Abstract
We develop a methodological approach to identify and prioritize psychosocial factors (stressors) requiring priority action to reduce stress levels. Data analysis was carried out on a random sample of 10 000 French employees who completed, during a routine interview with the occupational physician, a 25-item questionnaire about stress levels, as well as a questionnaire about 58 stressors grouped into 5 latent variables: job control, job context, relationships at work, tasks performed and recognition. Our method combines Importance-Performance Analysis, a valuable approach for prioritizing improvements in the quality of services, with Partial Least Squares-Path modeling, a Structural Equation Modeling approach widely applied in psychosocial research. Findings on our data suggest two areas worthy of attention: one with five stressors on which decision makers should concentrate, and another with five stressors that managers should leave alone when acting to reduce stress levels. We show that IPA is robust when answers to questions are dichotomized, as opposed to the initial 6-point Likert scale. We believe that our approach will be a useful tool for experts and decision-makers in the field of stress management and prevention.
Highlights
Work-related stress has become an increasingly major occupational health issue, as it has negative effects on both physical and psychological health [1,2]
We suggest using importance-performance analysis (IPA) [17], where weights and path coefficients estimated in the PLS model are used to calculate item importance
This work aimed to develop a new statistical approach to identify a set of stressors, among many known possibilities, in order to prioritize preventive actions, using two complementary powerful statistical methods: Partial Least Squares-Path modeling (PLS-PM) and Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA)
Summary
Work-related stress has become an increasingly major occupational health issue, as it has negative effects on both physical and psychological health [1,2]. Stress is an inevitable part of organizational life, efforts should be made to reduce its duration and intensity. In order to achieve this, psychosocial risk factors (“stressors”) related to a high level of stress need to be well-documented, and the impact of each stressor needs to be measured in several different ways (not one-dimensionally). Two main models are known to be useful for showing the impact of stress on health: the Demand/Control (or Job Strain) Model, and the Effort/Reward Imbalance Model (ERI) [3,4,5,6,7]. There has been limited attention in the literature on the quantitative assessment of stressors' impact on stress levels, taking into account the multidimensional aspect and latent variable nature of this type of data
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
