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Job strain and occupational stress among urban public transit operators
Author(s) -
Carrère Sybil,
Evans Gary W.,
Palsane M. N.,
Rivas Mary
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of occupational psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.257
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 2044-8325
pISSN - 0305-8107
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8325.1991.tb00562.x
Subject(s) - job strain , workload , occupational stress , job stress , strain (injury) , public transport , psychology , stress (linguistics) , epidemiology , demographic economics , environmental health , medicine , social psychology , job satisfaction , physical therapy , psychiatry , transport engineering , engineering , computer science , economics , linguistics , philosophy , psychosocial , operating system
Job strain, characterized by an excess of workload demands over decision latitude, has been associated with worker morbidity and mortality in several epidemiological studies. One mechanism that might account for some of this association is elevated cardiovascular and catecholamine activity at work among labourers experiencing high job strain. We studied the relation between job strain and physiological and psychological stress among a sample of urban, public transit operators. Bus drivers experiencing high job strain in comparison to their co‐workers with low strain had greater workday elevations in catecholamines but not blood pressure. They also evidenced higher occupational stress as measured both by an unobtrusive behavioural index of stress while driving the bus and according to a standardized questionnaire measure of job stress. We discuss these results in light of previous research suggesting that the public transit work environment is highly stressful.