Prevalence and Determinants of Job Stress among Handloom Weavers in Rural Tamil Nadu: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55489/njcm.170520266448Keywords:
Mental health, Handloom industry, Work life balance, Occupational stress, Cross sectional studyAbstract
Background: Occupational stress is one of the key psychosocial risk factors impacting health, productivity and safety of workers in the informal handloom weaving sector mainly in rural India. The objectives of the study were to estimate the prevalence of job stress among weavers and to determine the sociodemographic and work-related factors associated with job stress.
Materials and Methods: 530 weavers were enrolled using simple random sampling method. Validated New Job Stress Scale was used to assess job stress and based on the scores participants were classified into: low, moderate and high job stress. Data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 22) and prior ethical clearance was obtained.
Results: Nearly 20.8% had poor work-life balance, 44.2% reported lack of coworker support, 13.4% participants had high job stress and 33.3% had moderate job stress. Male gender (AOR = 2.28, 95% CI: 1.08-5.01), work hours (AOR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.01-2.23) and poor work-life balance (AOR = 9.98, 95% CI: 4.90-20.32) were the independent predictors of high job stress on multivariable analysis.
Conclusion: Work place interventions that address regulated hours of work, supportive work environments and better balance between work life are necessary to protect mental health and ensure sustainable production in the informal textile sector.
References
Nag A, Vyas H, Nag P. Occupational health scenario of Indian informal sector. Ind Health. 2016 Aug 5;54(4):377-385. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2015-0112 PMid:26903262 PMCid:PMC4963551
Van der Molen HF, Nieuwenhuijsen K, Frings-Dresen MHW, de Groene G. Work-related psychosocial risk factors for stress-related mental disorders: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open. 2020;10(7):e034849. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034849 PMid:32624469 PMCid:PMC7337889
Duchaine CS, Aubé K, Gilbert-Ouimet M, Vézina M, Ndjaboué R, Massamba V, et al. Psychosocial Stressors at Work and the Risk of Sickness Absence Due to a Diagnosed Mental Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry. 2020 Aug 1;77(8):842-851. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.0322 PMid:32236498 PMCid:PMC7113841
Belete H, Ergetie T, Ali T, Birhanu S, Belete T. Work-Related Stress and Associated Factors Among Textile Factory Employees in Northwest Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2020 Nov 27;13:1071-1078. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S282061 PMid:33273870 PMCid:PMC7708313
Priya JO, Gnanaselvam NA, Arasu S, Joseph B. Depression and Workplace Stress among the Garment Industry Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Indian J Occup Environ Med. 2025 Jul-Sep;29(3):180-187. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_333_24 PMid:41111618 PMCid:PMC12532156
Belete H, Ergetie T, Ali T, Birhanu S, Belete T. Work-Related Stress and Associated Factors Among Textile Factory Employees in Northwest Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2020 Nov 27;13:1071-1078. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S282061 PMid:33273870 PMCid:PMC7708313
Khan TA, Qayum S. Evaluating poor working conditions and health problems faced by carpet weavers in Kashmir: a qualitative analysis. Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being. 2024 Dec;19(1):2421575. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2024.2421575 PMid:39508821 PMCid:PMC11544734
Aiswarya A, Bhagya D. Effect of Covid 19 lockdown on the lifestyle and dietary diversity of women handloom workers. Clin Epidemiol Glob Health. 2021 Oct-Dec;12:100856. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cegh.2021.100856 PMid:34545346 PMCid:PMC8443388
Seenivasan P, Prasanna SD, Tamilarasi R. The Morbidity Profile and Working conditions of Handloom Weavers in Tamil Nadu - A Descriptive Study. Indian J Occup Environ Med. 2025 Oct-Dec;29(4):299-304. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_142_25 PMid:41710677 PMCid:PMC12912517
Ranganathan P, Deo V, Pramesh CS. Sample size calculation in clinical research. Perspect Clin Res. 2024 Jul-Sep;15(3):155-159. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/picr.picr_100_24 PMid:39140012 PMCid:PMC11318789
Shukla A, Shrivastava R. Development of short questionnaire to measure an extended set of role expectation conflict, coworker support and work-life balance: The new job stress scale. Cogent Business and Management 2016;3(1):1-19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2015.1134034
Anand A, Mandal I, Hossain S. BG Prasad Scale 2025: an updated framework for socioeconomic assessment in India. Natl J Community Med. 2025 May 1;16(05):555-558. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55489/njcm.160520255339
Von Elm E, Altman DG, Egger M, Pocock SJ, Gøtzsche PC, Vandenbroucke JP; STROBE Initiative. Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement: guidelines for reporting observational studies. BMJ. 2007 Oct 20;335(7624):806-808. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39335.541782.AD PMid:17947786 PMCid:PMC2034723
Telaprolu N, Anne SD. Physical and psychological work demands as potential risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders among workers in weaving operations. Indian J Occup Environ Med. 2014 Sep-Dec;18(3):129-134. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5278.146910 PMid:25598618 PMCid:PMC4292198
Mukherjee P, Roy AS, Bandyopadhyay A, Gangopadhyay S. Occupational stress among house maids of Kolkata, India. Journal of Human Ergology. 2019;48(1):1-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11183/jhe.48.1_1
Anandi B, Rajaram D, BA A, MS GKR. Assessment of work-related stress and its associated factors among managerial staff in an industry located in Bangalore city. Natl J Res Community Med. 2017;6(1):9-14.
Dhakate MA, Domple VK, Joge US, Khakse GM, Hiwarkar PA. Assessment of job stress among non-teaching staff: a cross-sectional study at teaching hospital, Central India. Int J Occup Saf Health. 2022 Jan 1;12(1):29-34. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3126/ijosh.v12i1.41036
Ahmad A. Job Stressors towards Organizational Change: A Study of Textile Industries of Northern India. J Humanities Soc Sci. 2013;16(1):10-19. Available from: https://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/Vol16-issue1/B01611019.pdf
Virtanen M, Jokela M, Madsen IE, Magnusson Hanson LL, Lallukka T, Nyberg ST, et al. Long working hours and depressive symptoms: systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies and unpublished individual participant data. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2018 May 1;44(3):239-250. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3712 PMid:29423526
Nieuwenhuijsen K, Bruinvels D, Frings-Dresen M. Psychosocial work environment and stress-related disorders, a systematic review. Occup Med (Lond). 2010 Jun;60(4):277-286. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqq081 PMid:20511268
Inoue A, Kawakami N, Tsuno K, Tomioka K, Nakanishi M. Organizational justice and psychological distress among permanent and non-permanent employees in Japan: a prospective cohort study. Int J Behav Med. 2013 Jun;20(2):265-76. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-012-9224-7. PMID: 22314665
Aronsson G, Theorell T, Grape T, Hammarström A, Hogstedt C, Marteinsdottir I, et al. A systematic review including meta-analysis of work environment and burnout symptoms. BMC public health. 2017 Mar 16;17(1):264. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4153-7 PMid:28302088 PMCid:PMC5356239
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Vijayakarthikeyan M, Raju Kannan S, Thamarai Kannan S, Sangeetha S, Angeline Grace, Ritikaa S, Shakthe Priya NK
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The authors retain the copyright of their article, with first publication rights granted to Medsci Publications.
