被災前の職場環境が被災した地方公共団体職員の職場ストレッサーおよびストレス反応に与える影響

抄録

This study was designed to clarify the process by which a favorable work environment before a disaster affects work stressors and stress responses of local government employees recovering from a natural disaster caused by an earthquake, heavy rains, or localized landslides. The results of a cross-sectional questionnaire survey conducted with 943 employees engaged in disaster response work in two disaster-stricken local governments indicated that 8.6 % of the employees were at high risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and 6.0 % were likely to have mood and anxiety disorders. A path analysis revealed that a more favorable pre-disaster work environment resulted in more positive engagement with citizens and less negative engagement after the disaster, as well as less work-related relationship difficulties. However, experiencing work-related relationship difficulties, heavier workloads, and a lack of a sense of self-control in their work led to stronger PTSD symptoms and mood and anxiety disorders. These results suggest that favorable work environments, as a pre-disaster preparedness measure, might mitigate the work stressors associated with recovery work and thus reduce stress responses.