Author

  • Khamarul Arifin Bin Mohd Zainal Abidin

    • S A R Equipment & Training, Malaysia
    • Malaysia

  • Maliza Delima Kamarul Zaman

    • Faculty of Business and Management Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam, Malaysia
    • Malaysia

  • Nor Intan Adha Hafit

    • Faculty of Business and Management Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam, Malaysia
    • Malaysia

  • Suhaila Mohamed

    • Faculty of Business and Management Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam, Malaysia
    • Malaysia

Abstract

The frustrations, expectations, and deadlines that accompany life in the contemporary world have, for many, become a default setting. Receiving different signals that upset our equilibrium, or that we consider a potential danger, is what, physically, we call stress. The seriousness of stress is highlighted by the fact that most people in the working population, during the period between 2021 and 2022, had cases of work-related health illness primarily attributed to work stress, depression, and anxiety. What is understood is that stress is a part of life, and it is certainly something that no one can run away from. The amount of stress that one has to go through in the workplace, particularly in the context of Malaysia, has been on the rise ever since the onset of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A number of earlier researchers looked into the levels of stressful occupations in Malaysia and the reasons that can predict such stressful situations, and many such incidents were uncovered. Given the stressful nature of the pandemic, the government of Malaysia put in motion the Malaysia Civil Defense Force (MCDF), heavily referred to as the ‘Angkatan Pertahanan Awam Malaysia’. Given the nature of the work that the MCDF has to do, it is clear that stress is a huge problem. This thesis investigates the relationship between work stress and its underlying organizational, operational, and lifestyle causes among personnel at the MCDF Kuala Lumpur District Office. Utilizing Pearson Product Correlation Coefficient and Multiple Regression Analysis, the study supports the correlations between work stress and both organizational and operational causes, while lifestyle factors were found to be unsupported. The study underscores the importance of addressing these stressors to enhance employee well-being and productivity. Recommendations for MCDF include enhancing psychological support, improving occupational health and safety measures, and fostering effective communication within the organization. The research highlights the necessity for broader sample areas and multi-method data collection in future studies. Understanding these dynamics is critical for strategic decision-making and fostering a supportive work environment in high-stress government agencies.

