An investigation of the relationship between psychological health and workload among managers

Background Anecdotally, many workers complain of stress at work. However, t he relationship between work and stress needs clarification to allow risk a ssessment and risk management of this hazard in the workplace. Objectives To examine relationships between working hours, perceived work s tressors, and psychological health in a group of managers. Methods Managers at two factories were invited to participate in an anonymo us cross-sectional survey. All were asked to complete a work diary for a pe riod of 1 week and a questionnaire comprising the 30-item General Health Qu estionnaire, an anxiety and depression scale, and questions identifying per ceived workplace stressors. Results Over 60% of managers were above the threshold of caseness on at lea st one measure of psychological health. No statistically significant relati onship was demonstrated between actual hours of work and psychological heal th. A relationship was demonstrated between some perceived workplace stress ors and actual hours worked, and between some perceived workplace stressors and psychological health. Conclusions A large proportion of managers in a typical production environm ent appeared at risk of developing psychological illness. Hours of work wer e not directly related to psychological health, but were significantly asso ciated with individual perception of some work stressors which, in turn, we re associated with measures of psychological health. Perceived workload app eared more important in determining psychological health than actual worklo ad.