Work-Related Stress among Occupational Therapists in Sweden

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe work-related stress among occupational therapists and to identify the specific stress factors that contributed to work-related stress and their influence on the individual. Two hundred active occupational therapists in Sweden, selected at random from the membership registry of the Swedish Association of Occupational Therapists, received a postal questionnaire. One hundred and sixty-two responses were included in the study. An instrument introduced by Sweeney was used, which included 49 stressors, and a secondary aim was to conduct a factor analysis on the Swedish population of occupational therapists. In addition to this instrument there were questions about emotional and physical symptoms and discomfort, feelings about work and perceived satisfaction.

The results showed that only two of the 49 stressors were graded as high in affecting stress levels, both concerning lack of resources and lack of time. The factor analysis indicated 15 dimensions of stress relevant to the sample, and a second-order analysis gave four factors with high reliability both for the whole stress instrument and for each of the four factors. The factors were named ‘Resources and demands’, ‘Professional value’, ‘Rewards' and ‘Interaction with patients and colleagues’.

The Swedish study showed that lack of resources and lack of time were graded high as stress factors while the English population was concerned about patient contact to a greater extent than the Swedish. The most commonly reported symptoms were headache, poor concentration and feeling restless. There were significant correlations showing that high work satisfaction was correlated with low frequency of emotional and physical symptoms (r = 0.47–0.61). Work satisfaction was not correlated with discomfort from musculoskeletal disorders. Positive feelings about the job correlated with rare occurrence of symptoms (r = 0.17–0.51), and there were also relationships between positive feelings about work and fewer musculoskeletal problems like pain and headache.

It was concluded that a low level of stress existed among the Swedish occupational therapists. They felt that they had a strong professional role and identity but that financial conditions had not kept pace with the status of the profession. The feeling of high work satisfaction was related primarily to fewer emotional or physical discomforts or symptoms. The factor analysis indicated that the work situation in Sweden was different from the situation in England.