A study of occupational stress among government white‐collar workers in Brazil using the occupational stress indicator

Abstract

AbstractReports investigating occupational stress in Brazil have suffered from a paucity of Brazilian stress measurement tools. This article reports a detailed examination of occupational stress among white‐collar workers in a medium‐sized Brazilian government organization, using a Brazilian‐Portuguese translation of the Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI). This indicator is used widely in the UK, Europe and in the US, and measures major sources of pressure at work, stress outcome variables (job satisfaction, mental and physical health) and individual difference variables (Type A behaviour, locus of control, and coping strategies). These individual difference variables are purported to mediate the relationship between the sources of pressure and stress outcomes. Additional independent measures of the stress outcome variables were used along with measures of personal demographics. The findings suggest that these Brazilian workers experience more sources of pressure and use fewer coping strategies than a normative comparison group comprising UK workers, though it is not clear whether these differences are unique to the Brazilian organization in the study or due to differences in stress cross‐nationally. Thirty‐one to forty‐year‐olds reported greater sources of stress than either younger or older workers, but age did not independently predict stress outcomes. Females tended to report higher sources of stress, poorer health and lower job satisfaction than males, and sex also independently predicted health and job satisfaction on some measures of these variables. Those with degrees reported greater sources of stress and lower job satisfaction than those without degrees, but educational level did not independently predict the stress outcome variables whereas job type did predict job satisfaction, with those in managerial jobs generally being more satisfied than those in clerical or in technical jobs. This latter group were the least satisfied and experienced the greatest sources of stress. Other predictors of job satisfaction included locus of control, Type A behaviour and sources of stress from factors intrinsic to the job. In fact, this last variable was important in predicting both job satisfaction and health on all measures of these variables. Other predictors of health included locus of control and sources of stress from the interface between home and work. In general, findings obtained with alternative measures of the same stress outcome variables were consistent, adding convergent validity to the data.