The Relationship Between Different Dimensions of Occupational Stress and Resilience Levels in the Employees of an Oil Refinery

Occupational stress is a psychological condition that occurs due to an imbalance between occupational needs and individual abilities. Resilience is an approach to cope with occupational stress. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between different dimensions of occupational stress and the level of resilience in the employees of an oil refinery.

This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 275 operational staff of an oil refinery in southern Iran in 2020. The study participants were selected using a simple random sampling method. Due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the tools used included three electronic questionnaires, demographic information, Osipow occupational stress questionnaire, and the Connor- Davidson Resilience Scale. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS v. 22 using descriptive tests, Pearson correlation test, one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and linear regression analysis.

The Pearson correlation test data indicated that different dimensions of occupational stress, including occupational scope, responsibility, and physical environment, also, the total score of occupational stress, have a significant negative correlation with the resilience score of individuals. The highest correlation concerned the physical environment dimension, with a coefficient of -0.189.

We can increase employees’ resilience by improving the working environment and raising people’s awareness of occupational responsibility; it can reduce occupational stress among employees.