Employees' views about the impact of the economic crisis on occupational safety and quality of life: a pilot study in the North of Portugal

The European Union faced an economic crisis with a significant expression in Portugal. The financial unsustainability of this country led to austerity measures with negative impacts on organizations and families. The paper aims to analyse the views of the employed population about the influence of crisis on occupational safety, and workers' quality of life. A self-completed questionnaire named External Environment Questionnaire (EEQ) was applied in 2013. A total of 510 questionnaires were filled by Portuguese employees of eight cities from the North of Portugal. The results indicate that the crisis has an important impact in the financial conditions of the workers and an important effect in the job security. Moreover, companies were seen by workers to compromise their safety performance in a crisis period. A strategy to manage safety issues in a crisis context as well as improve the quality of life of workers is needed.