Influence of professional stress on temporary and permanent working ability of exposed workers

Abstract

Occupational stress presents a health risk and affects working ability, leaving also a significant economic impact. Our aim was to examine the effect of the level of professional stress on temporary and permanent working disability in exposed workers. The study included 3527 workers of various professions, who in the period 2011-2016 on the territory of South East Serbia did the same job for at least last five years, and who were referred by their chosen doctor to the Disability Commission for the assessment of their permanent making disability due to a work injury or illness. The number of lost working days in relation to the level of occupational stress at their workplaces (the Occupational Stress Index- score) was analyzed. There was an increase in the average number of lost working days in the subgroups of workers with higher levels of occupational stress. Additionally, the number of workers who were entitled to a disability pension increased in the subgroups of workers with a higher level of stress at work. The research implies that stress at the workplace significantly affects the temporary and permanent working ability of the exposed workers.

Stres na poslu predstavlja zdravstveni rizik koji utiče na radnu sposobnost i ima značajne ekonomske posledice. Cilj rada bio je da ispita uticaj nivoa stresa na poslu na privremenu i trajnu radnu nesposobnost izloženih radnika. U studiju je uključeno 3527 radnika različitih profesija, koji su u periodu 2011-2016. na području jugoistočne Srbije radili isti posao poslednjih pet godina i bili upućeni Invalidskoj komisiji od strane svojih izabranih doktora radi ocene trajne radne sposobnosti, zbog bolesti ili povrede. Analiziran je broj izgubljenih radnih dana u korelaciji sa stepenom stresa na njihovom poslu (Indeks profesionalnog stresa). Zapaža se povećanje srednje vrednosti broja izgubljenih radnih dana u podgrupama radnika sa većim nivoom stresa na poslu. Broj radnika koji je proglašen trajno nesposobnim za posao se povećava u podgrupama radnika sa većim nivoom stresa na poslu. Rezultati ovog istraživanja pokazuju da stres na poslu značajno utiče na privremenu i trajnu radnu sposobnost izloženih radnika.