Browsing by Author "Abdulai, Tanko Iddi"

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    Occupational Stress in Health Careworkers: The Case of the Goaso Government Hospital
    (2011-10-24) Abdulai, Tanko Iddi
    Occupational stress is health hazard to the individual worker both physically and psychologically. It equally has deleterious effects on organizations and even nations in terms of productivity and financial losses. Whilst it is being given close attention in recent times in America and Western Europe as is evident from the growing number of wellness programs being developed for employees in these continents, it does not appear to evoke equal attention in developing countries. Occupational stress is common to all occupations but if it is unchecked in the healthcare sector, that could even be more disastrous for any nation. The issue is that, there are indications of above average occupational stress in some Ghanaian healthcare workers; but exactly how much of occupational stress is being experienced? Which stressors are the most common and what stress reduction strategies are commonly adopted by victims? This study set out to examine overall occupational stress, its causes, outcomes and possible solutions and, in particular, find out the level of occupational stress in workers of the Goaso Government Hospital in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. Administering the Weiman Occupational Stress Scale to a sample of 68 workers drawn from the population of 136 established employees of the hospital, workers of the hospital were found to experience above average levels of occupational stress with nurses showing the highest levels. The study also found that the three most common stressors were workload, inadequate resources and conflicting demands whilst the three most common strategies the workers used for managing stress were briefing with peers or friends, seeking supervision and looking for the humor in the stressor.