Stress levels among workers: an observational study

Introduction While some stress is a common part of everyday work for most people, higher or prolonged levels of stress might be harmful. Work-related stress is becoming a study subject because of its important implications: it is related to coronary heart disease and health in general and it also influences employee satisfaction and productivity. Because of this, workers should be aware of their stress levels in order to prevent disease and increase performance levels. Therefore, the aim of our study was to evaluate stress levels among employees. Methods We conducted an observational study in collaboration with Anteo, an onlus society based in Biella which employs more than 1000 workers. The first step of our study ran from December 2019 to February 2020, and included 300 workers. Informed consent was gathered trough structure chiefs prior to the intervention. We administered an online questionnaire based on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) for screening than, subjects with a high perceived stress level were invited for a personal interview with our medical and psychological staff. Results The response rate was 31% with 94 questionnaires completed by the end of February 2020. 80% of respondents were women (75 out of 94). 17% of the employees presented a moderate to high level of stress (16 total, 72% women). Only 5% of workers presented a high level of stress (4 total, 50% women). All Patients presenting a high level of perceived stress went through medical and psychological evaluation, which confirmed the results in 88% cases (14 out of 16). Conclusions Our study evidenced that workers are often exposed to high levels of stress, which can influence health, everyday life as well as productivity. The introduction of stress management programs in companies could improve workers health and productivity having a positive impact on one's health, company productivity and society in general. Key messages The introduction of stress management programs might improve workers health and productivity. The introduction of stress management programs might have a positive impact on one’s health, company productivity and society in general.