Abstract

Background: Occupational stress has an aversive affect on individuals and organizations. Stress leads to physical and mental ill-health. Bus driving is a classic example of high-strain occupation. In a metropolitan city like Pune, drivers have responsibility to overcome traffic congestion and to get passengers safely and comfortably in scheduled time to the desired destination. Stress in bus drivers leads to absenteeism, substance abuse, decreased productivity, and increased accident rates. Stress detection will help in taking measures for stress reduction. Thus, this study was planned to assess perceived stress in Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) bus drivers of Pune city. Aims and Objectives: To study and compare perceived stress score using Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) in PMPML bus drivers and office staff. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study. Study group (n = 130) included PMPML bus drivers and control group (n = 130) included volunteers from office staff of general population. In both the groups, PSS score was estimated with the help of PSS questionnaire. Data were analyzed by Student’s t-test.
Results: Statistically significant increase in PSS score was observed in the study group.
Conclusions: It is evident from the study that PSS score was very high in bus drivers as compared to office staff. This indicates that bus driving is a tremendously stressful job, and effective measures should be taken to reduce stress in bus drivers.