An Investigation of Job Satisfaction Factors in an Incident of Mass Psychogenic Illness at the Workplace

Abstract

An investigation was undertaken of an apparent outbreak of contagious psychogenic illness at an electronics plant in which approximately 50 females reported a variety of subjective nonspecific symptoms. The workers believed that the physical symptomatology was triggered by an unidentified odor in the plant which was not verified by environmental sampling for chemicals or by medical evaluations of affected workers. A random sample of non-affected and affected workers was surveyed by means of psychological health status inventories and epidemiological indices to determine the role that life-history, personality characteristics and job dissatisfaction had on susceptibility to illness. Results indicated that those workers reporting the highest level of perceived stress due to job dissatisfaction, family problems, and personal conflict were most likely to experience somatic symptoms. In the present study sources of dissatisfaction identified as potential precipitating factors of the illness outbreak were: 1) working conditions, 2) supervisory style, and 3) personal lifestyle.

The role of stress and social support in Sick Building Syndrome

“…For example, the outbreak of SBS symptoms could be explained as an example of Contagious Psychogenic Illness (Black et al, 1993;Cohen et al, 1978 ;Rothman, and Weintraub, 1995). We suggest that this is not a plausible explanation for several reasons.…”

“…Stress may also result from working in an SBS-aŠ ected environment (Bauer et al, 1992). To summarize, stress may result from SBS, may contribute to SBS-related symptoms, or it may play a dual role, increasing both the symptoms and the source of the stress (Baker, 1989 ;Cohen et al 1978 ;Colligan, and Murphy, 1979). These studies suggest that higher levels of stress should be found in SBS environments.…”

“…Social support moderates stress, acting as a buŠ er against physical and psychological illness (Baker, 1989 ;Bauer et al, 1992 ;Cohen et al, 1978 ;Haines et al, 1991 ;Kumari, and Sharma, 1990 Ryan, and Morrow, 1992 ;Srivastava, 1991;Taylor, 1986). Social support provided by an organization may include emotional (i.e.…”

“…car exhaust fumes from indoor garages and heat released by laser printers, computers and photocopiers (Chisholm, and Doyle, 1993 ;Hodgson, and Morey, 1989). A number of psychological, organizational and social factors, such as stress and social support, have also been implicated in the aetiology of SBS (Baker, 1989 ;Cohen, Colligan, Webster, and Smith, 1978 ;Colligan, and Murphy, 1979 ;Gibson et al, 1998;Ooi, and Goh, 1997 ;Selner, and Staudenmayer, 1992). The current study was conducted to explore the impact of such factors in reports of Sick Building Syndrome.…”

Epidemic Hysteria: A Review of the Published Literature

“…Outbreaks in schools may have been reported more frequently than those that occur elsewhere because of the importance attached to investigating outbreaks involving children. In addition, the existence of operational definitions (1,14,19,26,55,56,58,60,62,64,67,68,94,101,102) and lists of positive features suggesting epidemic hysteria (1, 18-20, 87, 96, 103) developed over recent years also may increase the likelihood that an outbreak is identified as epidemic hysteria. At the same time, these identifications of characteristics may lead researchers away from considering epidemic hysteria as the cause of an outbreak.…”