Investigate the Outbreak between Shift Work and Job Stress among Employees of Oil and Gas Industry

Dr. JIJIN R S^*

*Correspondence to: Dr. JIJIN R S, Kuwait.

Copyright

© 2025 Dr. JIJIN R S, This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution  License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: 19 Feb 2025

Published: 27 Feb 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14963975

Abstract

Worker health and safety should be considered a fundamental organisational policy, if not a right. As a result, the study intended to determine the extent to which job stress, industry, and shift work pattern associated with worker health and safety in a Ghanaian manufacturing firm. Worker health and safety should be considered a fundamental organisational policy, if not a right. As a result, the study intended to determine the extent to which job stress, industry, and shift work pattern associated with worker health and safety in a Ghanaian manufacturing firm. A total of 100 shift-working personnel from the oil and gas business were randomly recruited for this cross-sectional research. The major research technique was a Shift worker survey questionnaire. A research-made questionnaire was used to collect data on the employees' demographics and working conditions. In addition, Cooper's occupational stress questionnaire was employed to gather stress-related data. Inferential data analysis was performed using Chi-square and One-way ANOVA testing. Shift work has been linked to occupational stress among health care practitioners and workers in some industries. The organisation isn't well-known among law enforcement officers.

Keywords:  Shift work, Mental health, Stress, workers.

1. Introduction

Workplace stress is a sort of stress that originates in the workplace or in the working environment. The idea of work stress refers to the changes that occur as a result of stressors that are prevalent at work over a longer length of time. Stressful occupations may lead to burnout syndrome, which affects not only one's health but also one's private and social life, as well as one's feeling of self-esteem and work quality, as well as one's ability to perform safely at work.

Rapid changes in the workplace as a result of industrialization have put a high demand on businesses to boost productivity and customer happiness. Because these goals may be realised via the efforts and participation of employees, there is a rising awareness of the workplace's basic relevance and its influence on workers' health and well-being. A high degree of perceived job stress has been linked to negative psychological and physiological health in individuals, as well as workplace performance issues, according to various studies.

Shift employment necessitates rearranging one's waking and sleeping hours. This can induce internal de-synchronization and resultant psychological and physiological disorders, as well as a disruption of circadian rhythm. Although previous research has consistently demonstrated that shift work is related with poor sleep, not all studies have shown differences between shift and non-shift employees.

In recent decades, this issue has grown in prominence as a result of the development of new technologies and the expansion of fundamental services to the general public, necessitating continual human support and control over work operations throughout the 24-hour day. Due to the rising globalisation of personnel and production techniques, which include a more intense and comprehensive exploitation of productive systems, this issue is also linked to increased economic competition among enterprises and nations.

In general, these studies have looked at the working environment as a primary cause of job stress for workers' physical and mental health. Self-reported psychosomatic problems, psychiatric symptoms, and concerns about well-being are among the most routinely assessed long-term consequences of stress. The studies show a link between occupational pressures and poor psychological functioning, as shown by mental illness, mental health, physical symptoms, anxiety, sadness, and personal functioning markers.

2. Risk of Disorders and Diseases in Oil and Gas Industry

Many ailments and diseases, including musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and endocrinological diseases, psychological and emotional problems, a series of psychosomatic diseases, infectious diseases, and lastly cancer, have been linked to stress.

Depending on whether they work in oil fields, labs, or offices, workers in the oil refining sector are exposed to varied health hazards. Chemical dangers, hazardous work materials/substances, gases, vapours, fumes, and aerosols, fire, explosives, electricity, falls, and wrecks are all threats that workers in oil fields, drilling rigs, and other oil production facilities face. Work in poor microclimates and outdoors is influenced by meteorological effects throughout the year, as well as significant physical strain and excessive noise levels. It carries a significant danger of mishaps (cord breaking, explosion) that might result in drilling rigs being destroyed. Because oil is very combustible, using an open flame at a well is banned. As gas is discharged from the well, rock pieces frequently fly out under pressure, posing a risk of injury. Unprotected skin can be harmed by the oil from sprinklers. Oil field workers are routinely subjected to stressful situations or persistent psychological discomfort. Workplace stress is exacerbated by long-term stays in secluded areas.

Workers in laboratories are subjected to different stresses than those in oil fields. Workers in gas-processing laboratories work with poisonous and extremely combustible compounds and expensive laboratory equipment, which necessitates specialised training, close attention, and decision-making that might have significant financial ramifications. Permanent psychological tension may be present in laboratory work dynamics.

Office employees spend the most of their time sitting and in enclosed settings. Psychophysical and eye strain, as well as non-physiological situations, are common in their jobs. They are at risk of fire and electric shock, according to the risk assessment.

Occupational safety in the oil sector is influenced by elements such as health and job ability. The goal of this research was to examine if varied working circumstances and occupational exposure to distinct dangers in an oil refinery were linked to different perceptions of work stresses and work abilities.

3. Impact of Shift Work on Social Life of Employees

Shift employment has a significant impact on family and social life, leading to psychological stress and psychosomatic diseases. In reality, shift workers may have more difficulty balancing work and social obligations because most family and social events follow the general population's day-oriented patterns. Due to the complexity of the family (number and age of children, cohabiting adults), personal responsibilities (school, housekeeping), and the availability of community resources, coordinating with family timetables may become challenging (i.e., shop hours and transports).

Time pressure and work/family conflicts are common issues, especially for those with heavy family responsibilities or additional responsibilities (i.e., women with small children), and this can have a negative impact on marital relationships, parental roles, and children's education, in addition to the rising number of sleep problems, chronic fatigue, and psychosomatic complaints.

