Association of the working environment noise with occupational stress in industrial workers

Aim We aimed to investigate the association of the working environment noise with the psychosocial status and occupational stress level of the workers of an industrial company. Subject and methods In this cross-sectional study, we enrolled all the employees at an industrial company. The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire was used to measure the workplace psychosocial factors and stress levels of the participants. Based on the sound level measurements, the company sections were divided into two areas: the areas with noise ≥85 dB (dB) A and the areas with noise <85 dB A. Then the participants were categorized into two groups based on the working area and the study variables were compared between the two groups. Results We enrolled 401 workers from an industrial company. For 154 (38.4%) workers, the level of noise was equal to or above 85 dB A. According to the results of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, scores of the two groups were significantly different for scales related to cognitive, emotional, and sensory demands, possibilities for development, and predictability as well as workplace demand domain, which showed noise exposure level was significantly associated with perceived workplace demands ( P = 0.002). Conclusion This study showed a slight association between the psychosocial status and the level of noise in the workplace environment.