Impact of psychosocial job stress on non-fatal occupational injuries in small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises.
BACKGROUND
Workers involved in manufacturing are known to comprise a high-risk population for occupational injury, and this risk is greater in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this study was to examine the association between psychosocial job stress and occupational injuries among workers in SMEs.


METHODS
One thousand forty-nine men and 721 women from 244 SMEs participated in this study. Perceived job stress was evaluated with the Japanese version of the generic job stress questionnaire, which covered 14 job stress variables. Occupational injury was assessed by self-report during the last 1-year period.


RESULTS
Workers with high quantitative workload (odds ratio [OR] = 1.55 for men, 1.62 for women), high cognitive demands (OR = 1.70 for men, 1.53 for women), and low job satisfaction (OR = 1.33 for men, 1.93 for women) had a significantly increased risk of occupational injury in the multivariate model. High variance in workload (OR = 1.70) and high job future ambiguity (OR = 1.35) in men, and low job control (OR = 2.04) and high intragroup conflict (OR = 1.66) in women were significantly associated with occupational injury. In manufacturing/production workers, high quantitative workload (OR = 1.91), high variance in workload (OR = 2.02), and high depressive symptoms (OR = 1.55) were significantly associated with injury in men, while low social support from colleagues (OR = 2.36) or family (OR = 2.51) was related to injury in women.


CONCLUSIONS
These data point to an independent relationship between psychosocial job stress and self-reported occupational injury in SMEs.
Nakata
Akinori
A
National Institute of Industrial Health, Kawasaki, Japan. nakataa-tky@umin.ac.jp
Ikeda
Tomoko
T
Takahashi
Masaya
M
Haratani
Takashi
T
Hojou
Minoru
M
Fujioka
Yosei
Y
Swanson
Naomi G
NG
Araki
Shunichi
S
D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008420:Manufactured Materials; D008875:Middle Aged; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*