The effect of work stress on blood pressure and fatigue among UGM field operational workers (PK4L)

Abstract

Purpose: To know the effect of work stress towards blood pressure and work fatigue in the field operation workers of PK4L UGM. Method: This study was a quantitative study with a cross-sectional research design and equipped with a semi-structured interview. The sample size in this study is 163 respondents chosen by using purposive sampling. The independent variable is work stress (WS) measured by using HSE Management Standards Indicator Tool questionnaire. The dependent variables which are blood pressure (BP) were obtained from secondary data from health examination by PK4L UGM and work fatigue (WF) measured by using KAUPK2 questionnaire. The data were analyzed using bivariate analysis with Kendall’s tau correlation test. Results: Out of 163 respondents, as much as 49,7% had a high WS, 24,5% had a high BP, and 31,3% had a severe WF. The causes of work stress were conflicts with a driver, increased workload, hot temperatures, work that requires high concentration, colleagues that are less able to work together, and monotonous work. The causes of work fatigue were increased workload, monotonous work, sitting or standing for a long time, and mental exhaustion. Bivariate analysis showed that there was no effect of WS towards BP (p = 0,752; τ = -0,025) and there was an effect of WS towards WF (p = 0,010; τ = 0,190). Conclusion: There was no effect of work stress towards blood pressure, but there was an effect on work fatigue in the field operation workers of PK4L UGM. Further research is required to understand the other factors that affect blood pressure and work fatigue in workers.