Stressful working conditions and poor self-rated health among financial services employees

Self-rated health status and associated factors in rural workers

BACKGROUND

Self-rated health status can be considered a good predictor of morbidity and mortality and has been used due to its easy assessment and applicability. The instrument is efficient for understanding sociodemographic, environmental and clinical conditions that may be related to the self-rated health status. Thus, this study aims to analyze the self-assessment of health status in rural workers and its association with socioeconomic characteristics, lifestyle, clinical condition and work characteristics.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study carried out with 787 male and female rural reporting agriculture as their main source of income in the municipality of Santa Maria de Jetibá. A simple and direct question was used "In general, compared to people your age, how do you rate your own state of health?" to see how rural workers rate their current health status. The independent variables analyzed were socioeconomic, clinical, health and work conditions. The magnitude of the associations was evaluated by means of hierarchical logistic regression.

RESULTS

It was found that 42.1% of rural workers self-rated their health status as regular or poor. Belonging to socioeconomic classes C (OR = 1.937; 95% CI = 1.009-3.720) or D/E (OR = 2.280; 95% CI = 1.178-4.415), being overweight (or having excess weight) (OR = 1.477; 95% CI = 1.086-2.008), multimorbidity (OR = 1.715; 95% CI = 1.201-2.447) and complex multimorbidity (OR = 1.738; 95% CI = 1.097-2.751) were risk factors for worse self-rated health.

CONCLUSION

It was concluded that chronic diseases, socioeconomic status and overweight are risk factors for negative self-rated health. The identification of these determinants through self-rated status can support the planning of actions aimed at improving the health of the rural population.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Health Sciences Center of the Federal University of Espírito Santo (Protocol No. 2091172; CAAE No. 52839116.3.0000.5060). All research participants gave their informed consent.

The relational effects of perceived organizational support, fear of COVID-19, and work-related stress on the safety performance of healthcare workers

This paper assesses the relational effects of perceived organizational support (POS), fear of COVID-19 (FOC-19), and work-related stress (WRS) on the safety performance of healthcare staff. The sample for this research was extracted from the University College Hospital (UCH) in the Oyo State of Nigeria. The participants were midwives, doctors, auxiliary services staff, and nurses who functioned in a COVID-19 hospital ward, fever or respiratory ICU, Auxiliary services, or outpatient clinics. This investigation espoused a clinical cross-sectional survey involving self-reported surveys. Of the 150 questionnaires distributed, 147 were fit for scrutiny and analyzed with Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 28). This paper established a relationship between POS and safety performance (SP). Besides, it showed a significant positive correlation between FOC-19 and SP. It further noted that work-related stress negatively relates to safety performance. Moreover, this study showed the significant joint strong influence of POC, FOC-19, and WRS on the safety performance of healthcare workers. Hence, healthcare institutions are encouraged to create adequate support for healthcare workers, particularly during a global health crisis. Government and healthcare institutions should also develop an awareness program on the danger and consequences of getting infected by the virus or infecting other significant others. This will increase the fear of COVID-19 and, consequently, health workers’ safety performance. Besides, it is recommended that the management of healthcare institutions provides a proper work structure and schedule to help reduce workloads, consequently reducing WRS, as lowering it improves healthcare workers’ safety performance.

Social stressors and social resources at work and their association with self-reported health complaints among ready-made garment workers in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Bangladesh is one of the world's largest garment exporters. Physical working conditions of garment workers are precarious and known to largely affect their health. Research on garment workers' psychosocial working conditions, however, is scarce. We aimed to quantify psychosocial working conditions of garment workers and possible associations with workers' health.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 1,118 ready-made garment (RMG) workers in labor colonies in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in February 2021. Descriptive analyses were performed to characterize social stressors (e.g., being bullied at work, poor leadership) and social resources at work (e.g., receiving support at work, vertical trust between management and employees, beneficial leadership) and workers' health (self-reported overall health and 10 specific health complaints). To examine links of social stressors and social resources with self-reported health outcomes we ran multivariable Poisson regression models yielding prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

RESULTS

We found low to moderate levels of workplace bullying and high levels of poor leadership (i.e., supervisors not caring about workers' problems). We also found high levels of social support, vertical trust and beneficial leadership (i.e., supervisors taking decisions free of bias). Garment workers frequently suffered from health complaints, first and foremost headache (68.3%), cold (55.3%), and back pain (50.7%). Health outcomes were poorer among workers who reported to be bullied at work versus not bullied (e.g., PR 1.55 [95% CI 1.32-1.92] for poor self-reported health when bullied by colleagues) and health was better among those reporting to feel supported versus unsupported (e.g., PR 0.61 [0.52-0.71] for poor self-reported health when supported by supervisor). Perceived vertical trust between workers and management was weakly associated with better health. Leadership behavior did not display a consistent pattern.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that working conditions of RMG workers are rather good (e.g., characterized by low levels of bullying and high levels of support, vertical trust and beneficial leadership). The majority of workers reported good or very good health, although health complaints were frequently mentioned, first and foremost headache, cold, and back pain. Associations between psychosocial working conditions and health indicate worse working conditions being associated with poorer health.

