Recent evidence showing graduate students to be at an elevated risk of developing mental health problems has attracted the attention of both researchers and non-researchers (Evans, Bira, Gastelum, Weiss, and Vanderford, 2018; Flatherty, 2018). This increased risk could be attributed to the stressors graduate students routinely experience. However, few studies have examined the negative effects of work stressors among graduate students and ways to protect graduate students from the negative impact of stressors. This research explored the association between work stressors and the mental health of graduate students, while considering the potential protective role of physical activity. Also studied was the potential predictors of physical activity, such as social support for physical activity. Graduate students completed three surveys over a semester. Multilevel structural equation modeling was used to analyze within- and between-person variation. Increased levels of work stressors were associated with increased levels of mental health problems. Physical activity was not associated with improved mental health at both levels of analysis. However, higher levels of physical activity protected graduate students from the negative effects of role conflict and role ambiguity, but not work overload. Social support for physical activity and a mindset that stress is enhancing were both associated with increased physical activity. This is one of the first studies to not only consider the negative effects of work stressors on graduate students' mental health, but also the protective benefits of physical activity. / Doctor of Philosophy / Graduate school is a stressful time for many individuals. Graduate students are expected to do well in their classes while juggling other responsibilities, such as teaching, conducting research and/or working full-time to pay for school and living expenses. Although not everyone would consider graduate students to be full-time employees, it is not uncommon for graduate students to have long workdays and weekends that include completing work. Even if a graduate student does not clock into work every day, most are probably working more than the typical hourly employee. Not surprisingly, research has shown that graduate students are at increased risk of developing mental health problems when compared to the general population (Evans, Bira, Gastelum, Weiss, and Vanderford, 2018). These findings have even caught the attention of the national media, with some calling the mental health problem a crisis (Flatherty, 2018). Work stressors (i.e., parts of a person's job that lead to feelings of distress) may influence graduate students' mental health. However, few studies have examined the negative effects of work stressors among graduate students and factors that could protect graduate students from these negative effects. This study assessed the benefits of physical activity among graduate students, given the plethora of studies showing the positive benefits of physical activity. It is possible physical activity can reduce the negative effects of the work stressors experienced by graduate students, such as being overworked with teaching responsibilities or having to conduct multiple research studies at the same time. This study explored factors that might influence graduate students to be more physically active, such as social support for physical activity. Graduate students completed three surveys over a semester. Increased levels of work stressors were associated with increased levels of mental health problems. Graduate students who exercised more were "protected" from the negative effects of work stressors. In other words, even if graduate students were exposed to high levels of work stressors, they did not experience elevated mental health problems if they regularly exercised. Additionally, being around friends who promoted physical activity and having a mindset that stress is not bad but rather enhancing helped graduate students engage in more physical activity. Overall, the findings indicated that graduate students experience increased mental health problems due to negative work stressors, but by exercising they could reduce the negative effect of these work stressors.

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Author: Kadenic, Sanita. Stressed social secretaries in financial assistance. A qualitative study on how social secretaries experience their working situation linked to stress at a social office in Malmo. Degree project in social work, 15/30 högskolepoäng. Malmö University: Faculty of Health and Society, Department of Social Work, 2022.   The purpose of this study is to investigate how social secretaries who work in financial assistance experience their work situation in relation to stress. The empirical data was collected through nine semi-structured interviews with social secretaries working in financial assistance. Furthermore, coping and Karasek and Theorell’s demand-control model have been used as theoretical starting points. The Collected empirical evidence has been analyzed based on the selected theories and the state of knowledge. One of the central points of departure in this study was that social secretaries explained which factors contributed to stress in the workplace and which measures exist in the workplace to prevent stress, among other things. / Författare: Kadenic, Sanita. Stressade socialsekreterare i ekonomiskt bistånd. En kvalitativ studie om hur socialsekreterare upplever sin arbetssituation kopplad till stress på ett socialkontor i Malmö. Examensarbete i socialt arbete, 15/30 högskolepoäng. Malmö högskola: Fakulteten för hälsa och samhälle, Institutionen för socialt arbete, 2022.   Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur socialsekreterare som arbetar inom ekonomiskt bistånd upplever sin arbetssituation i relation till stress. Empirin samlades in genom nio semistrukturerade intervjuer med socialsekreterare som arbetar inom ekonomiskt bistånd. Vidare har coping och Karasek och Theorells efterfrågestyrningsmodell använts som teoretiska utgångspunkter. Den insamlade empirin har analyserats utifrån de utvalda teorierna och kunskapsläget. En av de centrala utgångspunkterna i denna studie var att socialsekreterare förklarade vilka faktorer som bidrog till stress på arbetsplatsen och vilka åtgärder som finns på arbetsplatsen för att bland annat förebygga stress.

