July's article of the month: work stress and its association with suicidal ideation, health and presenteeism during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK health and university workforce
The Research and Communication Committee of the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology has selected “Work stress and its association with suicidal ideation, health and presenteeism during the COVID-19 pandemic: cross-sectional study in the UK health and university workforce” as the article of the month for July.
This study, which is part of a project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme and the National Health and Medical Research Council of European Union, among others, was published in the 1st quartile journal BJ Psych Open.
It was led by Dr. Christina Van der Feltz-Cornelis, professor in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York, in collaboration with professor Beatriz Olaya, from the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology of theUniversitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), and researchers from the University of Lodz in Poland, Research Institute of Sant Joan de Déu (E IRSJD; Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain) and Investigation centre Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM; Madrid, Spain).
The aim of this study was to examine the association between work-related stress and mental health, with a focus on social stressors in the workplace, job roles, depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, anxiety, somatic symptoms, chronic medical conditions, and presenteeism. Stressful work conditions were defined as having excessive workload, a poor working atmosphere, an imbalance between work and home life, and working hours that interfere with personal life.
The study included 328 participants in the United Kingdom, drawn from National Health Service and university staff. The main findings showed that 90% of employees reported experiencing work-related stress. Additionally, 61% reported depressive symptoms, 55% anxiety, and 75% somatic symptoms. Presenteeism was reported by 56% of participants, while 11% reported suicidal ideation. Notably, when presenteeism or suicidal ideation was present, psychological and somatic symptoms tended to be more severe. Moreover, work stress was significantly associated with all mental health outcomes, with the sole exception of chronic medical conditions.
These findings highlight the need to further explore how psychosocial risk factors contribute to work stress, particularly among healthcare and higher education professionals. They also underscore the importance of developing policies to mitigate work stress and to support employees experiencing suicidal ideation and presenteeism.