Digitalisation in the banking industry and workers subjective well-being

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how bankers perceive digitalisation relating to their subjective well-being. The paper seeks to further explore how this relation is contingent on the aspect of structural organisation represented by the concept of individualist/collectivist organisational culture.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on the survey distributed to employees of 18 bank offices in the south of Sweden, which 161 employees answered. The analysis of the data was performed by descriptive statistics, principle component analysis, Pearson correlations, multiple linear and moderating multiple linear regression analyses.

Findings

The study indicates that bankers’ experience digitalisation as a four-faceted construct: a tool for information management, and work optimisation, customer relation management and as a change agent. The study suggests that the use of digital tools for work optimisation has a positive relation to the work- related dimensions of subjective well-being as well as a spillover effect on the life balance and life satisfaction dimensions. It also indicates that the information management dimension has a positive relation to the life satisfaction aspect of subjective well-being. Finally, the study found that increasing the degree of collectivist organisation culture has a positive moderating effect on the relation between the use of digital tools for work optimisation and life balance and subjective well-being, respectively.

Originality/value

The study reveals a new way of operationalising digitalisation in banks and is the first study of its type to explore the relationship between digitalisation different facets and banker subjective well-being.

AUTOAVALIAÇÃO NEGATIVA DA SAÚDE EM TRABALHADORAS DE ENFERMAGEM DA ATENÇÃO BÁSICA

Resumo O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar os fatores associados à autoavaliação negativa da saúde entre trabalhadoras de enfermagem. Realizou-se estudo transversal exploratório, com amostra probabilística de 451 trabalhadoras de enfermagem da Atenção Básica à Saúde. Foi aplicado questionário com informações sociodemográficas, de hábitos de vida, ocupacionais, aspectos psicossociais e satisfação no trabalho e morbidade das trabalhadoras. A autoavaliação da saúde foi aferida por meio da questão “De modo geral, em comparação às pessoas da sua idade, como você considera o seu próprio estado de saúde?”. Os dados foram analisados por meio do modelo de regressão logística em blocos. Identificou-se prevalência de 15,8% de autoavaliação negativa da saúde. Os fatores associados foram: incompatibilidade das atividades desenvolvidas com o cargo, média e alta sobrecarga doméstica, situação de trabalho ativo (alto controle, alta demanda), avaliação ruim da qualidade de vida e transtornos mentais comuns. Os achados corroboram a relação entre processo saúde-doença e condições de vida e trabalho e indicam a necessidade de políticas públicas de prevenção e promoção da saúde das trabalhadoras de enfermagem. Essas politicas, ao constituir situações favoráveis de trabalho, podem ser muito relevantes para a qualidade da assistência prestada aos usuários do Sistema Único de Saúde.

Structural validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory and influence of depressive symptoms in banking workplace: Unfastening the occupational conundrum

Burnout and mental disorders have been reported in the financial industry. This study aims to examine the structural validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and to investigate the connection between the dimensions of burnout and depressive symptoms in a sample of 1046 bank employees from North Brazil who completed the MBI and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to cross-check the factorial structure of the MBI. One-way analysis of variance and correlation analysis were applied to elucidate the relationship between burnout and depressive symptoms. Both 3-factor and 4-factor oblique solutions were plausible EFA models of the burnout syndrome. Results of CFA supported the 19-item 4-factor structure as the best fitting model to data, with two exhaustion factors ("exhausted" and "strained"), depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. The PHQ-9 total score and individual score of depressive items were significantly correlated with all MBI dimensions, notably with the emotional exhaustion dimension. The moderate-to-high correlation observed between burnout and depression suggest the potential utility of the MBI for evaluating burnout among bank employees as well as to point out the need to evaluate systematically the burnout and depressive symptoms given to their potential association.