台灣在1989年開始引進外籍勞工，根據勞動部調查，截至104年3月底外籍勞工人數已達566,518人。台灣目前對外籍勞工已有一定程度的依賴，且未來對外籍勞工的需求將持續成長。人力仲介公司藉由翻譯人員為企業（雇主）和外籍勞工提供客務。身為第一線員工，翻譯員往往必須站在人力仲介公司角度，同時滿足企業（雇主）與外籍勞工之需求解決問題，如此想必翻譯人員將面臨嚴謹的工作壓力。過去研究發現，當員工感受到壓力時，工作績效會下降；改善員工績效的重要關鍵是在於降低工作壓力、提高員工工作滿意度。在競爭激烈的環境下，如何確保翻譯員之工作績效，是當前人力仲介公司重要課題。 本研究將探討人力仲介公司翻譯員工作壓力來源與工作滿意度現況，以及探討在不同人口特徵下，工作壓力來源及工作滿意度是否有差異。本文主要以量化研究方式，針對人力仲介公司翻譯員實施問卷調查，有效樣本共計93份。研究結果發現：（一）翻譯員的工作壓力屬於尚可接受程度，主要三大工作壓力來源為：「人際關係」、「工作負荷」及「個人責任」，（二）公司規模之不同，於工作壓力來源之「工作負荷」構面具有顯著差異，（三）翻譯員對其工作評價屬尚頗為滿意，其中「外在滿意」構面分數為最低，（四）公司規模之不同，於工作滿意度之三個構面存在顯著差異。接著，本文以質化研究方式為輔，透過訪談三家人力仲介公司之資深主管與翻譯員，由兩個不同角度瞭解第一階段研究結果之實務現象，以提供人力仲介公司實務管理建議，降低翻譯員的工作壓力，提升其工作滿意度，進而促進其工作績效。

Background: Occupational stress is a global and complex phenomenon, and workers in developing countries can be affected by it (International Labour Organisation 2001). Staff within maternity settings have been identified as being at risk of suffering from stress, resulting in adverse health outcomes (Evenden and Sharpe, 2002). However, MWAs’ perceptions of stress have not been captured and are not reflected in the literature. Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore MWAs’ perceptions of occupational stress, possible cause(s), the impact and support available and the coping methods they adopted within maternity care settings (hospital) in Nigeria. Methodology: This study adopted a qualitative methodology. Husserl’s (1962) phenomenological approach was chosen as it enabled the researcher to collect rich, in-depth, descriptive accounts of the MWAs’ perceptions of the phenomenon under study through the use of semi-structured interviews. Findings: The major sources of stress for MWAs included work overload, long working hours, staff shortages, work exploitation and intensification and lack of support from senior staff. The stress levels MWAs experienced impacted on their health and well-being and resulted in related behavioural and physical reactions. Conclusion: This study confirmed that MWAs were exposed to similar stress factors experienced by other health workers and reported in the research literature. Additionally, it demonstrated the need for more qualitative studies to explore the perceptions of occupational stress among under-represented groups of healthcare workers. Importantly, this study created an opportunity to explore the experience of dedicated women facing challenging employment practices in hospital settings in Nigeria. Equally, it gave a voice to these unrecognised, almost invisible women, who were the MWAs that played a key role within the maternity services.

