title: Investigation of Occupational Stress and its Relationship with the Demographic Characteristics of Workers in Ilam, Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Workers are more susceptible to stress disorder for several reasons. The aim of this study was to investigate occupational stress among workers and other personnel at the ZardjinBaft Workshop in Ilam, Iran, and to examine the relationship between occupational stress and several parameters, such as age, gender, marital status, educational level, work experience, tobacco use, body mass index (BMI), and the type of work.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study that was performed in June 2010. The sample population that was studied consisted of all of the workers and other personnel (130 people) at ZardjinBaft Workshop in Ilam, Iran. They were studied using Cooper's standard questionnaire for stress in the work environment, and we examined the relationship between stress, as the dependent variable, and the eight independent variables mentioned in the Abstract.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the sample population that was studied, severe stress was not observed in most of the sections of the workshop. In addition, using the analysis of variance test (ANOVA), no significant relationship was observed between the average degree of stress and the average demographic characteristics. However, the average stress level had significant relationships with the level of education, work experience, and the type of work, suggesting that stress increases as the level of education increases. In addition, in the beginning and early years of employment, medium levels of stress were observed, and the prevalence of stress decreased after the first 10 years of employment. In addition, workers in the ventilation section of the factory had the highest stress levels. The fear of losing their jobs was the main factor that caused stress among the workers at ZardjinBaft Workshop in Ilam.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We suggest that managers consider the high importance of stress in the work environment. They should be able to recognize when workers are stressed and offer them assistance and training. They also can eliminate the factors that cause stress in the work environment by taking preventive action. In parallel, workers should try to interact well with their managers and talk to her or him about the conditions of their jobs.
authors.affiliation: M.Sc. Student of Occupational Safety & Health, Department of Occupational Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Abdolrasoul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rahmani
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Welfare Planning, Social Science Faculty, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Roghiyeh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khodaei
authors.affiliation: M.Sc. Student of Occupational Safety & Health, Department of Occupational Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Somayeh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mahmodkhani
authors.affiliation: M.Sc. of Health & Safety & Environmental Management (HSE), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehrnoush
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moslemi
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Health Engineering, Health College, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Kermanshah, Iran.
authors.forename: Faramarz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gharagozlou
authors.affiliation: Iranian Petroleum Industry, Health Research Institute (IPI HRI).
authors.forename: Iman
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ahmadnezhad
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Science, Shahre-Rey Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran ; Department of Occupational Health, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran ; Ph.D. Student of Occupational Safety & Health, Department of Occupational Health, International Campus, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS.IC), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karchani
authors.affiliation: Ph.D. Student of Occupational Safety & Health, Department of Occupational Health, International Campus, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS.IC), Tehran, Iran ; Department of occupational Health, School of Public Health, Bagiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Javad
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vatani
keywords: Stress; Workers; ZardjinBaft