Different workplace-related strains and different workplace-related anxieties in different professions.

OBJECTIVE

Similar to the spectrum of the traditional anxiety disorders, there are also different types of workplace-related anxieties. The question is whether in different professional settings different facets of workplace-related anxieties are predominant.

METHODS

A convenience sample of 224 inpatients (71% women) from a department of psychosomatic medicine was investigated. They were assessed with a structured diagnostic interview concerning anxiety disorders and specific workplace-related anxieties.

RESULTS

Office workers suffer relatively most often from specific social anxiety, insufficiency, and workplace phobia. Service workers suffer predominantly from unspecific social anxiety. Health care workers are characterized by insufficiency, adjustment disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, and workplace phobia. Persons in production and education are least often affected by workplace-related anxieties.

CONCLUSIONS

Different types of anxiety are seen in different professional domains, parallel to workplace characteristics.