Health and safety at the workplace are critical to the well-being of workers and to the performance of the organization. Stress management has a significant impact on safety behaviour, especially in high-risk sectors such as cement production.
Objective
The aim of the study was to develop and validate a culturally appropriate questionnaire to assess the coping with stress and safety behaviour of cement factory workers.
Methods
A cross-sectional psychometric study was conducted from January 2023 to January 2024 at the Zaveh City cement factory in Torbat Heydarieh, Iran, with 276 completed questionnaires.
Results
The final 21 item tool has demonstrated its robust reliability (Cronbach's alpha and ICC) and validity. EFA explained 69.18 percent of the variability (KOM = 0.89). A significant positive correlation was observed between stress management and safety behaviours (r = 0.58, p < 0.001). The CFA showed excellent fit to the model (CFI = 0.93, GFI = 0.91, RMSEA = 0.049).
Conclusions
The questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool; the findings support the inclusion of stress reduction strategies in the cement industry's safety programmes.
CantonH. International Labour Organization—ILO. The Europa Directory of International Organizations, 2021.
2.
JayaprakshSBanuDPV. A Study On Work Stress Among Cement Manufacturing Workers: An Empirical Analysis. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice2024.
3.
GonzálezSRomanaFGestosoC, et al.Psychosocial Factors in the Safety Level in an Industrial Process: The Case Study of a Cement Producer. Japan Journal of Research2023; 4.
4.
FethermanDLMcGraneTGCebrick-GrossmanJ. Health promotion for small workplaces: a community-based participatory research partnership. Workplace Health Saf2021; 69: 7–14.
5.
LiuSNkrumahENKAkotoLS, et al.The state of occupational health and safety management frameworks (OHSMF) and occupational injuries and accidents in the Ghanaian oil and gas industry: Assessing the mediating role of safety knowledge. BioMed Res Int2020.
6.
RomanaFAValérioSCGestosoCG, et al.Psychosocial Factors in the Safety Level in an Industrial Process: The Case Study of a Cement Producer. Japan Journal of Research2024; 4.
7.
LeviL. Guidance on work-related stress: Spice of life or kiss of death?Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2000.
8.
RoshanSAAlizadehSS. Estimate of economic costs of accidents at work in Iran: A case study of occupational accidents. 2012.
9.
ChenYLiS. Relationship between workplace ostracism and unsafe behaviors: the mediating effect of psychological detachment and emotional exhaustion. Psychol Rep2020; 123: 488–516.
10.
LeungM-YLiangQOlomolaiyeP. Impact of job stressors and stress on the safety behavior and accidents of construction workers. J Manag Eng2016; 32: 04015019.
11.
GuoSHeJLiJ, et al.Exploring the impact of unsafe behaviors on building construction accidents using a Bayesian network. Int J Environ Res Public Health2020; 17: 221.
12.
RichardsonKMRothsteinHR. Effects of occupational stress management intervention programs: a meta-analysis. J Occup Health Psychol2008; 13: 69.
13.
NielsenKRandallR. Opening the black box: presenting a model for evaluating organizational-level interventions. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology2013; 22: 601–617.
14.
PayneHEWilkinsonJWestJH, et al.A content analysis of precede-proceed constructs in stress management mobile apps. Mhealth2016; 2.
15.
CreswellJShopeRClarkV, et al.How interpretive qualitative research extends mixed methods research. Research in the Schools mid-South Educational Research Association2006; 13: 1–11.
16.
DidehvarMJaliliZZarebanI, et al.The effect of stress management education based on PRECEDE model on occupational stress of nurses in hospitals of iranshahr Iran. Strides in Development of Medical Education2015; 12: 472–484.
17.
PourhajiFDelshadMHTavafianSS, et al.Effects of educational program based on precede-proceed model in promoting low back pain behaviors (EPPLBP) in health care workers Shahid Beheshti University of medical sciences: randomized trial. Heliyon2020; 6: e05236.
18.
