Job stress models, depressive disorders and work performance of engineers in microelectronics industry.
OBJECTIVE
Microelectronic engineers are considered valuable human capital contributing significantly toward economic development, but they may encounter stressful work conditions in the context of a globalized industry. The study aims at identifying risk factors of depressive disorders primarily based on job stress models, the Demand-Control-Support and Effort-Reward Imbalance models, and at evaluating whether depressive disorders impair work performance in microelectronics engineers in Taiwan.


METHODS
The case-control study was conducted among 678 microelectronics engineers, 452 controls and 226 cases with depressive disorders which were defined by a score 17 or more on the Beck Depression Inventory and a psychiatrist's diagnosis. The self-administered questionnaires included the Job Content Questionnaire, Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire, demography, psychosocial factors, health behaviors and work performance. Hierarchical logistic regression was applied to identify risk factors of depressive disorders. Multivariate linear regressions were used to determine factors affecting work performance.


RESULTS
By hierarchical logistic regression, risk factors of depressive disorders are high demands, low work social support, high effort/reward ratio and low frequency of physical exercise. Combining the two job stress models may have better predictive power for depressive disorders than adopting either model alone. Three multivariate linear regressions provide similar results indicating that depressive disorders are associated with impaired work performance in terms of absence, role limitation and social functioning limitation.


CONCLUSIONS
The results may provide insight into the applicability of job stress models in a globalized high-tech industry considerably focused in non-Western countries, and the design of workplace preventive strategies for depressive disorders in Asian electronics engineering population.
Chen
Sung-Wei
SW
Department of Psychiatry in Medicine, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Hsinchu, Taiwan. dsmiv33@yahoo.com.tw
Wang
Po-Chuan
PC
Hsin
Ping-Lung
PL
Oates
Anthony
A
Sun
I-Wen
IW
Liu
Shen-Ing
SI
D000328:Adult; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D004738:Engineering; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D008297:Male; D055617:Micro-Electrical-Mechanical Systems; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult