Stress, other health issues prevalent among SG workers

A recent study in Singapore that profiled workers in four various industries has found several health issues, such as smoking, stress, poor dietary habits, and physical inactivity. 

“Health issues are prevalent in the workplace and may affect work and employee safety,” the researchers said. “It is important for employees’ health to be considered in risk assessment and prioritized in workplace safety and health management systems and strategies.” 

Five service providers appointed to run the Total Workplace Safety and Health program carried out an anonymous basic health survey among workers of participating companies. A total of 6,373 workers from the cleaning, construction, manufacturing, and transport and storage industries responded to the survey, with an overall response rate of 62 percent. 

The following key health issues were identified: high rates of obesity (22 percent) and smoking (24 percent) and low prevalence of regular exercise and healthy dietary habits. [Singapore Med J 2025;66:271-277] 

The rates of chronic diseases, including hypertension (15 percent), high lipid (12 percent), and diabetes mellitus (6 percent), among workers did not significantly differ from those of the general population. In addition, many respondents reported experiencing high levels of stress (13 percent) in the workplace. Specifically, younger workers from the construction industry reported higher work stress. 

One possible explanation for greater work stress could be that these workers are part of the “sandwich generation” or those who raise children while caring for older family members. As a result, these individuals face “competing demands” from home, work, and even the social space. 

“Understanding the contributory external stressors of this at-risk population would be useful in designing targeted programs to meet their practical and mental health needs,” the researchers said. “Examples include offering talks on child/eldercare and training in stress and time management and relaxation techniques.” 

Moreover, workers in the high-stress group reported lower rates of healthy behaviours such as regular exercise and daily fruit consumption. 

Stressors 

Stress, which has a complex and bidirectional relationship with health behaviours, may prevent efforts to a having a healthier lifestyle. Therefore, organizations are encouraged to “consider a multidimensional approach to reap synergistic effects when planning programs for employees,” the researchers said. [Psychiatr Danub 2019;31(suppl 3):217-220] 

“Most of the causes of work stress concern the way work is designed and organizations managed,” they added. [https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9241590475] 

In the current study, workers with high or very high work stress reported several stressors such as “unrealistic time pressures” and “less support from direct supervisors at the workplace.” They also expressed dissatisfaction with the working environment and felt less safe working in their workplaces. 

“Hence, interventions at the team/department and organizational level are pertinent to effectively reduce work stress,” the researchers said. “Examples include recalibrating work demands and promoting a supportive organizational culture.” [https://www.mom.gov.sg/covid-19/tripartite-advisory-on-mental-well-being-at-workplaces] 

Furthermore, high work stress was found to be significantly associated with body pain made worse by work (odds ratio, 2.28–2.99). 

"It is recognized that chronic pain in workers is associated with severe job stress, and increased job stress worsens the state of chronic pain,” the researchers said. “Hence, interventions to address work stress will complement strategies to deal with chronic pain at the workplace.” [Work 2018;61:357-365]