Background: Health inequalities in the working population may partly be due to the unequal exposure to work-related risk factors among different occupational positions. Empirical data, however, exploring the distribution of exposures at work according to occupational position for Germany is missing.
Objectives: This paper summarizes existing literature on occupational inequalities and discusses the role of working conditions. In addition, using European survey data, we study how various exposures at work vary by occupational class.
Materials and methods: Analyses are based on the European Working Condition Survey, and we compare the German sample (n = 2096) with the sample from the EU-27 countries (n = 34,529). To measure occupational position we use occupational class (EGP-classes). First, we describe the prevalence of 16 different exposures at work by occupational class for men and women. Second, we estimate regression models, and thereby investigate if associations between occupational class and self-perceived health are related to an unequal distribution of exposures at work.
Results: For various exposures at work we found a higher prevalence among manual workers and lower-skilled employees for both physical and psychosocial conditions. With few exceptions only, this finding was true for men and women and consistent for Germany and Europe.
Conclusion: Results indicate that the unequal distribution of health-adverse conditions at work contribute towards existing health inequalities among the working population.
Keywords: European working conditions survey; Health inequalities; Occupational health; Occupational position; Working conditions.