A preliminary evaluation of psychological stress amongst workers in Taiwan: a cross-sectional survey

International Journal of Mental Health Systems

Ruey-Yu Chen¹  Wan-Yu Yeh²  Wei-Che Chiu³  Pei-Yi Hu⁴  Dung-Min Tsai⁴ 

[1] 0000 0000 9337 0481, grid.412896.0, School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wuxing St., Taipei, Taiwan, ROC;0000 0004 0604 5314, grid.278247.c, Center for Evidence-Based Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, 201, Sec. 2, Shipai Rd., Beitou District, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC;0000 0004 0622 7222, grid.411824.a, Department of Health Administration, Tzu Chi University of Science and Technology, 880 Sec.2, Chien-Kuo Rd., Hualien, Taiwan, ROC;0000 0004 0627 9786, grid.413535.5, Department of Psychiatry, Cathay General Hospital, 280 Renai Rd., Sec.4, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC;School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Fu-Jen Catholic University, 510 Zhongzheng Rd., Xinzhuang Dist., New Taipei, Taiwan, ROC;grid.482591.3, Division of Labor Relations, Institute of Labor Occupational Safety and Health, Ministry of Labor, 99, Lane 407, Hengke Rd., Sijhih District, New Taipei, Taiwan, ROC;

关键词: Work stress;    Mental illness;    Occupational disease;    Reference guide on identification;    Stressful life events;    Taiwan;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13033-019-0290-y

来源: publisher

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundStress and psychological disorders have been assigned increasing significance in the field of occupational health. Based on Japan’s psychiatric disability occupational disease recognition regulation, Taiwan’s Council of Labor Affairs announced “Evaluation Guidelines for psychiatric diseases induced by work-related stress” in 2009. This evaluation tool was designed to assess the source and intensity of work-related and non-work-related mental stress, and references existing Japanese guidelines. However, empirical data from workers in various sectors in Taiwan are still required to validate the utility of the guidelines.MethodsThis study recruited 2319 workers from the manufacturing, service, and public administration sectors to participate in a survey between 2010  and  2011. The survey included questions regarding participants’ demographic characteristics, job type or attributes, a life event stress intensity evaluation Table (35 work-related and 23 non-work-related items on a scale of 1–10). The Chinese version of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (C-CBI) and Chinese Health Questionnaire (CHQ-12) were also included to explore associations between work-related/non-work-related stress and health outcomes.ResultsAnalyses of survey results showed events relating to employment security (e.g., “company bankruptcy” and “being fired or forced to retire” scores; mean stress intensity scores both 6.18) were the cause of the highest intensity work-related stress. Within different demographic/job type categories, women had higher stress intensity scores for most items than men (greatest difference in “sexual harassment in the workplace” score). Furthermore, executive class workers generally experienced more psychological stress than blue-collar workers (greatest difference in “serious injury or disease due to work” score). Results from regression analysis supported the observation that employees’ burnout and work-related stress was more significant than non-work-related stress. Moreover, work-related/non-work-related stress intensity levels both had significant negative predictive effects on mental health.ConclusionsRegarding policy, this study provides empirical evidence and practical suggestions for establishing a psychological stress intensity database of workers under specific social contexts in a newly industrialized East Asian country. Such a database can be employed to help identify workers with work-related psychological disorders. Additionally, this study also provides a point of reference for enterprises to prioritize agendas when developing employee stress management and support protocols.

【 授权许可】

CC BY