A new quantitative approach to measure perceived work-related stress in Italian employees

• Authors: Gabriele Cevenini , Ilaria Fratini , Roberto Gambassi

Abstracts

EN

Objective We propose a method for a reliable quantitative measure of subjectively perceived occupational stress applicable in any company to enhance occupational safety and psychosocial health, to enable precise prevention policies and intervention and to improve work quality and efficiency. Materials and Methods A suitable questionnaire was telephonically administered to a stratified sample of the whole Italian population of employees. Combined multivariate statistical methods, including principal component, cluster and discriminant analyses, were used to identify risk factors and to design a causal model for understanding work-related stress. Results The model explained the causal links of stress through employee perception of imbalance between job demands and resources for responding appropriately, by supplying a reliable U-shaped nonlinear stress index, expressed in terms of values of human systolic arterial pressure. Low, intermediate and high values indicated demotivation (or inefficiency), well-being and distress, respectively. Costs for stress-dependent productivity shortcomings were estimated to about 3.7% of national income from employment. Conclusions The method identified useful structured information able to supply a simple and precise interpretation of employees’ well-being and stress risk. Results could be compared with estimated national benchmarks to enable targeted intervention strategies to protect the health and safety of workers, and to reduce unproductive costs for firms.

Keywords

EN

multivariate statistics; non productivity costs; occupational safety; prevention; risk assessment; work-related stress

• Publisher: Instytut Medycyny Pracy im. prof. dra Jerzego Nofera w Łodzi
• Journal: International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
• Year: 2012
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 426-445

Dates

published

2012

Contributors

author

Gabriele Cevenini

• Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Viale Bracci 16, 53100, Siena, Italy

author

Ilaria Fratini

• Human Resources Consultancy and Applied Social Research, Florence, Italy

author

Roberto Gambassi

• Department of Quantitative Methods, University of Siena, and Microcosmos, Siena, Italy

Identifiers

DOI

10.2478/S13382-012-0050-6

Biblioteka Nauki

2180021