CanoJPerez MoranJBernal-BaldenebroB, et al.Factor structure and measurement invariance of the psychosocial risk factors inventory of NOM-035-STPS-2018. Front Psychol2023; 13.
19.
Olivencia-ManzanoMGómez GalánMDíaz-PérezM, et al.Psychosocial risks faced by olive workers in Spain: evaluated using the ‘Mini Psychosocial Factors’ questionnaire. Inj Prev2024.
20.
FasthoffRMNolteLKortschT. Effectiveness of digital and analog stress management interventions within occupational health management in the public sector. Merits2023; 3: 615–639.
21.
KabothAHünefeldLLückM. Exploring work ability, psychosocial job demands and resources of employees in low-skilled jobs: a German cross-sectional study. Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology2024; 19: 30.
22.
PengX. Advancing Workplace Civility: a systematic review and meta-analysis of definitions, measurements, and associated factors. Front Psychol2023; 14.
23.
AzimiRAl SulaieSYazdaniradS, et al.The role of resilience as a key player in mitigating job burnout's impact on workplace safety. Sci Rep2024; 14: 16925.
24.
GilboaSShiromAFriedY, et al.A meta-analysis of work demand stressors and job performance. Pers Psychol2008; 61: 227–271.
25.
KortschTWegenerNSchwakeME. Improving mental health in high school students shortly before their final exams — a pilot study of a stress management intervention. Frontiers in Education2025; 109.
26.
HeesSCarlierBJoosenM, et al.A workplace intervention to strengthen supervisor support for employees with common mental health problems: a mixed-methods realist evaluation. Scandinavian Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology2024; 9: 9.
27.
JamilASehatRJohariY, et al.Exploring the Link Between Job Stress and Performance: Identifying the Root Causes. International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting. Finance and Management Sciences2023; 13.
28.
JayaprakshSBanuD. A Study On Work Stress Among Cement Manufacturing Workers: An Empirical Analysis. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice2024; 30.
29.
IbrahimAElkhayatM. Detection of Stress among Workers in a Cement Factory. 2020.
30.
PorcelliADelgadoM. Stress and decision making: effects on valuation, learning, and risk-taking. Curr Opin Behav Sci2017; 14: 33–39.
31.
TrivediALaiA. Ratification Status of International Labour Organization (ILO) Fundamental Conventions on Occupational Safety and Health. e-Occupational and Environmental Medicine Journal of Indonesia2024; 2.
32.
EmmanuelNErnestADouglasK. Physical, chemical and biological factors as occupational health and safety hazards among workers in cement industries in the south-south region of Nigeria. European Journal of Preventive Medicine2022; 10: 17.
33.
LiangQZhouZYeG, et al.Unveiling the mechanism of construction workers’ unsafe behaviors from an occupational stress perspective: a qualitative and quantitative examination of a stress–cognition–safety model. Saf Sci2022; 145: 105486.
34.
World Health Organization. Global Patient Safety Report 2024; Making health care safer for all. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2025;1.
35.
AsadiNGudarziSHosseiniS, et al.The correlation between lighting intensity, eye fatigue, occupational stress, and sleep quality in the control room operators of abadan refinery. Shiraz E-Medical Journal2024; 25: e141536.
36.
KnappTRBrownJK. Ten measurement commandments that often should be broken. Res Nurs Health1995; 18: 465–469.
37.
HarringtonD. Confirmatory factor analysis. Oxford University Press, 2009.
38.
HeidariGTavafianSS. A theory based study predicting factors of physical activity behavior among chronic low back pain patients referred to pain clinic in Yazd, Iran. International Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain Prevention2017; 2: 339–345.
39.
HajizadehEAsghariM. Statistical methods and analyses in health and biosciences a research methodological approach. Tehran: Jahade Daneshgahi Publications2011; 395.
40.
PourhajiFGhofranipourF. Designing and psychometric evaluation of breast self-examination behavior predicting scale (BSEBPS). Int J Cancer Manag2018; 11: e74266.
41.
