The Status of Occupational Stress and Its Influence the Quality of Life of Copper-Nickel Miners in Xinjiang, China

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of occupational stress and its influence on the quality of life of copper-nickel miners, in order to provide a theoretical basis for alleviating occupational stress to improve their quality of life. Stratified cluster sampling and a self-administered questionnaire survey were used. The Effort–Reward Imbalance (ERI) questionnaire and the SF-36 (36-Item Short Form) health survey scale were administered to all 2000 miners registered with a copper-nickel mining human resources department and who had been on duty for more than one year. In total, 1857 valid questionnaires were collected, with a response rate of 92.85%. The percentage of the copper-nickel miners suffering from occupational stress was 42.65%. A statistically significant difference was observed in relation to the prevalence of occupational stress among miners of different genders, ages, education levels, and operating units. The occupational stress detection rate was higher for males than females. Miners aged between 30 and 34 years exhibited the highest level of occupational stress compared to other age groups. Those with a junior college education exhibited the highest rate of occupational stress compared to those with other levels of education. Those working in the smelting unit exhibited the highest rate of occupational stress compared to those working in other operational units. Those classified as experiencing stress (an ERI score >1) had lower quality of life scores than miners classified as not experiencing stress (an ERI score ≤1). The results show that level of education, monthly income, and degree of occupational stress affect quality of life among copper-nickel miners. It was found that older age, lower income, higher education level, and higher degree of occupational stress were factors related to poorer quality of life. Copper-nickel miners have high levels of occupational stress, and occupational stress is a risk factor that can diminish quality of life.