THE PREVALENCE OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS AMONG LECTURERS IN A PRIVATE UNIVERSITY IN MALAYSIA

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Background: Stress in an inevitable situation in which one will go through in their lives. If stress is not resolved, it gets accumulated and thus may give significant implication on one’s health. There are many types of stress and one of which is occupational stress may also contribute to major health hazards. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of occupational stress among lecturers of a private university in Malaysia. 

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using Job Content Questionnaires (JCQ) to identify the occupational stress. This questionnaire consists of three parts which are socio-demographic, decision latitude and psychological job demand. The score of reliability test for decision latitude was 0.75 and the score for psychological job demand was 0.80. 

Results: The prevalence of occupational stress among lecturers was 24.8%.  The socio-demographic factors such as gender (p=0.001), level of education (p=0.011), income (p=0.002), job title (p=0.005), length of service (p=0.001) provides significant association to occupational stress. 

Conclusion:  This study revealed the 24.8% of a population found to have a occupational stress and found several demographic variables such as gender, level of education, income, job title and length of service which predictors of occupational stress. Therefore, to reduce negative impacts, preventive measures or intervention programs had to be implemented. 

Keywords:  Occupational stress, Private University, Lecturers, JCQ.