The association between occupational stress and physical and mental health of manufacturing workers

This research demonstrates the impact of occupational stress on the physical health as well as the mentality of manufacturing employees. For this, a cross-sectional survey design was used, from which a sample of 676 manufacturing employees from more than 20 firms in Jiangsu, Guangdong, Henan, as well as several additional provinces was extracted. The data were collected from a general information questionnaire, a self-constructed occupational stressor scale for manufacturing employees, the Athens Insomnia Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), as well as the Fatigue Scale (FS-14). Follow-up data analysis was used in the determination of primary outcomes. Univariate analysis revealed single childless workers as well as technical masters with lower sleep quality when compared with their colleagues. Furthermore, childless worker levels below the age of 25 were higher in terms of both mental fatigue as well as depression, while physical fatigue was higher in the age bracket of 31-40 years when compared with employees within the rest of the age groups. From results of multiple linear regression, occupational stress was shown to have a direct negative predictive effect on sleep quality while a direct predictive effect on levels of depression, mental fatigue, as well as physical fatigue. In conclusion, occupational stress has a direct predictive effect on the physical health as well as the mentality of manufacturing employees, thus a reduction in occupational stress through interventions would improve the overall health of this workforce.