Assessment of work related stress among female public service workers in Kaunas

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate work-related stress and its associations with the sense of coherence and psychosocial work characteristics. Methods: The study sample was comprised of 484 employed women. The study evaluated independent variables, such as work-related psychosocial factors and the sense of coherence as well as work-related stress - which was the dependent variable. Results: The prevalence rates of behavioral, somatic, and cognitive stress among the respondents were found to be high -75.9%, 60.9%, and 63.4%respectively. The study showed that the prevalence rates of work-related demands were also high, but despite that, influence at work, possibilities for development, and the sense of coherence were found to be extremely weak. A strong association was found between the sense of coherence and all three stress factors - the odds ratio for behavioral stress was 24.69 (95% CI = 9.87-61.85), for somatic - 6 (95% CI = 3.38-10.65), and for cognitive - 16 (95% CI = 8.11-31.5). Conclusion: The study discovered a strong relationship between a weak sense of coherence and work-related stress. The relationship between adverse psychosocial work conditions and work-related stress was not strong - only high work demands and social support were found to be significant. © 2013 Versita Warsaw and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.