Background: Occupational stress is considered as one risk factor for morbidity and early retirement.
Against the background of globalization and demographic change, it becomes an increasingly
important factor that can influence job satisfaction and health. In a pilot study,
we examined perceived stress across employee groups of different occupational status
and investigated its impact on health outcome. Materials and Methods: A comprehensive survey combining questionnaire data and medical examination was offered
to 1,250 employees in one division in BASF Ludwigshafen. Among 867 voluntary participants,
653 returned complete questionnaires. The questions were directed at perception of
job stress concerning safety at the workplace, relative health status, frequency of
perceived tension, feeling over-demanded, time pressure, maladjustment with private
life and leisure time. The outcome of interest was self-estimated health measured
with Work Ability Index (WAI). Results: Occupational stressors were perceived differently across the occupational status
groups. Wage employees had more concern about safety at the workplace, while middle
to top managers reported higher frequencies of perceived tension, time pressure, and
maladjustment with leisure time and private life. After adjustment for occupational
status, demographic and lifestyle factors, perceived stress was associated with a
modest to strong impact on declining WAI. Discussion: While perceived occupational stress had an apparent impact on WAI, and WAI has been
demonstrated to be predictive to a certain extent for early retirement, more intensive
and employee group-specific stress management interventions would be recommended beyond
the current strategies, including individual and organisational measures at the workplace,
that have been implemented until now.
