Originally published here.

To determine levels of work stress in three ethnic groups, consider the contribution of racial discrimination to the groups' profiles of occupational and demographic associations with stress, and assess the association between work stress and well-being.

A household quota sample design was used, and 204 black African–Caribbean, 206 Bangladeshi and 216 white (UK born) working people took part in structured interviews.

Work stress can be defined in several ways. First, it is often viewed as a characteristic of the work environment similar to other environmental hazards, such as noise. In this case, it is measured by considering the relationship between exposure and health. Second, it is seen as a physiological response to a threatening or difficult aspect of work, and may be measured directly (e.g. an adverse reaction to work stress can be measured using cortisol). Third, it may be seen in terms of an interactional framework, as in the effort–reward imbalance model, where the imbalance between effort and reward at work interacts to influence health. Finally, transactional theories focus on the cognitive processes and emotional reactions individuals have with their work environment. In this case, perceptions of stress are primarily used. In the work described here, the impact of work characteristics, including both environmental stressors (such as noise and working hours) and organizational stressors (such as effort–reward imbalance and job demand), on perceived work stress was considered.

In earlier work, 30% of non-white respondents reported very or extremely high stress compared to 18% of white workers. However, no further investigation was possible because of the small proportion of minority ethnic respondents.

Ethnic minority groups make up ∼8% of the UK population. This represents an increase over the last four decades. Minority ethnic groups also have a younger age structure than the white (UK born) population, reflecting past immigration and fertility patterns. They will therefore continue to rise as a proportion of the working population well into the 21st century.

There is considerable evidence that perceived stress at work is widespread and is associated with ill-health. Recent figures showed that >2 million people in the UK reported suffering from work-related ill-health. It has also been suggested that ethnic minorities experience particular negative work environments which can lead to stress, and that the pattern of long-term illness among those of working age varies with ethnicity. Furthermore, there is a large literature on ethnicity and mental health. However, there is very little UK information about work stress and health in different ethnic groups. A recent review of ethnic minorities' occupational health and safety identified the lack of evidence on ethnicity and work-related health issues as a research priority.

It has been suggested that social and economic inequalities, underpinned by racial discrimination, are fundamental causes of ethnic inequalities in health. Several studies have shown associations between racial discrimination and both physical illness  and psychological distress, and discrimination has recently been recognized as a psychological stressor and possible risk factor for physical illness. The dearth of UK research on ethnicity, occupational stress and health is, therefore, further compounded by failure to consider the potentially powerful influential role of discrimination in these relationships.

This study aimed to establish rates of perceived work stress in three ethnic groups. In addition, it focused on the contribution of the reported experience of racial discrimination to the groups' profiles of occupational and demographic associations with perceived stress, and assessed the association between perceived work stress and well-being.

More black African–Caribbean respondents reported high work stress than either Bangladeshi or white respondents. Reported racial discrimination among black African–Caribbean female respondents was strongly associated with perceived work stress. Among the black African–Caribbean respondents, women who reported experiencing racial discrimination at work had higher levels of psychological distress.

Perceived work stress may be underpinned by exposure to racial discrimination at work among black African–Caribbean women, and this may affect their psychological well-being.

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