Assessment of psychosocial factors in office and operational groups of employees of a Regional Electricity Distribution Company in Iran – A case study

Omid Aminian,Ataollah Moradi,Sahar Eftekhari

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00714

Omid Aminian, Ataollah Moradi + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00714

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Journal: Heliyon	Publication Date: Aug 1, 2018
Citations: 3	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

BackgroundMany studies have shown an association between unfavorable psychosocial factors and personal and organizational outcomes. In recent years, psychosocial issues have received top priority between work environment factors. This study aimed to provide a first insight into psychosocial stressors in electricity distribution industry in Iran and compare the psychosocial factors between two job categories of office and operational workers. MethodsThe study population was employees of an electricity distribution company in Iran. The standard Persian medium size of Copenhagen psychosocial questionnaire (COPSOQ) was used in this study to measure psychosocial factors. The questionnaire comprised 5 domains and 26 scale. Mean and standard deviation of each scale and domain were obtained for office and operational workers separately and the results were compared. ResultsHigher scores were obtained in the domain of "job demands" of operational workers. In the domain of "job contents", More Unfavorable condition was obtained for office workers. No significant difference was seen in the domain of "inter personal relationship". More unfavorable scores for operational workers were obtained in the domain of work-individual interface" in a univariate analysis, but after adjusting the confounders including age, type of employment, directorship status and income, multivariate analysis did not show any significant difference. In the domain of "individual Health and well-being", higher scores were obtained for operational workers. ConclusionThis study provides support regarding the differences of psychosocial working environments between office and operational workers in electrical distribution industry. It is worth considering these differences of psychosocial factors at employees scheduling.

Highlights

The World Health Organization defines health as complete physical, mental and social well-being rather than merely absence of disease or infirmity [1]
Some other factors assessed by Copenhagen psychosocial questionnaire (COPSOQ) are general and we did not expect to differ between occupational groups
This study can indicate the significance of psychosocial hazards in electricity distribution industry

Summary

Introduction

The World Health Organization defines health as complete physical, mental and social well-being rather than merely absence of disease or infirmity [1]. According to studies in Europe, one out of three working people suffers from occupational stress. Studies have shown that 50%e60% of the lost working days were caused by occupational stress [3, 4, 5, 6]. This study aimed to provide a first insight into psychosocial stressors in electricity distribution industry in Iran and compare the psychosocial factors between two job categories of office and operational workers. Mean and standard deviation of each scale and domain were obtained for office and operational workers separately and the results were compared. Results: Higher scores were obtained in the domain of "job demands" of operational workers. In the domain of "job contents", More Unfavorable condition was obtained for office workers.

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