A Study of Levels of Stress and Factors Influencing Stress among Employees of a General Medical College and Hospital

Background: Overwhelming or prolonged stress causes impairment in various functional domains. Stressful situations at the workplace may be contributed by poor interpersonal relationships, shift work, poorly defined goals, incompatibility between employees’ skills and the assigned work, etc. Occupational stress may further deteriorate productivity at work, leading to workplace accidents, substance use, absenteeism, and conflicts. Hence, it is important to assess the stress levels among employees, recognize contributory factors and promote mental health at the workplace. Aims: (i) To assess the level of stress among the employees of general medical colleges and hospital. (ii) To determine the factors influencing the level of stress. Methodology: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in a general medical college and hospital in Mumbai. Two hundred and six participants were enrolled, consisting of doctors, nurses, administrative staff, and class IV workers. Sociodemographic factors were assessed via a semi-structured pro forma. Information related to occupational stress was collected via the Brief Stress Questionnaire. Results: The prevalence of occupational stress was 60%. The mean BSQ score was 25.485. Young adults and males had a higher mean BSQ score. Doctors, nurses, and class IV workers perceived a higher level of stress (27.62, 27.88, and 23.559, respectively). The most prevalent contributors to occupational stress were deadlines and time pressures (12.62%), too many jobs to do at once (12.13%), etc. Conclusion: Occupational stress is prevalent in varying intensities among the health-care employees. Identifying and addressing the contributory factors would help in the prevention of burnout among health-care workers.