Quality of Life in Workers and Stress: Gender Differences in Exposure to Psychosocial Risks and Perceived Well-Being

Biomed Res Int. 2017:2017:7340781. doi: 10.1155/2017/7340781. Epub 2017 Dec 3.

Abstract

Background: Quality of working life is the result of many factors inherent in the workplace environment, especially in terms of exposure to psychosocial risks.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to assess the quality of life with special attention to gender differences.

Methods: The HSE-IT questionnaire and the WHO-5 Well-Being Index were administered to a group of workers (74 males and 33 females). The authors also used Cronbach's alpha test to assess the internal consistency of both questionnaires and the Mann-Whitney test to evaluate the significance of gender differences in both questionnaires.

Results: The HSE-IT highlighted the existence of work-related stress in all the population with a critical perception regarding the domain "Relationships." Furthermore, gender analysis highlighted the presence of two additional domains in the female population: "Demand" (p = 0,002) and "Support from Managers" (p = 0,287). The WHO-5 highlighted a well-being level below the standard cut-off point with a significant gender difference (p = 0.009) for males (18, SD = 6) as compared to females (14, SD = 6,4). Cronbach's alpha values indicated a high level of internal consistency for both of our scales.

Conclusions: The risk assessment of quality of working life should take into due account the individual characteristics of workers, with special attention to gender.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Quality of Life*
  • Risk Assessment
  • Sex Factors
  • Stress, Psychological / epidemiology*
  • Stress, Psychological / psychology*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Workplace / psychology*
  • Workplace / statistics & numerical data*