| Sub-title | |
| Author | Edward Cassar Delia |
| Abstract | Stress had been identified as the second most common cause for work-related illness. It is deemed to be particularly high in health care professionals. There is a need to assess whether there is a problem and then provide means to remedy this. The study discusses models of stress at work. The present study with its focus on Occupational Therapists reviews the evidence for stress. It also looks at the literature on how to manage stress. The study uses appropriate assessment instruments to identify whether care staff in the Occupational Therapy Service in Malta, do suffer from stress. It also analyses the causes of stress. Next the coping styles of occupational therapists are investigated using the focus group technique. Individual characteristics are also assessed to determine what role these may play in exacerbating or relieving stress. Finally, ideas for introducing risk management practices in order to decrease stress in the workplace. The results of this study indicate that occupational Therapists do suffer from stress which at times is severe. The context of the work was found to be more important than its content, in line with other findings. Support is crucial in this field and may need to be enhanced with closer supervision. Using a particular model as a framework, the study has identified that there is a problem with stress in the population under study, some staff suffering burnout and mental and physical ill health. The many causes of stress have been investigated. Causes of stress at work will vary from person to person and between certain types of work and organisations. Some of the accepted causes are: (a) management issues - little or no input into the decision making process, poor supervisory support, work overload, work underload, individual contributions not acknowledged; (b) organisational issues - corporate change, lack of career development opportunities, lack of consultation, role ambiguity; (c) relationships with colleagues - personality conflicts, lack of communication, unequal workload distributions; (d) personal factors - unrealistic expectations, sense of injustice, betrayal or bitterness. The net result of these will be to impair work performance through poor concentration, indecision and lack of creativity in addition to negative emotional feelings of anxiety, depression, apathy and demoralisation. Staff use a variety of strategies to deal with the problem, particularly social support. Individual characteristics were not found to account for differences in the levels of stress. Practical examples on how to instigate organisational change to reduce work related stress were also suggested. They address issues on changes that will increase employees' autonomy or control, changes that will increase the skill levels of occupational therapists, changes that will increase levels of social support and that will improve physical working conditions. Healthy organisational change includes employee health and satisfaction as an explicit and independent outcome measure. These outcomes should be the key goals of the change effort. |
Published in: | |
| Journal | |
| Volume | |
| Pages | - |
| Date | |
| Link to journal | |
| Key words | Health Services Management, Thesis, Occupational Stress, Occupational Therapists |