4. Materials and Methods

Study instruments and data collection

Employees' job satisfaction, type of shift-work system, sleep time, insomnia, musculoskeletal disorders, sedative drugs, adverse effects of shift work on their individual lives, adverse effects of shift work on their social lives, and adverse effects of shift work on their personal lives, as well as gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and mental health problems were all collected using the survey of shift (SOS) Questionnaire (SOS workers). A Personal Information Form designed by the researchers was used to collect demographic and professional information from participants that might impact sleep quality and work satisfaction of rotating shift employees.

Simultaneously, descriptive-analytical research was briefly undertaken to collect data from the individuals' stress terms using Cooper's questionnaire for measuring stress in workplace environments and heavy labour. Data was gathered by consensus, with people receiving questionnaires and being required to complete them. In order to investigate the relationship between stress and employee demographic characteristics, a record form was created for entering the following information about employees: age, gender, educational level, marital status, previous employment records, salary and extra pay, job position, name of the section, and work shift. In some countries, the Cooper's questionnaire of stress in the workplace is widely used as a measure of working stress. This survey consists of 32 questions that determine whether or not there are symptoms of job stress. For each group, four degrees are taken into account. Among the four options, the examiner selects the ones that are closest to his or her experience in the previous month. There are four alternative responses to each question: never, occasionally, frequently, and always. The scores range from 0 to 3, with 0 and 3 being the lowest and highest ratings for each option. Total scores of 39 or less indicate a low degree of stress, scores of 40 to 62 indicate a medium level of stress, and scores of 63 or more indicate a high level of stress.

Researchers conducted direct meetings with staff to administer data gathering instruments. Employees choose the time and location for completing the questionnaire. There was no time limit on when surveys were to be completed.

Data analysis

Descriptive statistical methods were used to summarize data. Chi-square was employed in testing the relationship between variables.

Results

Based on a number of demographic and work-related factors. The participants' ages ranged from 24 to 50, with the average age being about 35 years. The majority of the participants were married couples (64 percent). Females made up about half of the participants (56 percent). The individuals' employment experience ranged from one to thirty years, with the average being around 52 years.

 Results of shift working and job satisfaction

The frequency distribution and shiftwork-related diseases among employees are shown in Table 1. The most common symptoms were pains in the legs and knees (69 percent), followed by back problems (61.9 percent), shoulder aches (41.7 percent), and leg and knee pains (69 percent) (41.7 percent ). Shift work is also linked to a slew of issues among employees, according to the findings. Emotional and mental disorders had the greatest incidence rate (96.4%), followed by social life (84.5%) and digestive issues (81%) in that order.

Staff who worked at night or on shifts were more likely to suffer from sleep problems than those who worked on a regular daytime schedule.

Table 1: Frequency distribution and incidence of disorders due to shift work

The Effects of Occupational Stress

According to the statistics in Table 2, females made up 56 percent of the study population, while men made up 44 percent. The male gender had the lowest percentage of low-stress persons, whereas their female counterparts had the largest percentage, as seen in the table. There was no significant difference in stress levels between the two genders (P = 0.481 and t = 0.7), according to the above data.

Table 2: Average level of stress by age in the studied group

SD=Standard deviation

Table 3 shows that 36 percent of the research participants were single, whereas 64 percent were married. Furthermore, there were no significant variations in stress levels based on marital status (P = 0.565 and t = 0.57).

Table 3: The average level of stress by marital status in the studied group

This study looked into the degree of education among the employees in the studied group. Table 4 shows that 89 percent of employees had a Bachelor's degree and 11% had a Master's degree. There were no significant changes in stress levels based on education degree (P = 0.858 and t = 0.18).

Table 4: The average level of stress by level of education in the studied group

Conclusion

Regardless of whether they worked in the office, laboratory, or oilfield, the majority of oil firm employees in our survey said they were frequently exposed to stress. Over three-quarters of all participants said their job was difficult, although how stressful it was depends on the workplace. Our findings suggest that workers should get additional communication skills training as well as take preventative actions to improve workplace health and safety.

In their origins and temporal manifestations, shift and night work interferences on health and well-being are complicated and multifaceted, including various elements of personal traits, as well as working and living environments. As a result, given that our purpose is to preserve the health of shift workers as a whole, we must go beyond health protection to health promotion. In the first situation, our methods must be focused on determining the appropriate diagnostic instruments for health surveillance and determining whether the worker's "risk/benefit" ratio is acceptable. For the latter, we must take an epidemiological approach aimed at determining the extent and severity of such a risk factor, as well as determining the most appropriate preventative interventions with the best "cost/effectiveness" ratio for workers' groups and the general public.

As a result, a comprehensive approach is required, including physio-pathology, psychology, sociology, ergonomics, economics, politics, and ethics, to deal with the various domains that might effect results and address solutions at their finest.

This necessitates the involvement of a variety of stakeholders, including ergonomists, psychologists, sociologists, educators, lawmakers, managers, and employees, in addition to occupational health physicians. This is the only way to prevent a glib judgement of shift and night work maladaptation and/or intolerance based on sectorial factors (i.e., some human characteristics or behaviours) that aren't well supported by scientific evidence and longitudinal research. This can lead to a risky and even dangerous (in terms of employment) attitude toward shift worker selection, without taking into account the entire context in terms of (shift) work organisation and social conditions, which are often the major intervening factors and are more profitable interventions for subjects, companies, and society as a whole.

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