Jobs and their Environment: The Psychological Impact of Work in Noise

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Abstract
A survey of Blue-collar workers (N=90l) of both sexes from a variety of industries was used to investigate the role of exposure to noise, the work performed – assessed in terms of Person-Environment (P-E) fit – and shift-work in affecting a variety of indices of psychosocial strain and mental health. The frequency of a range of symptomatic effects of noise exposureincreased with noise level. Multiple regression analysis indicated that P-E fit on factors intrinsic to the job had the most pervasive and strongest influence on psychosocial strain indices and, through them, exerted a strong influence on mental health. It also revealed that being constrained in a noisy environment exerted a wider and stronger influence on these variables than did noise level itself, the effects of which were restricted to annoyance.