Aspects Of Occupational Stress Research Articles

IMPACT OF WORK STRESS ON JOB SATISFACTION WITH MODERATING EFFECT OF SOCIAL SUPPORT

The purpose of this research is to investigate relationship between stress at work and amount of job satisfaction experienced by surgeons, while taking into consideration moderating effects of social support. First of two aspects of occupational stress that are investigated is the failure to maintain a healthy balance between one's personal and professional lives. Second is stress that is experienced while working. To collect primary data, questionnaire was sent to 500 medical professionals, the majority of whom were surgeons employed by private institutions. Results of this research demonstrated that a healthy work-life balance has a significant impact on the job satisfaction. Moreover, lower levels of job satisfaction have been connected to workplace stress. The unfavorable association between work-life balance and job satisfaction is minimized when surgeons have access to social services. Also, it reduces the detrimental impact of work-related stress on performance, that is significant advantage. Top-level managers have potential to boost surgeons’ satisfaction by implementing stress management practices in the workplace and offering social support.

The relationship between different aspects of occupational stress and general health

Introduction. Stress is one of the most common problems at work environments, which may have a negative effect on physical and mental health. Besides, general health problems are the most commonly discussed matter relating to occupational health, causing a reduction in the individual performance quality and work absence. Aims and objectives. The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between the different indicators of occupational stress and general health. Material and methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted among the office workers in Tehran in 2017. HSE’ occupational stress questionnaire was used to develop the different aspects of occupational stress. General health status was determined by General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). The relationship between different levels of occupational stress and general health was examined by statistical methods. Results. The study was conducted among a total of 393 participant. The mean scores of occupational stress and general health were 3.23 ± 0.44 and 3.26 ± 2.92, respectively. A significant statistical relationship was observed between general health and the different indicators of occupational stress including role (OR = 10.95, P value <0.001), relationships (OR = 2.73, P value <0.001), manager support (OR = 2.43, P value <0.001), demand (OR = 1.98, P value = 0.001) and organizational changes (OR = 3.03, P value <0.001), suggesting that as the level of occupational stress increased, the level of general health declined Conclusion. Attention to the different indicators of occupational stress and to the efficient ways to avoid and manage it can play an important role in improving the general health status of office workers.

Comparison of occupational stress in teachers and software professionals : A questionnaire study

Background: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) defines occupational stress as "the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker". Limited availability of current research on occupational stress in the education as well as the information technology (IT) sectors motivated us to conduct this study that juxtaposes stress among these two groups, whose roles become increasingly important, as our nation looks towards globalization. The present study is to evaluate and compare the levels of occupational stress among teachers and software professionals. Methods: This cross sectional analytical study was conducted in August 2007 in an arts college and an IT firm in Chennai, India. The study involved a structured and validated drop off questionnaire, completed anonymously by 127 individuals (62 college professors and 65 software professionals). Various aspects of occupational stress like role overload, role ambiguity, peer pressure, low status and strenuous working conditions were graded using a Likert scale and then analyzed using Occupational Stress Index Score system devised by Rizzo et al. Data was analyzed using SPSS Version 15. Student’s t - test was performed to compare occupational stress among teachers and software professionals. Results: IT professionals experienced significantly higher level of stress due to group and peer pressure (p<0.01). Teachers experienced significantly higher level of stress due to role overload and strenuous working conditions (p<0.05). Conclusion: Stress at work needs careful monitoring and remediable stressors should be eliminated with the help of an organizational change and effective stress management.

A study of the impact of occupational stress on sleep disorders among male freight train dispatchers

To explore tentatively the impact of occupational stress on sleep disorders. ninety three male freight train dispatchers participated in this study (response rate 80.87%). Sleep disorders, occupational stressors, personalities, and occupational strain response were measured with questionnaires. Workers with high psychological demands, job stressors,depressive symptoms,physical symptoms, daily life stress, work locus of control had higher sleep disorders scores than their counterparts (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05), workers with high job control had lower sleep disorders scores than their counterparts (P < 0.05). Sleep disorders were positively related to psychological demands, job stressors, depressive symptoms, physical symptoms, daily life stress, state-anxiety, strait-anxiety, and susceptibility to stress (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05), but negatively to job control and mental health (P < 0.05). Low job control, depressive symptoms, daily life stress and meaningless job were risk factors of sleep disorders. The sleep disorders are associated with some aspects of occupational stress among male freight train dispatchers.

