Occupational Stress and Its Effect on Unsafe Behaviors in Fire Department Employees

Firefighting is one of the most dangerous jobs. Occupational stress is known as an effective factor in increasing the risk of mental and physical problems in the workplace. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between job stress and unsafe behavior of firefighting employees.

The present study was a descriptive-analytical type conducted in 2020 among the staff of one of the firefighters in Tehran. 62 people were selected as statistical samples using simple random sampling. In order to assess the prevalence of unsafe behavior and occupational stress, a researcher-made checklist and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) occupational stress questionnaire were used, respectively, and data analysis was performed using SPSS21 software and independent t-test and Pearson correlation tests.

The most unsafe behavior was related to not using the respiratory system in small fires. The lowest and highest levels of job stress related to the relationship between communication and demand were 8.83 and 22.58, respectively, and the total level of job stress was 107.29. No significant relationship was observed between unsafe behavior and job stress dimensions.

The average score of occupational stress was high in all the examined people. Failure to use pants and fire wear and failure to use the experiences of colleagues during fire and accident were a part of the unsafe behaviors of the fire department employees, so the management unit should adopt the necessary training and measures to correct these unsafe behaviors for the fire department employees.