“Day to day, town to town, sing my songs, travel on”? Examining aspects of precarious employment for work psychologists in Austria

Abstract

Work psychologists play a crucial role in today’s work systems, where psychological stressors are on the rise. However, the occupational profile of work psychologists is not clearly defined by Austrian law and atypical employment might be common among Austrian work psychologists. In our study, we identified aspects of an undefined and insecure occupational profile and hypothesized a positive association with role ambiguity, which in turn was supposed to affect psychological wellbeing negatively. Finally, we hypothesized that well-functioning cooperation with occupational physicians would buffer experiences of role ambiguity in work psychologists. 31 experts were interviewed and salient topics served as a base for an Austria-wide online survey study with N = 122 participating work psychologists. Regression analyses supported the assumed effects. The results highlight the importance of a more clearly defined occupational profile for work psychologists. We discuss viable approaches to improve working conditions for work psychologists in Austria.