Occupational stress and mental health of cardiac and noncardiac patients.

Background:Much of the research studies have shown that occupational stress is one of the strong determinant factors of coronary heart diseases among people in general. However, exploring the extent to which the type or nature of ailments and its subsequent risk factors have an effect on the onset of mental health will help evolve suitable preventive measures. The present study attempts to explore the status of mental health and occupational stress with respect to 2 categories of patients: Those who are suffering from cardiac problems and those suffering from noncardiac health problems.Materials and Methods:Occupational Stress Questionnaire and Mental Health Questionnaire were administered to both cardiac and noncardiac patients. The cardiac group consisted of 40 patients who were being treated at the cardiology department of a reputed hospital, and noncardiac group (40 patients) consisted of outpatients of the same hospital being treated for noncardiac problems like knee pain, headache, etc. Responses to these self-reported questionnaires were subjected to statistical analysis to find out the difference between cardiac and noncardiac groups.Results:The results revealed that cardiac patients tend to have lower levels of mental health than noncardiac patients. Similarly, cardiac patients were reported to have higher levels of stress due to role ambiguity, powerlessness, intrinsic impoverishment and unprofitability.Conclusions:The implications of the study were implementation of interventions to improve the internal strength of cardiac patients to overcome various aspects of occupational stress.

Short communication: French version of the Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI): preliminary assessment of reliability and validity

AbstractThis article offers a preliminary assessment of the psychometric quality of the French version of the Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI). The OSI is a diagnostic tool that assesses seven different aspects of occupational stress by means of one independent variable (sources of pressure), three moderating factors (Type A behaviour, locus of control and coping strategies), and three dependent variables (job satisfaction, mental health and physical health). The purpose of the present study is to test the French translation of the OSI and investigate the reliability of all seven scales, as well as the convergent and discriminant validity of six of them, excluding job satisfaction. Cronbach's α revealed that six of the seven OSI scales were statistically very reliable. In accordance with previous studies, the seventh scale, locus of control, proved to be less reliable. Significant and acceptable levels of construct validity were also found for the Type A, locus of control, mental health, physical health scales and for one of the coping strategy subscales: social support. These encouraging results should lead to further, broader and more complete assessments of the psychometric quality of the French version of the OSI. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Managing the Stress of Bringing the Economy in the Eastern German States to the Level of the Western German States

A select group of managers in the private and public sector working in the new and old German federal states were administered the German version of the Pressure Management Indicator (PMI; Williams, Kirkcaldy, &amp; Cooper, 1999 ). Twenty-four scale scores were assessed encompassing diverse aspects of occupational stress, individual differences (type A, locus of control, and coping), and outcome variables (work satisfaction, physical and psychological health). Several differences were observed between those managers reared and educated in the former East Germany and those from the former West Germany. East-German managers, for example, were characterized by an external locus of control with regard to their jobs and revealed higher type A scores compared to their West-German counterparts. Furthermore, although there were no differences in the evaluation of working climate nor in subjectively perceived occupational stress, specific outcome variables such as self-reported physical and psychological health did differ between West- and East-German managers. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Person‐environment fit and teacher stress

Summary This study examines the relationship between person‐environment fit and occupational stress and strain for a group of 300 Australian and Scottish vocational teachers. A self‐report questionnaire was used to obtain a measure of predominant work interest type for each individual. Teachers were allocated to the Congruent group on the basis of reporting a predominantly Social interest type; Social types are seen to be most congruent with teaching. Teachers were allocated to the Incongruent group on the basis of reporting a predominantly Practical interest type. The Occupational Stress Inventory (OSI) was used to measure various aspects of occupational stress, strain and coping resources. Significant between‐group effects (congruent vs incongruent) were found for two of the four strain subscales of the OSI. The implications of person‐environment fit and strain for teachers is discussed.

