Exploring Perceived Workplace Psychosocial Factors and Its Relation on Mental Health Among Baristas

Introduction: Baristas highlighted unsustainable working conditions such as wage cuts, excessive work demands, insufficient employee benefits, and lengthy workdays in the food and beverage industry. This overwhelming situation was found to have adversely affected the workers’ mental health. Objective: This research investigated mental health status and its relation to perceived workplace psychosocial factors among baristas. Methods: This cross-sectional study employed 398 baristas (response rate: 64.82.%) working in the Greater Klang Valley using the Malay version of the self-administered survey. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (M-DASS 21) was used to assess the participant’s mental health status while the Job Content Questionnaire (M-JCQ) evaluated the workplace psychosocial factors perceived by the participants. The socio-demographic and occupational information of the participants were also documented. The data were managed using SPSS and analyzed for descriptive and inferential analyses. Results: The results reported 195 baristas (75.60%) encountered poor mental health with the most common symptoms reported for stress (66.70%), anxiety (65.10%) and depression (49.60%). Approximately, half of the baristas experienced high job demands, low job control, and poor job support. Significant associations were recognized between depression and poor psychosocial factors (high job demands and poor job support). Conclusion: The findings indicated high prevalence of poor mental health status among baristas. Significant associations were documented between depression and workplace perceived psychosocial domains of high job demands and poor job support. This preliminary study can be used as a reference for future research in ensuring the wellness of workers in the Food and Beverage industry.