1028 Association between emotional symptoms and job demands in the electronics factory

Abstract

Introduction Emotional symptoms are related to work-related factors. The understanding of the association between emotional symptoms and job demands in the electronics industry is limited. The objective was to examine the relationships between emotional symptoms and job demands. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study, which enrolled 458 workers in the electronics factory. Personal factors, work-related factors, and emotional symptoms were assessed by the self-administered questionnaire. Emotional symptoms were comprised of depressive and hostility. The job demands included the following items: working under high pressure, working hours, workload, imbalance between job demands and workers’ abilities, monotonous job, physical risks, unclear understanding about job duties, conflicting demands, and socially isolation at work. Multiple logistic regression analysis was applied to explore the association between work-related factors and emotional symptoms. Results Among the study population, 154 (33.6%) had emotional symptoms. In the simple logistic regression analysis, regular exercise (OR=0.46), working under high pressure (OR=3.05), working long hours (OR=2.42), high workload (OR=2.31), imbalance between physical and mental job (OR=1.73), conflicting demands (OR=3.94), and social isolation at work (OR=4.89) were significantly related to the presence of any symptom of depression or hostility. Further, in the multiple logistic regression model adjusted for other variables, regular exercise (OR=0.51, 95% CI: 0.30 to 0.88), working under high pressure (OR=1.84, 95% CI: 1.05 to 3.21), conflicting demands (OR=2.15, 95% CI: 1.30 to 3.57), and social isolation at work (OR=2.9, 95% CI: 1.23 to 7.30) were significantly related to the presence of any symptom of depression or hostility. Conclusions Working under high pressure, conflicting demands, and social isolation at work may be the risk factors for emotional symptoms. Therefore, workplace mental health promotion should focus on not only education of lifestyle modifications (i.e. exercise), but also job demands.