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. 2020 May 21;17(10):3629.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17103629.

Occupational Stress and Employees Complete Mental Health: A Cross-Cultural Empirical Study

Alcides Moreno Fortes  1   2   3   4 , Lili Tian  1   2   3   4 , E Scott Huebner  5
Affiliations

Occupational Stress and Employees Complete Mental Health: A Cross-Cultural Empirical Study

Alcides Moreno Fortes et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Given the shortcomings of previous research on occupational stress and mental health (e.g., predominantly in Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic (WEIRD) societies, based on the traditional mental health model and a lack of comparative studies), this study aimed to (a) examine the relationship between occupational stress and complete mental health among employees in Cabo Verde and China, and also explored the mediation and moderation roles of burnout and optimism in accounting for the empirical link. Mental health was defined as comprised of two distinguishable factors: positive and negative mental health. The Pearson correlation test, structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis, bootstrap analysis, hierarchical moderated regression and an independent t-test were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that, in both countries, occupational stress showed a negative relation to positive mental health and lower psychopathology symptoms-and job burnout mediated the relation between occupational stress and mental health. Optimism moderated the relation between occupational stress and burnout, but not the relation between occupational stress and complete mental health. The results are interpreted in light of the comparative framework.

Keywords: Cabo Verde; China; burnout; complete mental health; employee; occupational stress; optimism.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure A1
Figure A1
The moderation model of the test results. Note. ZOSQ—GV = occupational stress; ZLOT-R = optimism; ZMBI-GS = burnout; ZMHC—SF = positive mental health, ZMHI-5 = negative mental health relation (Z = means all variables are centred).
Figure 1
Figure 1
The theoretical framework. Note. OSQ—GV (Occupational Stress Questionnaire—General Version); MBI-GS (Maslach Burnout General Inventory Scale including exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy); LOT-R (Revised Life Orientation Test), MHC—SF (Mental Health Continuum—Short Form including psychological, emotional and social well-being); MHI-5 (Five-item Mental Health Inventory including anxiety and depression).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The Mediation model test results. Note. OSQ—GV = S1 to S7 subscales of occupational stress; MBI-GS = (EX = exhaustion–energy, CY = cynicism–involvement); MHC—SF = (PWB = Psychological well-being, EWB = Emotional well-being, SWB = Social well-being); MHI-5 = (DEP = Depression, ANX = Anxiety), (* p < 0.05.).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Graphic representation of the interaction between occupational stress and optimism in predicting employee job burnout.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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