Stress in Nursing Home Staff: A Review and a Theoretical Model

Although many aspects of occupational stress have been investigated individually, few studies have successfully integrated different characteristics of stress. Moreover, little attention has been focused on staff stress in nursing homes. This article examines the literature on occupational stress in nursing staff and offers a comprehensive model of long-term nursing care stress. The literature review shows that a large number offactors affect occupational stress,from workplace issues such as institutional policies and residents' disabilities to the personal lives of the nursing staff. The stress in turn causes work dissatisfaction, followed by staff intent to leave, resulting in increased turnover. Staff stress also affects the individual worker in many ways. The model encompasses the antecedents, responses, and consequences of stress for individuals in an organization. The outcome variables affect the initial sources of stress and resources both at the job and at the personal levels, producing a cyclic process.

Coping actions used by Maltese primary school teachers

Summary This paper is part of a larger study dealing with various aspects of occupational stress among teachers. It seeb to identify the coping actions most frequently used by Maltese primary school teachers and how these actions relate to several subgroups; preference in the use of direct‐action and palliative strategies was also investigated in terms of the whole sample and the various subgroups. The study took the form of a questionnaire survey involving 844 primary school teachers from all state schools in the Maltese Islands. The results indicated that, of the ten listed coping actions, the three most frequently used were: (1) try to relax after work; (2) try to avoid confrontations; and (3) try to nip potential sources of stress in the bud. Teacher sex, length of teaching experience, age‐group taught and ability stream proved significant moderators of some of the coping actions. Significant differences in the use of direct‐action and palliative techniques were revealed in the age‐group taught and te...

760 Stress in Pediatric Residency, 1984s An Occupational Hazard

The occupational stresses inherent in residency training have seldom been empirically evaluated. A survey designed to quantify characteristics of a residency program and its stresses was mailed to 56 PL 1-3 residents at a large children's hospital. Additionally, age, sex, marital status, hours worked per week and hours of sleep at home and “on call” were noted. Stress was measured with the Osipow & Spokane's (1983) Occupational Environments Scales. This instrument, composed of sixty statements, estimates six aspects of occupational stress: role overload (demands >personal resources), role insufficiency (perception of inappropriateness of skills), role ambiguity (lack of clarity of expectations), role boundry (conflicting role demands), role responsibility (perception of responsibility), and characteristics of the physical environment. Four of 6 indices were different (p<0.01) from expected normative responses. Resident stress appeared to be related to problems of role overload, role responsibility, and the physical evironment; while one index, role insufficiency was significantly lower than expected. Interns were the most stressed in terms of role insufficiency and ambiguity. Hours worked per week for PL-1, 2, and 3 were 89.7, 81.6, and 74.1 respectively while average sleep on call was 2.5 hrs vs 7 at home. A “Reactions to Night Call Index” showed no differences between PL-1, 2 and 3's. Quantifying the stresses of a residency program provides a basis for the implementation of interventions to reduce stress.

Psychological Aspects of Occupational Stress and Workers Compensation

Research into occupational stress that explores the relationship between physical and psychiatric illnesses and job environment has important implications for the field of workers compensation. Recent studies conducted in Australia have shown that occupational stress can be indexed by analysis of 'stress hormones' to provide a rationale for job (re)design and stress management programs generally. Inadequately designed jobs can be shown to extract a high physiological cost from employees, which may lead to physical illness. These findings, however, cannot easily be extended to psychiatric illness. A model is presented in which distress is represented by the individual's attitudes to stress. Such a view does not consider distress to be either a direct cause of job stress or an illness. According to this argurnent, claims for workers compensation based on psychiatric grounds can be expected to attract more resistance than those based on physiological factors.

Psychodynamic aspects of occupational stress.

Freud described work as that which attaches the individual most firmly to reality. Many patients present to psychiatrists with disturbances in the capacity to work. This paper reviews common psychodynamic constellations in such patients in the belief that depth psychological approaches should complement recent person-environment fit considerations. Work inhibitions may arise from repressed aggression and/or sexuality displaced onto occupational tasks. Fear of success may be rooted in both oedipal and pre-oedipal conflicts. Work compulsion may evince attempts to appease a harsh super-ego. Chronic job dissatisfaction often arises from maladaptive attempts to regulate self-esteem. More importantly however, these disturbances frequently arise from interacting dynamic factors which must be carefully attended to by clinicians.