Working conditions in Peru: A survey study of worker's perceptions in an industrially developing country

Working conditions in Peru is a pioneering study that focuses on understanding how different elements of the work system as well as socio-economic factors influence workers' satisfaction and health in an Industrially Developing Country (IDC). Worker satisfaction was a composite of three satisfaction-related questions, satisfaction with job, satisfaction with working conditions, satisfaction with the company. Health-related aspects included perceived health status, musculoskeletal, and mental distress symptoms experienced in the last 12-month period previous to the data collection.;Working hours and salary, physical environment and ergonomics, occupational safety and health, work-related welfare facilities, discrimination issues, psychological job demands and organizational factors were examined. Elements outside the work system, such as socio-economic factors, were also considered in the analysis. The data collection tool was a questionnaire survey questionnaire written in Spanish. The sample consisted of 12 manufacturing companies from the private sector. Collecting the data took place in Lima, Peru between the 16th and the 26th of March of 2002. The author collected a total of 1373 completed questionnaires, obtaining a 78.5% of the estimated number of participants.;Overall, major contributions of this study can be summarized into five major areas. First, the design and development of a methodological approach when collecting work-related data from an IDC. Second, the design of a working conditions questionnaire for the Latin American working population which not only includes work system factors but also extra organizational factors such as socio-economic variables, variables highly relevant within an IDC context. Third, results indicated that socio-economic factors play a key role in research design and they deserve special attention in IDC working environments.;Fourth, it was found that certain work aspects such as having frequent psychological job demands, having a good fit between the working hours and the family and social commitments, adequacy of household income, feeling work is interesting, might have a major impact on workers' satisfaction and health. Finally, it should be mentioned that the study findings have relevance for potential improvements in workers' day-to-day lives by motivating companies, locals and multinationals, to adopt strategies towards the improvement of the conditions of work.