Open AccessAssociation of Work‐Related Factors with Psychosocial Job Stressors and Psychosomatic Symptoms among Japanese Pediatricians
Author(s) -
Umehara Katsura,
Ohya Yukihiro,
Kawakami Norito,
Tsutsumi Akizumi,
Fujimura Masanori
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of occupational health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 59
ISSN - 1348-9585
DOI - 10.1539/joh.49.467
Subject(s) - overtime , stressor , psychosocial , job control , workload , medicine , job stress , working hours , job satisfaction , psychology , clinical psychology , work (physics) , psychiatry , social psychology , political science , computer science , economics , law , engineering , operating system , mechanical engineering , labour economics
Association of Work‐Related Factors with Psychosocial Job Stressors and Psychosomatic Symptoms among Japanese Pediatricians: Katsura U mehara , et al . Department of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences —A cross‐sectional study was conducted to explore what work‐related factors were associated with job stress among pediatricians in Japan, as determined by the demand‐control‐support model and psychosomatic symptoms. We sent an anonymous questionnaire to a random sample of 3,000 members selected from the nationwide register of the Japan Pediatric Society and received 850 responses (response rate, 28%). Data from the 590 respondents who worked more than 35 h per week as a pediatrician and had no missing responses in the questionnaire were analyzed. We measured workload‐related variables (e.g. working hours, work schedule) and recovery‐related variables (e.g. workdays with no overtime, days off with no work in the past month) as exposure variables, and psychosocial job stressors (the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire) and psychosomatic symptoms as outcome variables. Longer working hours per week was significantly associated with greater job demand, lower job control and more psychosomatic symptoms ( p <0.05). After adjusting for working hours, more workdays with no overtime was significantly associated with lower job demand, greater job control and fewer psychosomatic symptoms ( p <0.05). Our findings suggest that long working hours is a risk factor for job stressors and psychosomatic symptoms, and that workdays with no overtime is a protective factor which may facilitate recovery. Controlling working hours and encouraging non‐overtime workdays may be important for reducing job stressors and psychosomatic symptoms among pediatricians in Japan.