Authors
1 State Prisons and Security and Corrective Measures Organization, Ilam, Iran
2 Biostatistics, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan,
Abstract
Introduction: Job stress can impose significant costs to the workplaces and organizations
due to some issues such as absenteeism, less productivity, and medical costs. Job overload
and lack of decision latitude can lead to job stress. The current study aimed to investigate
the job demands and control as predictor of job stress and its relationship, with some of the
demographic characteristics of Iranian prison staff. Materials and Methods: This study was
performed on 171 male employees working in four prisons located in Ilam, Iran. The sampling
method was census and all four prisons’ staff were selected to respond the Job Content
Questionnaires. Finally, the data were analyzed using t‑test or independent samples test as
well as SPSS 20. Results: The highest amount of job demand (mean = 21.28) and the lowest
amount of job control on average (9.76) were reported by those staff working in Darehshahr
prison. There was also a significant relationship between job post and job control among the
prison staff (β = −0.375, P = 0.001). Conclusion: The level of job stress reported by prison
staff was high in this study mainly caused by high job demand and low job control, especially
in Darehshahr prison staff.
Keywords
Systematic Problem Approaches for Employers, Managers and
Trade Union Representatives. Geneva: World Health Organization;
2003.
2. Stansfeld S, Candy B. Psychosocial work environment and mental
health – A meta‑analytic review. Scand J Work Environ Health
2006;32:443‑62.
3. Kuper H, Singh‑Manoux A, Siegrist J, Marmot M. When reciprocity
fails: Effort‑reward imbalance in relation to coronary heart disease
and health functioning within the Whitehall II study. Occup Environ
Med 2002;59:777‑84.
4. De Jonge J, Bosma H, Peter R, Siegrist J. Job strain, effort‑reward
imbalance and employee well‑being: A large‑scale cross‑sectional
study. Soc Sci Med 2000;50:1317‑27.
5. Association AP. Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training,
Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists.
The American Psychologist. 2003; 58(5):377.
6. Roush W. An operations research approach to leveraging new
technology opportunities. J Appl Poult Res 2001;10:293‑302.
7. Yadegarfar G, Alinia T, Gharaaghaji AR, Allahyari T, Sheikhbagloo R.
Study of association between job stress and cardiovascular disease
risk factors among urmia petrochemical company personnel.
J Isfahan Med Sch (IUMS) 2010;28:665‑80.
8. Lewig KA, Xanthopoulou D, Bakker AB, Dollard MF, Metzer JC.
Burnout and connectedness among Australian volunteers: A test of
the job demands‑resources model. J Vocat Behav 2007;71:429‑45.
9. Bültmann U, Kant IJ, Van den Brandt PA, Kasl SV. Psychosocial
work characteristics as risk factors for the onset of fatigue and
psychological distress: Prospective results from the maastricht
cohort study. Psychol Med 2002;32:333‑45.
10. Karasek RA Jr. Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental
strain: Implications for job redesign. Adm Sci Q 1979; 24(2): 85‑308.
11. Karasek R, Baker D, Marxer F, Ahlbom A, Theorell T. Job decision
latitude, job demands, and cardiovascular disease: A prospective
study of Swedish men. Am J Public Health 1981;71:694‑705.
12. Häusser JA, Schulz‑Hardt S, Mojzisch A. The active learning
hypothesis of the job‑demand‑control model: An experimental
examination. Ergonomics 2014;57:23‑33.
13. Schaufeli WB, Bakker AB. Job demands, job resources, and their
relationship with burnout and engagement: A multi-sample study.
J Organ Behav 2004;25:293‑315.
14. Collins SM, Karasek RA, Costas K. Job strain and autonomic indices
of cardiovascular disease risk. Am J Ind Med 2005;48:182‑93.
15. Burney MR. Testing the Job Demands‑Resource Model of Work
Engagement with a Sample of Corrections Officers Working
Within New Zealand: A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfilment of
the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Psychology
at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand; 2011.
16. Keinan G, Malach‑Pines A. Stress and burnout among prison
personnel sources, outcomes, and intervention strategies. Crim
Justice Behav 2007;34:380‑98.
17. Neveu JP. Jailed resources: Conservation of resources theoryas applied to burnout among prison guards. J Organ Behav
2007;28:21‑42.
18. Lambert EG, Reynolds KM, Paoline EA 3rd, Watkins RC. The effects
of occupational stressors on jail staff job satisfaction. J Crim Justice
2004;27:1‑32.
19. Baillargeon J, Penn JV, Thomas CR, Temple JR, Baillargeon G,
Murray OJ. Psychiatric disorders and suicide in the nation’s largest
state prison system. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 2009;37:188‑93.
20. Larney S, Dolan K. A literature review of international implementation
of opioid substitution treatment in prisons: Equivalence of care?
Eur Addict Res 2009;15:107‑12.
21. Daniel AE. Preventing suicide in prison: A collaborative responsibility
of administrative, custodial, and clinical staff. J Am Acad Psychiatry
Law 2006;34:165‑75.
22. Flin R, Mearns K, O’Connor P, Bryden R. Measuring safety climate:
Identifying the common features. Saf Sci 2000;34:177‑92.
23. Stack SJ, Tsoudis O. Suicide risk among correctional officers:
A logistic regression analysis. Arch Suicide Res 1997;3:183‑6.
24. Schaufeli WB, Peeters MC. Job stress and burnout among
correctional officers: A literature review. Int J Stress Manag
2000;7:19‑48.
25. Rodríguez I, Bravo MJ, Peiró JM, Schaufeli W. The demandscontrol-support model, locus of control and job dissatisfaction:
A longitudinal study. Work Stress 2001;15:97‑114.
26. Calnan M, Wadsworth E, May M, Smith A, Wainwright D.
Job strain, effort – Reward imbalance, and stress at work:
Competing or complementary models? Scand J Public Health
2004;32:84‑93.
27. Crawley EM. Emotion and performance Prison officers and the
presentation of self in prisons. Punishment Soc 2004;6:411‑27.
28. Barzideh M, Choobineh A, Tabatabaei S. Job stress dimensions and
their relationship to general health status in nurses. Occupational
Medicine Quarterly Journal. 2013;4(3):17‑27.
29. Azad ME, Gholami Fesharaki M. Reliability and validity assessment
for the HSE job stress questionnaire. J Behav Sci 2011;
4(14); 291‑297.
)