Self Rated Assessment of Stress due to Physical Environment

Abstract

Stress related diseases are ubiquitous around the world and a lot of people are disabled due to stress. Stress is the psychological and physiological response to threatening and unpleasant environmental factors.(1) Occupational Stress is the result of the interaction between the individual and the work environment.(2) Occupational stress is a risk factor for depressive symptoms.(3,4) Factors such as extensive work overload, lack of autonomy, long working hours, abusive management, bad relationship with coworkers, lack of equal opportunities have been identified in stress related to workplace.(5) Factors contributing to stress at workplace include physical agents (light, sound, heat or cold), occupational factors (workload, ambiguity and job problems, changes , pressure about time saving, taking responsibility too low or too high), factors related to organizational management (lack of organizational support, structural weakness, poor management), synergistic factors (lack of solidarity, weak group support), factors associated with individual expectations (hopes and early expectations, retirement concerns), and factors outside the work environment (family life, marriage, parents, finances, friends and community relations).(6-8)