Keywords

References

  • Abdou, A., Zhang, Y., & Wang, C. (2024). Reducing role ambiguity and conflict to improve job satisfaction: A psychological perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 15(1), 112–127.
  • Akerstrom, M., Nilsson, J., & Andersson, E. (2021). Job demands and mental health: A study on burnout among employees. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 26(3), 210–225.
  • Bai, Y., Lin, C. C., Lin, C. Y., Chen, J. Y., Chue, C. M., & Chou, P. (2004). Survey of stress reactions among health care workers involved with the SARS outbreak. Psychiatric Services, 55(9), 1055–1057.
  • Benthem, M., Liu, Y., & Zhang, H. (2022). Modeling job demands and chronic stress: A computational perspective. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 79(4), 292–299.
  • Canadian Mental Health Association. (2016). Workplace mental health. https://cmha.ca
  • Centers for Disease Control. (2020). Coping with stress. https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/stress-coping/
  • Chua, Y. P., Mokhtar, S. B., & Rajendran, K. (2022). Environmental conditions and job strain in Malaysian workplaces. Malaysian Journal of Psychology, 38(1), 58–70.
  • Crescenzo, D. (2016). Work stress: The health consequences of job strain. Journal of Health and Social Sciences, 1(1), 35–48.
  • Cui, S., Zhang, L., Yan, H., Shi, Q., Jiang, Y., Wang, Q., & Liu, Y. (2021). Occupational stress and mental health: Nurses' responses during COVID-19. Journal of Nursing Management, 29(4), 680–687.
  • Dua, J. K. (2019). Stress management: Strategies and interventions. Academic Press.
  • Edú-Valsania, S., Laguía, A., & Moriano, J. A. (2022). The role of job resources in mitigating work stress. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(2), 345–359.
  • Goh, J., Pfeffer, J., & Zenios, S. A. (2016). The relationship between workplace stressors and health outcomes. Behavioral Science & Policy, 2(2), 1–12.
  • Gupta, A., Agarwal, R., & Dhir, S. (2020). Work stress in anesthesiologists: Coping mechanisms and mental health. Indian Journal of Anaesthesia, 64(7), 564–571.
  • Institute for Public Health. (2023). National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2023. Ministry of Health Malaysia.
  • Jamil, M., Rahman, S., & Latif, A. (2023). Workplace improvements and their role in reducing stress. Journal of Organizational Psychology, 10(2), 88–96.
  • Jatmiko, B., & Pangarso, A. (2022). Job autonomy as a factor in stress reduction: A study of service employees. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(3), 142–153.
  • Kraft, A., Singh, R., & Johnson, B. (2019). Wellness lifestyle and stress coping among salespeople. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 39(3), 249–263.
  • Li, T., Zhou, Y., & Liu, J. (2019). Stressors in the police force: An empirical study. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 34(2), 123–133.
  • Marecki, M. (2024). Lifestyle habits and workplace productivity: A quantitative study. Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology, 19(1), 11–19.
  • Paganin, G., & Simbula, S. (2021). The impact of work-related stress on psychophysical health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(3), 1234.
  • Petrofsky, J., Laymon, M., & Lee, H. (2021). Sleep deprivation and military performance. Military Medicine, 186(5–6), e484–e489.
  • Pignatelli, F. (2020). Substance abuse and workplace productivity: A medical perspective. Journal of Addiction Research, 5(2), 66–72.
  • Sanders, J. W., Putnam, S. D., & Frankart, C. (2021). Health and performance in the military: Role of lifestyle factors. Military Medicine, 186(Suppl_1), 42–49.
  • Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business: A skill-building approach (7th ed.). Wiley.
  • Sharifi-Rad, J., Rodrigues, C. F., Stojanovi?-Radi?, Z., & Dimitrovski, D. (2020). Lifestyle and oxidative stress: Effects on muscle activity. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, 2020, 1–13.
  • Shanahan, L., Steinhoff, A., Bechtiger, L., Murray, A. L., Nivette, A., Hepp, U., ... & Eisner, M. (2020). Emotional distress in young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological Medicine, 1–10.
  • Sherman, A., Miller, H., & Kwiatkowski, D. (2020). Psychological distress from COVID-19 lockdown measures. Journal of Public Health, 42(3), 343–349.
  • Soares, D. (2021). Anxiety and stress during COVID-19 lockdown: The need for quick adaptation. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 67(4), 292–298.
  • Stogner, J., Miller, B. L., & McLean, K. (2020). Law enforcement stress in the age of COVID-19. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 45(4), 546–564.
  • Wang, H., Liu, Y., & Hu, J. (2020). The psychological impact of COVID-19 on frontline workers. Journal of Affective Disorders, 276, 312–318.
  • Wijayanti, P., & Fauzi, A. (2020). Causes of occupational stress in public service organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology Research, 1(2), 59–75.
  • World Health Organization. (2022). Mental health at work. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240061732

Downloads

No downloads have been recorded for this article yet. Figures appear here once readers begin downloading the full text.

How to Cite

Bin Mohd Zainal Abidin, K. A., Kamarul Zaman, M. D., Hafit, N. I. A., & Mohamed, S. (2025). A Study on the Causes of Work Stress Among the Malaysian Civil Defense Force Personnel. Information Management and Business Review, 17(3(I), 105-110. https://doi.org/10.22610/imbr.v17i3(I).4655

Share this article

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Khamarul Arifin Bin Mohd Zainal Abidin, Maliza Delima Kamarul Zaman, Nor Intan Adha Hafit, Suhaila Mohamed (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Author (s) should affirm that the material has not been published previously. It has not been submitted and it is not under consideration by any other journal. At the same time author (s) need to execute a publication permission agreement to assume the responsibility of the submitted content and any omissions and errors therein. After submission of revised paper in the light of suggestions of the reviewers, the editorial team  edits and formats manuscripts to bring uniformity and standardization in published material.

This work will be licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) and under condition of the license, users are free to read, copy, remix, transform, redistribute, download, print, search or link to the full texts of articles and even build upon their work as long as they credit the author for the original work. Moreover, as per journal policy author (s) hold and retain copyrights without any restrictions.

Keywords

Section

Research Paper

Published in

Vol. 17 No. 3(I) (2025) Tourism, Heritage & Employee Retention View issue contents

Published

2025-09-13

Submissions

Have research to publish? Information Management and Business Review welcomes submissions.

Make a Submission