Prevalence and sources for stress among employees at a major academic institution.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Jun J
• Description:
  Research objective: The Centers for Disease Control reports that 110 million people die every year as a direct result of stress. For employed adults, work is one of the top stressors in daily life, followed by children. Researchers interested in stress traditionally distinguished between work and non-work. However, the relationship between work and non-work have been explored by some in notions of spillover and compensation. In order to further understand the sources of stress experienced among working adults, this study examined the level of stress and stressors among the employees who participated in a wellness program at a large teaching institution and its affiliated health centers. Study design: A cross sectional, correlational design was done using a large data set from an employer wellness program in 2013. General stress level and various stressors were measured in a 5-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistic was done for the analysis. Population studied: Since 2005, the University of Michigan (UM) initiated a program aimed to promote employee health and well-being. All faculty and staff from the university and health care centers were invited to participate. Health data were obtained annually via self-report and biometric screening. The participants were categorized into ten "job families" based on the Human Resources Career Path: 1) Nurses, 2) House officers, 3) Healthcare Administrators & Supports, 4) Patient care services, 5) Office, 6) Engineering/Information Technology, 7) Lecturer/faculty, 8) Service/Maintenance, 9) Research, and 10) Others. Principal findings: In this study, 9,256 individuals answered the stress-related questions in the self-report wellness screening program. About 46% of House Officers, who were residents and fellows, reported 'extremely or quite stressed". The members of 'Lecturers/Faculty' were the second highest in their stress level (32.2% reported "extremely or Quite stressed "). Healthcare Administrators and Supports (p = .01), Office (p = .02), Engineering/Information Technology (p = .01) and Service/Maintenance (p = .00) were statistically significantly less stressed than House Officers. The top three stressors were consistent across all jobs: 1) lack of time (36.6%), 2) finance (32.4%), and 3) job (32.2%). Conclusions. House officers reported the highest stress level, however, the sources of stress were the same regardless of their jobs. Implications for policy and practice: The findings of this study demonstrate that work and non-work stress are interconnected regardless of jobs. This is encouraging for employers who are developing a work-based stress reduction and/or wellness program. These programs may have global effects on the overall well-being of their employees. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Education Health Personnel Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological
• Keywords:
  Job stress; Mental health; Teaching; Education; Health care workers; Office workers; Worker health
• Publisher:
  American Psychological Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20065825
• Citation:
  Work, Stress and Health 2019, November 6-9, 2019, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2019 Nov; :190
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• Performing Organization:
  Mount Sinai School of Medicine
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Work, Stress and Health 2019, November 6-9, 2019, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:973e94700f504df9bb8881765f2884b2c73aaded3f8f984b94842eeae514c44a984a0210ba90d18e7a621b09c2db681b87708881c18ed8baca854011920081ef
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/249560/cdc_249560_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 109.59 KB ]