Korean J Occup Health Nurs.  2014 Feb;23(1):20-27.

The Effect of Emotional Labor for Job Stress in Bus Drivers

• Kim HR
• Yi Y
• Lee KJ
• Kim HG

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study was conducted to identify the association between emotional labor and job stress in bus drivers, as well as to propose management strategies for job stress.
METHODS
The study was conducted in February 2013 and involved 182 bus drivers working in the Gyeonggi area.
RESULTS
emotional labor was 9.5+/-2.34 on average, and job stress was higher than the median of the same indicator among Korea's workers in the areas of physical environment, job autonomy, and relationship conflicts. Factors that affected job stress was lower if the subjects' Higher values for emotional labor indicated a higher level of job stress.
CONCLUSION
To reduce among drivers, the following measures are necessary: increase the comfort of the driver's seat within the vehicle, provide adequate rest between bus headways, provide comfortable in-house rest facilities, and establish physical training spaces to reduce musculoskeletal disorders as well as programs for reducing back pain. In addition, relationship conflicts may be relieved by increasing job autonomy as much as possible, by granting autonomous control of working hours and bus headways, as well as by banning long work hours. Moreover, various club activities, exercise programs, and counseling programs that workers can be involved in together may be beneficial. This study is significant in that it identified the relationship of the bus drivers' emotional labor and job stress, which has previously been ignored as a research topic. Through its results, this study provides baseline data for the preparation of management strategies that can address the job stress of bus drivers.

Keyword

Emotional labor; Job stress; Bus driver