Nicola Magnavita1. 1. Istituto di Medicina del Lavoro, Università, Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma, Italy. nicolamagnavita@gmail.com
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The periodic medical examination at the workplace should be an opportunity to monitor the health of workers. Psychological well-being and work-related stress are part of health, and therefore the occupational physician is required to control these parameters during his examinations. METHODS: 29 companies with a total of 4069 workers were monitored by the Italian version of the questionnaire on air quality MMO40/IAQ, which contains a section on work-related stress based on the demand/control/support model of Karasek, and by Goldberg's scales of anxiety and depression. RESULT: Work-related stress was significantly correlated with the number of symptoms reported by workers (p < 0.001) and with levels of anxiety and depression (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Despite its extreme simplicity, the scale of stress included in the questionnaire allows effective monitoring of the work-related stress.
BACKGROUND: The periodic medical examination at the workplace should be an opportunity to monitor the health of workers. Psychological well-being and work-related stress are part of health, and therefore the occupational physician is required to control these parameters during his examinations. METHODS: 29 companies with a total of 4069 workers were monitored by the Italian version of the questionnaire on air quality MMO40/IAQ, which contains a section on work-related stress based on the demand/control/support model of Karasek, and by Goldberg's scales of anxiety and depression. RESULT: Work-related stress was significantly correlated with the number of symptoms reported by workers (p < 0.001) and with levels of anxiety and depression (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Despite its extreme simplicity, the scale of stress included in the questionnaire allows effective monitoring of the work-related stress.