Vitamin model

The vitamin model (1987) by the British occupational psychologist Peter Warr gives a total of nine factors that can influence the mental health of a person in the world of work, very similar to the way that vitamins influence physical health. With these factors, occupational activities can be classified in terms of their stress on the worker.

According to Warr, the constant effect factors include 1. the availability of financial resources, 2. physical security and 3. the social position that favors self-respect and recognition by others. If these factors are low, this can have a negative impact on the mental health of the worker. However, the usefulness of the presence of these factors does not increase immeasurably, but rather quickly saturates. These factors are comparable to vitamin C, which is beneficial up to a certain point, but at a higher dose no longer has any effects or is eliminated.

The additional decrement factors include: 1. the ability to control one's own living conditions; 2. the possibility of social contacts; 3. the opportunity to develop and apply one's own skills; 4. external targets that have an activating and motivating effect; 5. the variety and thus the chance to have new experiences and 6. the predictability and transparency of events. These six factors can have a negative impact on health if they are too weak or too strong. The factors are correspondingly comparable to the effects of vitamin D, which is essential for life, but has a damaging effect in the event of an overdose.

literature

• P. Warr: Environmental “vitamins”, personal judgments, work values, and happiness. In: S. Cartwright, CL Cooper (Eds.): The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Well-being. Oxford University Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-19-921191-3 , pp. 57-85.