@article{MuschallaHeldmannFay2013, author = {Muschalla, Beate and Heldmann, Madleen and Fay, Doris}, title = {The significance of job-anxiety in a working population}, series = {Occupational medicine}, volume = {63}, journal = {Occupational medicine}, number = {6}, publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0962-7480}, doi = {10.1093/occmed/kqt072}, pages = {415 -- 421}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Background Job-anxiety, as distinguished from trait-anxiety, is associated with long-term sickness absence. The prevalence of job-anxiety within a working population is not known. Identifying individuals who would benefit from intervention might be useful. Aims To investigate job-anxiety in employees not undergoing treatment for mental health illness, firstly by assessing the level of job-anxiety and work-related avoidance tendencies in a working sample, and secondly by testing whether job-anxiety is distinguishable from trait-anxiety. Methods Cross-sectional survey of a convenience sample obtained through personal contact distribution. Employees from different professional settings completed an anonymous questionnaire and provided information on their employment status. The State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T) was used to measure trait-anxiety and the Job-Anxiety-Scale (JAS) was used to assess job (state) anxiety. Results There was a 69\% response rate (240 responses); 188 responses were available for analysis of whom 62\% were women. There were no employees with high trait-anxiety. Ten employees (5\%) reported increased job-anxiety and of these nine employees reported high 'tendencies of avoidance and workplace absence'. Avoidance was most often accompanied by the comorbid job-anxieties 'job-related social anxiety', 'fear of changes at work' and 'fears of existence', 'anticipatory' and 'conditioned' job-anxiety and 'panic symptoms'. Conclusions In this sample, self-reported job-anxiety appeared as a specific type of anxiety as opposed to trait-anxiety. In the workplace job-anxiety can present as job-avoidance and sickness absence and should be distinguished from trait-anxiety. In practice, employers and occupational health practitioners should be aware of those employees prone to sickness absence.}, language = {en} }