A Review Of Occupational Stress Prevalence And Its Predictors Among Selected Working Populations In Malaysia

ABSTRACT

@#Occupational stress is a modern epidemic. Prevalence and predictors of occupational stress in specific workforce are critical in management of occupational stress. The aim of this review is to explore the current prevalence of occupational stress and its predictors among selected Malaysian working population based on published articles between years 2008 to 2017. A systematic search of articles published between 2008 and 2017 was conducted in several databases (ISI Web of Knowledge, PubMed, Scopus, Google scholar). A total of eleven articles met the inclusion criteria, included in the review. The current prevalence of occupational stress was between 6.0% till 71.7%. Mean prevalence of stress was 29.9%. From eight job categories, most stressful job was primary teachers and least stressful job was academician in private university. Predictors of occupational stress were 1) organizational factors high job demand, poor workplace condition, lack of organization support, job insecurity, long working hours, burden of career development and interpersonal conflicts 2) individual (extra-organization) factors gender, age, marital status, number of children, coping strategies. Although the predictors of occupational stress varies among different job categories, most job categories present similar risk factors such as high job demand, poor workplace condition, lack of organization support, job insecurity, long working hours, burden of career development and interpersonal conflicts. Dual approaches involving organization and individual level pertaining towards each stressor are recommended in alleviating occupational stress among those selected workforces.