Downsizing and industrial restructuring in relation to changes in psychosocial conditions of work in British Columbia sawmills

Abstract

Objectives. This paper investigates changes in the psychosocial and physical work conditions of the sawmill industry in British Columbia, Canada, over the past 35 years. Methods. Shifts in work conditions were examined within the context of historical changes in sawmill labor demography and job taxonomy as the industry was both downsized and restructured, largely in response to an economic recession in the early 1980s. Results and conclusions. Downsizing eliminated approximately 60% of the work force and 1/4 of sawmill job titles. Although all the job categories in restructured sawmills showed increased levels of control, the gradient in control across job categories was steeper in 1997 than in 1965; this change may have important health implications particularly for the unskilled workers in the restructured mills.