Workplace stress in community pharmacies in England: associations with individual, organizational and job characteristics

Abstract

Objectives To describe the levels of workplace stress that community pharmacists perceive and to examine associations with individual, organizational and job characteristics. Methods A cross-sectional mailed survey of 2000 randomly selected community pharmacists practising in England incorporating a validated organizational stress screening tool (ASSET). Results Response rate was 48%. Community pharmacists reported significantly higher levels of stress than other health care workers for seven out of eight work-related stressors. Regression analyses demonstrated significant associations between a number of individual, organizational and job characteristics and stress. Long working days, being a pharmacy manager and working for large multiples were associated with higher reported levels of stress across a number of work-related stressors including work overload, control and the job itself. However, self-reported measures of workload (such as dispensing volume) were not associated with higher stress levels. Conclusions The growth in corporate ownership of community pharmacies, which is associated with more stressful working environments, together with current economic pressures could have consequences not only for the future well-being of pharmacists but also for patient safety.