Analysis of job stress in workers employed by three public organizations in Serbia

The present study analyzes job stress in terms of education, age and the presence of cardiovascular and endocrine/metabolic diseases.

A total of 411 workers employed by three public organizations completed the Job Content Questionnaire to classify their jobs based on the job strain model. Data about health condition, education and habits was obtained by the use of medical examinations and an interview.

The analysis of the completed Job Content Questionnaires indicates that workers with high education have significantly higher decision latitude (DL) than low-educated workers (one-way ANOVA, p < 0.0001). DL was also different between age groups (one-way ANOVA, p < 0.0001) - the highest DL values were observed in the oldest group, while the lowest DL mean was found in the youngest group. Psychological job demands (PJD) and social support (SS) were not significantly different between educational and age groups. The frequency of job stress categories was significantly different between low and highly-educated workers (χ(2) test, df = 3, p < 0.0001) and also between different age groups (χ(2) test, df = 6, p < 0.0001). The majority of highly-educated men were exposed to "active" jobs (high PJD and high DL). Most frequently, men older than 45 years experienced jobs with high DL ("active" and "low strain"), men aged 35 to 45 years were exposed to jobs with high PJD ("high strain" and "active") while the majority of men younger than 35 years were exposed to jobs with low DL ("high strain" and "passive"). No association between cardiovascular and endocrine/metabolic disorders and different job stress categories was observed.

"High strain" and "passive" jobs were most frequently identified among low-educated and young men. Despite the absence of association between job stress and cardiovascular and endocrine/metabolic diseases, we recommend prevention of work stress, particularly in the case of low-educated workers and workers younger than 45 years exposed to unfavorable job stress categories.