engleski

Occupational stressors and cigarette smoking in videoterminal operators

OCCUPATIONAL STRESSORS AND CIGARETTE SMOKING IN VIDEOTERMINAL OPERATORS The occupation is significant predictor of tobacco use among employed persons. The aim of this study was to examine the relation between occupational stressors (work organisation factors as perceived by workers) and cigarette smoking in videoterminal (VDT) operators. Methods and sample: The study sample was composed of 226 office workers aged 20-64 years (M=38.7) from an insurance company. All respondents, mostly female (72%) were employed for at least 20 hours per week and had at least 12 months of experience with their work on VDT?s. A specially prepared questionnaire was used to gather information about job demands, work/time pressure, social work related support and anxiety/depression disorders (Kjegaard, 1992). Workers were classified into smokers and non-smokers according to Brinkman and Coates? smoking index. Ergonomic analysis of equipment and workstations was carried out according to the recommendations of The Central Organization of Salaried Employees in Sweden (Screen Checker, TCO, 1986). For statistical analysis the methods of comparative statistics and multivariate regression were used. Results: Of examined workers 64% were current smokers. The smokers experienced higher job stress scores and lower level of work satisfaction and psychological well being. Age-adjusted partial Pearson correlation between occupational stressor scores and cigarette smoking indicators showed slight positive correlation (r = 0.24; p<0.01). The relative risk estimates for reported anxiety disorders in smokers versus non-smokers after adjusting for age, gender, ergonomic and general office conditions were statistically significant: OR (95%CI) =2.98 (0.97-4.87); adjusted OR (95%CI) =1.38 (0.79-3.10). Conclusion: The results indicate that stressful factors related to the way the work is organized promote smoking and discourage attempts to quit smoking in VDT operators. Alternatively, their stress may be partly caused by nicotine dependency. In antismoking attempts, organisational intervention could be introduced that alleviate the occupational stressors in VDT use.

occupational health; tobacco use; videoterminal work; work organisation; stress

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