that, of all the analysed factors, the element which most influences working environment is the behaviour of the superiors and their consideration (or lack of) towards their subordinates. In other words: working environment will improve if workers feel appreciated and believe that their superiors take their opinions into account. Inmaculada García stresses this fact “because we must not forget that we are not just workers, we are people, and we need to feel that our work is appreciated.”
Structural and individual variables
According to the researcher, the perception a person has on the working environment that surrounds him/her is influenced by both structural factors (functional area, job security, shifts, length of service at the hospital, professional category, type of contract…) and individual variables (sex, marital status and number of children). Feeling appreciated by our superiors is one of the most powerful factors in the perception we have on the working environment that surrounds us.
The UGR professor stresses the commitment of “every employee in a company” is essential when creating a good working environment. “Many people spend more hours a day with their work colleagues than with their own family, which is why taking care of work relationships is so important.” Results of the field work carried out by García reveal that perception of the working environment depends to a great extent on the involvement of the person with his/her company, that is, on the level of commitment he/she has towards the organization he/she works for.
Results of this interesting study will be presented next July at the X European Congress of Psychology, which will be held in Prague (Czech Republic). In 2001, Inmaculada García was awarded the International Nursing Research Prize by the Pontifical University of Comillas
Reference: Professor Inmaculada García García. Department of Nursing of the University of Granada. Phone numbers: +34 958 287 608 – +34 958 243 497. E-mail: igarcia@ugr.es
