Occupational and psychosocial risk factors causing a decline in labor productivity and health impairments in healthcare workers

Working conditions of healthcare workers are characterized by high occupational workload and exposure to both occupational and psychosocial risk factors. These factors create an unfavorable background for maintaining health and contribute to development of chronic diseases and occupational burnout. In modern healthcare systems, it is becoming especially important to perform comprehensive assessment of occupational risks and their impact on healthcare workers’ functional state and work ability.

This study aimed to conduct comparative analysis of occupational and psychosocial risk factors contributing to health deterioration among different categories of healthcare workers with evaluating their association with temporary disability and presenteeism levels.

The study was conducted in a multidisciplinary medical institution. A total of 102 healthcare workers with various specialties participated in the survey. Standardized tools were used including the Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS-6) and the short version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II (CoPsoQ II) for psychosocial factors. Descriptive and comparative statistical methods were applied: Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis test, Dunn’s post hoc test with Holm correction, Pearson's chi-squared test, Fisher’s exact test, and relative risk (RR) with a 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI).

The most frequently self-reported occupational risk factors included high work intensity (30.4 %), adverse microclimate (26.5 %), working overtime (19.6 %), and task monotony (17.6 %). A statistically significant association was found between lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and an increased number of sick leave days (up to 30 days compared to 5 days with available PPE, p < 0.05), as well as between working overtime and decreased labor productivity (p = 0.048). Psychosocial risks such as stress and high workloads were more pronounced among employees with work records shorter than 18 years.

Established high prevalence of occupational and psychosocial risk factors among healthcare workers confirms the need to develop and implement targeted corporate health management programs. These measures should include risk monitoring, organizational interventions, and burnout prevention strategies, which may help reduce workforce losses and improve healthcare quality.