Time stress among Norwegian physicians

In this paper perceived stress at work is examined in a nationwide representative sample of Norwegian physicians. Four questions were asked about how often the doctors experienced their working conditions as hectic and bothersome, that the work load was unacceptable, that the large number of duties prevented them form working effectively and that they had difficulty in working reasonably undisturbed. 28% of the respondents stated that their work load was often or fairly often unacceptable, while 43% often or fairly often found it difficult to carry out various tasks without being disturbed. While 19% of the physicians perceived their working situation as often hectic and bothersome, the corresponding figure among other academics was 5%. When the four questions were combined to form a measure of stress, about one fifth of the doctors proved to be highly stressed. In a multiple linear regression analysis (N = 2,304) the physician's perceived autonomy was the strongest predictor of stress, i.e. doctors who feel they can substantially influence the planning and organization of their work achieve the lowest scores for stress. Heads of hospital departments are more stressed than physicians who work outside hospital. Stress also increases with increasing frequency of overtime and with increasing amounts of voluntary overtime.