Understanding job stress in The Iranian oil industry: A qualitative analysis based on the work systems model and macroergonomics approach

Abstract

The aim of this study was to understand why and how working in the oil industry causes job stress. Using the work-systems model as a guiding framework, we conducted 15 in-depth interviews with employees of an oil company located on an island in the Persian Gulf to investigate work system-related stressors. The interviews were audio-taped, and qualitative content data analysis was carried out continuously and simultaneously with data collection over a 12-month period. 1118 meaning codes were extracted which could be understood though fourteen categories of stressor associated with the five themes of the work system. Employees reported the job was stressful primarily because of organizational structural problems and management attributes, although aspects of living and working on the small island were also difficult. These results provide direction for intervention that can dovetail with risk assessment of occupational health of workers.