Professional stress in miners depending on the education and period of service in mining

Abstract

Stress is one of the many potential determinants of health. It is not a new phenomenon and it accompanies people from the very beginning of their lives. One special place where many stimuli (stressors) causing stress conditions in humans occur, is the work environment. In the study, a questionnaire was used regarding the professional stress among the employees of one of the coal mines [1]. It comprised of three parts encompassing the following problem areas: the physical properties of the work environment, the social factors of the work environment and stress-inducing factors caused by poor organization of work. In the study of questionnaires filled by the respondents in one of the coal mines, it was found that the stressors are located both in the physical and social environment of work and their occurrence is in relation to the errors in the organization of the plant and managing human resources. The basic step preceding the proper prophylactic activities should be noticing the stress as a problem concerning both the individual employees as well as the entire plant. One should thus identify and eliminate the professional stressors occurring in the mining plant. It is necessary to design working conditions with a limited potential of inducing stress.