TITLE:
A Short-Term Intervention to Reduce Stress Levels in Workplace for Office Worker at UEFA—The Union of European Football Associations in Nyon/Switzerland
AUTHORS:
Katia A. Henry, Karl J. Neeser, Claus Muss
KEYWORDS:
Stress, Stress Management, Office Workers, Workplace, Lifestyle Behaviors
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Preventive Medicine,
Vol.11 No.5,
May
31,
2021
ABSTRACT: Background: Today, according to the WHO, workplace stress is particularly common. Several medical and scientific studies have shown that workplace stress can have a serious impact on overall health, a triggering or aggravating factor for many diseases and pathological conditions. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of a stress-reducing eight-week workshop and online messages campaign on office workers. Methods: To collect data of this quasi-experimental study with pre- and post-test, DASS-21 (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale) was used (only part stress; 14 items). For eligible samples, stress-reducing workshops and online messages were held for 8 weeks by a specialist. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: Of the 68 participants at the beginning, 43 participants were able to follow up on the 8-week campaign. The drop of participants must be explained by the sudden Covid-19 situation and the postponement of the UEFA EURO 2020 football activities. Overall, 13 of 14 items of stress perception had a decreased score number from pre-test to the post-test results in participants. The test results revealed that there was a significant difference mean of stress score before and after the participants got the campaign with the p-value less than 0.001. The mean difference was 4.18. It meant that after the campaign the mean of the stress score decrease was 4.18. Conclusion: The intervention at the workplace of office employees at UEFA, the United European Football Association, has shown that simple specific lifestyle behaviors, wrapped up in weekly workshops and online messages over a period of eight weeks, significantly reduced stress and stress-related conditions in office employees and improved positive dimensions of mental health and stress-related behavior. This campaign can be applicable to office workers of any type of organization or company.