Objectives: Improving the work environment is effective as a primary measure against mental health disorders. The aim of this study was to verify the hypothesis that using a “Like!” seal would promote friendly relations in the workplace, and reduce the stress reactions of nurses in a hospital. The “Like!” seal was inspired by “Thanks” cards conveying appreciation mutually, “OK” cards conveying the recognition of good points, and the “Like” button frequently used in social networking services. Methods: The subjects were 362 nurses working in a university hospital, of whom, 156 (43.1%) permitted the use of data collected before and after the intervention. A total of 151 (41.7%) subjects were analyzed. The intervention using the “Like!” seal lasted 8 weeks. The controls were 105 nurses who answered the same questionnaire in the same hospital and who permitted the use of the collected data. The question items comprised: basic attributes, the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire, the Sense of Coherence (SOC) scale, the Brief Scales for Coping Profile (BSCP), the lifestyles (HPI), and the number of uses of the “Like!” seal. To examine the effects of the intervention, a two-way analysis of variance was performed. To examine the factors related to changed psychological symptoms, a multiple linear regression analysis (stepwise method) was performed with the variation as the dependent variable. Results: The number of uses of the “Like!” seal was 7,010 seals in total, and 19.4 seals on average per nurse. Many seals read phrases showing thanks and/or approval. Psychological symptoms showed a significant interaction. The scores increased in the intervention group after the intervention, but showed no change in the control group. Among the subscales of SOC, manageability showed a significant interaction. Increased scores were found in the intervention group after the intervention, but there was no change in the control group. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that two factors were related to the variation of psychological symptoms. They were: the variation of manageability, and the number of seals used per nurse. Conclusions: The “Like!” seal which encourages mutual conveyance of feelings of thanks and/or approval has the potential to reduce the stress reactions of nurses.

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Aim: It has been reported that an exaggerated systolic blood pressure (ESBP) response during exercise, even if resting blood pressure is normal, is associated with an increased risk of future hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study was designed to investigate the relationships of work duration, sleep duration and number of holidays with blood pressure response during an exercise stress test among normotensive workers. Subjects and Methods: The subjects were 362 normotensive workers (79 males and 283 females; age, 49.1 years). A multi-stage graded submaximal exercise stress test was performed on each subject using an electric bicycle ergometer. The workload was increased every 3 minutes, and blood pressure was measured at rest and during the last 1 minute of each stage. In this study, an ESBP response during exercise was defined according to the criteria of the Framingham Study (peak systolic blood pressure ≥210 mmHg in males, or ≥190 mmHg in females). Working environments, work duration, sleep duration, number of holidays, and physical activity during commuting and work, and leisure time exercise duration were evaluated using a questionnaire. Results: An ESBP response during exercise was observed in 94 (26.0%) workers. The adjusted odds ratio for the prevalence of an ESBP response during exercise was found to be significantly higher with an increase in work duration, decreases in sleep duration and number of holidays (p<0.05, respectively). Moreover, the highest work duration with lowest sleep duration and number of holidays groups had significantly higher adjusted odds ratio for the prevalence of an ESBP response during exercise than the lowest work duration with highest sleep duration and number of holidays groups (p<0.05, respectively). Conclusions: Based on our results, we consider that the assessment of blood pressure response during exercise and daily life are necessary to prevent the incidence of future hypertension, CVD and death due to overwork in workers with long-work duration, short sleep duration and small number of holidays.

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