BrownTA. Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. Guilford publications, 2015.
42.
NunnallyJCBernsteinI. Psychometric theory mcgraw-hill new york. The role of university in the development of entrepreneurial vocations: a Spanish study. 1978: 387–405.
43.
PourhajiFJamaliJTaraghdarMM, et al.Design and validation of a questionnaire on the factors influencing self-care behaviors in patients with multiple sclerosis (QFASMS). BMC Neurol2024; 24: 20.
44.
HuLBentlerPM. Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal1999; 6: 1–55.
45.
GlendonAIClarkeSMcKennaE. Human safety and risk management. 2016; 1: 528.
46.
GhofranipourFPourhajiF. Design and Psychometric Evaluation of Mammography Behavior Predicting Scale (MBPS). International Journal of Cancer Management2022; 15.
47.
Reliability and validity assessment for the HSE job stress questionnaire. International Journal of Behavioral Sciences2011; 4: 291–297.
48.
JonayedSAIslamMAAzadA. Assessment of air pollution scenario in cement factory: the mongla port industrial estate of Bangladesh as a case study. Khulna University Studies2022: 73–78.
49.
WangXMWuHJiaoJ, et al.Influencing factors for hearing loss in workers exposed to noise in a cement plant. Zhonghua Lao Dong Wei Sheng Zhi Ye Bing Za Zhi2016; 34: 895–899.
50.
IyaweVEbomoyiMChiwuzieJ, et al.Original article - Some Factors Which May Affect Blood Pressure in Nigerian Cement Factory Workers. 2000.
51.
KhanMImranMTaousM. How supervisor, workplace support, and training affects employee engagement in the cement industry. Open Access Organization and Management Review2023; 1: 1–9.
52.
AdiNOdagamiKNagataT. Role of supervisor support in promoting mental health at the workplace. The Indonesian Journal of Community and Occupational Medicine2022; 2: 73–74.
53.
Noah OluwatopeEAchaluEKingsleyD. Physical, chemical and biological factors as occupational health and safety hazards among workers in cement industries in the south-south region of Nigeria. European Journal of Preventive Medicine2022; 10: 17–21.
54.
AliyachenAYadavBBhakshiS. Enhancing safety culture in cement industry using behavior-based. Safety Technique2018: 103–114.
55.
MazharSRashedSNaqviMR. Effective Strategies of Positive Reinforcement Learning For Non-Compliant Behavior. 2022.
56.
EismanABHeinzeJKilbourneAM, et al.Comprehensive approaches to addressing mental health needs and enhancing school security: a hybrid type II cluster randomized trial. Health Justice2020; 8: 2.
57.
SorensenGPetersSNielsenK, et al.Improving Working Conditions to Promote Worker Safety, Health, and Wellbeing for Low-Wage Workers: The Workplace Organizational Health Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health2019; 16.
58.
TruchonMGilbert-OuimetMZahiriharsiniA, et al.Occupational health and well-being questionnaire (OHWQ): an instrument to assess psychosocial risk and protective factors in the workplace. Public Health2022; 210: 48–57.
59.
WuXLiYYaoY, et al.Development of construction workers job stress scale to study and the relationship between job stress and safety behavior: an empirical study in Beijing. Int J Environ Res Public Health2018; 15: 2409.
60.
SathvikSKrishnarajLAwuzieBO. Establishing the root causes of unsafe behaviors among construction workers: an integrative interpretive structural modeling analysis. Sci Rep2023; 13: 7006.
61.
JungHSeoWKangY. Differences in Workers’ safety behavior by project size and risk level of work in South Korea. J Constr Eng Manag2023; 149: 04023028.
62.
NwagbalaDCParkJY. A Study of the Foremen’s Influence on the Safety Behavior of Construction Workers Based on Cognitive Theory. Buildings2023; 13.
63.
LuCYuDLuoQ, et al.A study of the effects of job stress on the psychosocial safety behavior of construction workers: the mediating role of psychological resilience. Buildings2023; 13: 1930.