Psychosocial working conditions play a significant role for health during working age, as well as in post-retirement life. However, little is known about the impact of work stressors on cognitive and physical impairment assessed in combination. The aim was to study associations between midlife work stressors and physical and cognitive impairment in older age for women and men separately. The data were derived from two Swedish nationally representative surveys. The same participants were followed through three waves at the mean ages of 54, 61, and 81 (n=360). Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the association between work stressors, and test of cognitive and physical function. Low control and passive jobs were associated with higher odds of cognitive impairment, and cognitive and physical impairment when assessed in combination. These findings were driven by associations found among men. Accumulated low control and passive jobs across midlife were associated with physical impairment in older age among men, but not among women. These results highlight the importance of work stressors for physical and cognitive impairment in older age. Improving psychosocial working conditions in midlife, in particular increasing the level of control among employees, may promote healthy aging.

Background: Occupational stress is a global and complex phenomenon, and workers in developing countries can be affected by it (International Labour Organisation 2001). Staff within maternity settings have been identified as being at risk of suffering from stress, resulting in adverse health outcomes (Evenden and Sharpe, 2002). However, MWAs’ perceptions of stress have not been captured and are not reflected in the literature. Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore MWAs’ perceptions of occupational stress, possible cause(s), the impact and support available and the coping methods they adopted within maternity care settings (hospital) in Nigeria. Methodology: This study adopted a qualitative methodology. Husserl’s (1962) phenomenological approach was chosen as it enabled the researcher to collect rich, in-depth, descriptive accounts of the MWAs’ perceptions of the phenomenon under study through the use of semi-structured interviews. Findings: The major sources of stress for MWAs included work overload, long working hours, staff shortages, work exploitation and intensification and lack of support from senior staff. The stress levels MWAs experienced impacted on their health and well-being and resulted in related behavioural and physical reactions. Conclusion: This study confirmed that MWAs were exposed to similar stress factors experienced by other health workers and reported in the research literature. Additionally, it demonstrated the need for more qualitative studies to explore the perceptions of occupational stress among under-represented groups of healthcare workers. Importantly, this study created an opportunity to explore the experience of dedicated women facing challenging employment practices in hospital settings in Nigeria. Equally, it gave a voice to these unrecognised, almost invisible women, who were the MWAs that played a key role within the maternity services.

In the financial industry, there is a high demand for employees to possess all the necessary skills and motivation to perform highly specialized functions, and handle demands that accompany increasing stress levels. The aim of the research was to determine whether there is a relationship between work and non-work stressors and work-life balance in the Global Market Trading industry. A cross-sectional survey design was used, with a sample of 72 global market trading professionals drawn from a financial institution in Gauteng. Two questionnaires and a biographical questionnaire were administered. The questionnaires proved to be reliable. The power of the study was calculated. Descriptive statistics and Spearman correlation was used to organise, summarise and describe the data. The findings of the study show that as global market trading professional’s intrinsic factors at work and stress regarding their personal time increases, their experience of negative WHI increase as well. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology )

In the financial industry, there is a high demand for employees to possess all the necessary skills and motivation to perform highly specialized functions, and handle demands that accompany increasing stress levels. The aim of the research was to determine whether there is a relationship between work and non-work stressors and work-life balance in the Global Market Trading industry. A cross-sectional survey design was used, with a sample of 72 global market trading professionals drawn from a financial institution in Gauteng. Two questionnaires and a biographical questionnaire were administered. The questionnaires proved to be reliable. The power of the study was calculated. Descriptive statistics and Spearman correlation was used to organise, summarise and describe the data. The findings of the study show that as global market trading professional’s intrinsic factors at work and stress regarding their personal time increases, their experience of negative WHI increase as well. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology )