Evaluation of possible work stressors: Research conducted in an Icelandic company

Abstract

Work stress is an increasing problem around the world affecting both employees and organizations. Due to globalization, the work environment has changed greatly the last decades resulting in different work methods, increased technology and increased demands. As a consequence, employees can experience increased work stress which can lead to decreased well-being, poorer job performance and therefore affect organizations as a whole. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different work stressors on employees in an Icelandic company. It was also examined if the workplace stressors differed between departments and between supervisors and subordinates. Participants were 264 employees, who ranged from the age of 20-69 years. Stress was measured with the questionnaire Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and the workplace stressors were measured with a section from the questionnaire A Shortened Stress Evaluation Tool (ASSET). The findings indicated that certain workplace stressors were associated with increased stress in employees. There was as also difference in experienced workplace stressors between departments and between supervisors and subordinates. Keywords: Workplace stressors, work stress, employees, supervisors.

Vinnutengd streita er vaxandi vandamál um allan heim og hefur áhrif á bæði starfsmenn og fyrirtæki. Síðastliðna áratugi hefur vinnuumhverfi breytst verulega sem hefur leitt til breyttra vinnuaðferða, aukinnar tækninotkunar og aukinna krafna á starfsmenn. Afleiðing þess getur verið sú að starfsmenn upplifa aukna vinnutengda steitu sem getur leitt til vanlíðunar, verri starfsárangurs og þar af leiðandi haft áhrif á fyrirtækið í heild sinni. Markmið þessarar rannsóknar var að kanna áhrif mismunandi vinnutengdra streituvalda á starfsmenn íslensks fyrirtækis. Metið var hvort að starfsmenn upplifðu mismunandi streitvalda eftir deildum og eftir því hvort að þeir hefðu mannaforráð eða ekki. Þátttakendur voru 264 starfsmenn á aldrinum 20-69 ára. Streita var mæld með spurningalistanum Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) og vinnutengdu streituvaldarnir voru mældir með hluta úr spurningalistanum A Shortened Stress Evaluation Tool (ASSET). Niðurstöðurnar leiddu í ljós að ákveðnir streituvaldar höfðu tengsl við aukna streitu í starfsmönnum. Það var einnig munur á hvernig starfsfólk upplifði streituvalda eftir deildum og að sama skapi milli þeirra starfsmanna með mannaforráð og starfsmanna sem höfðu það ekki.Efnisorð: Vinnutengd streita, vinnutengdir streituvaldar, starfsmenn, yfirmenn.