To investigate the relationship between occupational stress and depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms among white-collar male workers in an automotive company.

A cross-sectional study involving 286 white-collar male workers was conducted with the Korean Occupational Stress Scales (KOSS) and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) questionnaire.

According to the DASS cut-off value (> or =78 percentile scores), the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms was 57.7%, 37.7% and 42.2%, respectively. By logistic regression analysis, organizational system was the factor most strongly associated with depression (OR=4.83, 95% C.I.=2.43–9.58), while job demand was strongly associated with anxiety (OR=3.21, 95% C.I.=1.77–5.85) and stress (OR=4.66, 95% C.I.=2.53–8.58).

Occupational stress was positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms among white-collar male workers in an automotive company. A prospective study is warranted to delineate the causal relationships between job stress and psychiatric disorders.