Introduction:

Occupational stress occurs when the job requirements exceed the worker's capability to answer them; it has a very relevant prevalence and can lead to mental and physical health problems, especially at the cardiovascular level, with an increased mortality risk being described at this level. The naval military environment in operational context can increase the risk of exposure to stress situations. The objective of this study is to address the issue of occupational stress in the crew of a Portuguese Navy warship during a major military exercise.

Methods:

The abridged version of the Job Stress Scale was applied to the crew of a Bartolomeu Dias class frigate; the information collected was entered into a Microsoft Office Excel file database. The mean values ​​of each dimension were calculated for the sample and by professional category. The t student test and the z test were applied to compare, respectively, means and proportions between samples according to the professional category. Graphs representative of the model “mental demands at work - worker's control” were also constructed for the whole sample and for each professional category and population prevalence with a 95% confidence interval (CI) corrected for the population was calculated.

Results:

The central limits of the “mental demands at work - worker's control” quadrants found for the sample were 16,12 ± 1,58 (mental demands at work) and 19,75±2,24 (worker's control); in the case of the “social support at work” dimension the mean value found was 18,93±2,92. There were statistically significant differences in favour of the “officers” professional category versus “sergeants” and “sailors” in the mean value of “worker's control” (p<0,01) and “social support at work” (p<0,01) dimensions. Only 38,3% of the sample was at the “ideal” work situation with reduced mental demands and high control of the work process. In addition, 18,3% of the sample was subjected to a high demand environment and 21,7% was in a passive context. In the study population, only 28,1-48,6% (95% CI) of the military met the requirements of an “ideal” work situation and 10,2-26,5% (95% CI) were subjected to a high demand environment, perhaps being subject to the adverse effects of occupational stress.

Conclusions:

The results obtained in this study should motivate a reflection by the entities with responsibilities in personnel management and naval health, aiming the implementation of strategies for the prevention and/or management of occupational stress.

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