Work-Related Stress in the Banking Sector: A Review of Incidence, Correlated Factors, and Major Consequences

For a number of years now, banks have been going through enormous changes in organization and structure. New technology and new ways of structuring the operation have left their mark on the working conditions and daily lives of employees. Deregulation of labor markets, emerging technologies and new types of jobs have significantly reshaping working lives by continuous changes on employment and working conditions. Such a scenario has a relevant impact not only on companies' organization but also on working population's health. The banking sector is particularly well-deserved of a specific and thorough analysis, in view of the recent increase in psycho-social disorders of employees. This may be related to the major organizational changes affecting this sector and, in particular, to the restructuring processes resulting from the global economic crisis. Our aim is to assess the scale of the phenomenon and how far it relates specifically to the processes of bank organization. With this in mind, through a review of the literature, we selected the main studies dealing with work-related stress in banking, so that we could reach a better understanding of the phenomenon as it relates specifically to this set of workers. The search took place on the MEDLINE® database; in total 20 articles were chosen. There was uniform agreement among the studies that stress in the banking workplace is now at critical levels, and that it can have deleterious psychological effects on workers, and on their physical health, and that organizations, too, are affected. Most studies showed that mental health problems had increased in the banking sector, and that they were stress-related. Examples began with anxiety and depression, carried on through maladaptive behaviors, and ended in job burnout. The reviewed studies' limitations were then discussed, and possible ways forward considered.

Mental Health of Elementary Schoolteachers in Southern Brazil: Working Conditions and Health Consequences

The mental health of educators is a growing problem in many countries. This study sought to identify self-reported stressful working conditions of elementary schoolteachers and the biopsychosocial consequences of those working conditions and then identify working conditions that promote well-being for teachers in the workplace. Exploratory study was done with 37 teachers. Data collection was performed using a structured interview with a questionnaire. Results show that stressful working conditions are related to inadequate salary, an excessive number of activities, and having to take work home. Biopsychosocial consequences include anxiety, stress, and sleep disorders. There was a statistically significant association between inadequate salary and anxiety (p = 0.01) and between an excessive number of activities and stress (p = 0.01). Teachers reported that a good relationship among colleagues is a working condition that promotes well-being in the workplace. The identification of stressful working conditions for teachers, the biopsychosocial consequences, and working conditions that promote well-being in the workplace are relevant to determining actions that improve the work environment and, consequently, the health of teachers.

Autoavaliação do estado de saúde e fatores associados: um estudo em trabalhadores bancários

O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar como trabalhadores bancários avaliam seu estado de saúde e os principais fatores associados a esse indicador nessa população. Trata-se de um estudo transversal com 525 funcionários de uma rede bancária do Estado do Espírito Santo, Brasil. A magnitude das associações foi avaliada através de regressão logística hierarquizada em níveis. Verificou-se que 17% (n = 87) dos bancários autoavaliaram seu estado de saúde como regular ou ruim. Estiveram associados à pior autoavaliação de saúde o reduzido nível socioeconômico (OR = 1,80; IC95%: 1,06-3,05), o estilo de vida sedentário (OR = 2,64; IC95%: 1,42-4,89), o excesso de peso (OR = 3,18; IC95%: 1,79-5,65), o baixo apoio social (OR = 3,71; IC95%: 2,10-6,58) e a presença de doenças crônicas (OR = 5,49; IC95%: 2,46-12,27). Concluiu-se que, comparado com outras localidades, houve um expressivo número de bancários que autoavaliaram seu estado de saúde como regular ou ruim, e que a presença de doenças crônicas apresentou-se como o fator de maior impacto sobre a forma como o indivíduo avalia sua própria saúde.

Prevalence of stress level among Bank employees in urban Puducherry, India

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Stress is an important health area of concern among bank employees. The study aims to assess the stress level and its associated factors among bank employees.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 192 bank employees in urban Puducherry, India. Stress level was assessed by Cohen's Perceived Stress scale and classified into low (0-11), average (12-15), high (16-20), and very high (21 and above) based on the stress scores. Collected data were analyzed by using univariate analysis.

RESULTS

Majority of them had high and very high level of stress (75.5%, confidence interval: 69.4-81.6%). The variables that include age group, sex, category of work, smoking and alcohol use were not found to be significantly associated with the stress level (P > 0.05). With respect to question items, handling personal problems and things were going their way were answered as fairly often and very often by the majority of the subjects.

CONCLUSION

Stress level among bank employees is high, which necessitates intervention measures for this vulnerable group.

How older workers with coronary heart disease perceive the health effects of work

More than 3.4 million workers have coronary heart disease (CHD) with significant work limitations and disability. Although the cohort of aging workers with CHD is growing, little is known about how older workers with CHD perceive the relationship between the work environment, including job stress, and their health. The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive study was to explore the perceptions of the health effects of work among older workers with CHD and describe how they cope with work stress. The sample was 47% female and 33% African American. Their mean age was 59.21 (± 5.4) years, and most (55%) worked in professional or managerial jobs. Themes emerged about perceptions of the health effects of work and coping strategies. Because older employees are a vulnerable work group, understanding the perceived health effects of work may guide future workplace program development and policy.