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Assessment of the Relationship between Job Demand, Work Stress and Fatigue among Railway Workers in Warri-Itakpe Train Service, Nigeria

Author

Listed:
  • Kelvin Odeyovwi Ayobi

    (Sports University of Nigeria, Idumuje Ugboko, Delta State)

  • Christopher Onosemuode

    (Federal University of Petroleum Resources, P.M.B. 1221, Effurun, Delta State)

  • Tarela Juliet Ike

    (Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom)

  • Evangelyn Ebi Ayobi

    (Manchester Global Foundation, London, United Kingdom)

  • Peremi Richmond Ike

    (Sports University of Nigeria, Idumuje Ugboko, Delta State)

  • Idowu Adigun Amusa

    (Department of Cartography and GIS, Federal School of Surveying, Oyo)

Abstract

Occupational fatigue in the railway industry is a multidimensional problem deeply embedded in the psychosocial architecture of the working environment. Among the psychosocial risk factors most consistently linked to fatigue, job demand and work stress occupy a central position. In the Nigerian context, the rapid expansion of rail infrastructure typified by the inauguration of the Warri-Itakpe Train Service (WITS) in 2020 has introduced a burgeoning workforce into an operationally demanding environment where the management of psychosocial risks remains nascent. Railway workers face heavy and irregular workloads, shift schedules, vigilance-intensive tasks, and limited job control, all of which collectively elevate the risk of occupational fatigue and its attendant consequences for productivity and rail safety. This study investigated the relationship between job demand, work stress, and occupational fatigue among railway workers in the Warri-Itakpe Train Service of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), while contextualising these associations within the broader spectrum of psychosocial health risk factors. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was employed. Using Slovin's formula at a 5% margin of error, a sample of 305 railway workers was recruited from 12 stations within the Warri-Itakpe Train Service using multi-stage sampling. Data were collected with the Smith Wellbeing Survey (SWELL), a validated 27-item instrument grounded in the Wellbeing Process Questionnaire (WPQ). The Demands, Resources, and Individual Effects (DRIVE) model guided conceptual framing. Statistical analyses included weighted averages, relative risk (RR), absolute risk (AR), Pearson's correlation, Chi-square tests, and logistic regression, all executed in SPSS Version 25.0. Job demand and work stress were the two strongest psychosocial predictors of occupational fatigue across the entire study population. Job demand recorded the highest relative risk of all 15 health risk factors assessed (RR = 7.71; AR = 89%; r = 0.81, p

Suggested Citation

  • Kelvin Odeyovwi Ayobi & Christopher Onosemuode & Tarela Juliet Ike & Evangelyn Ebi Ayobi & Peremi Richmond Ike & Idowu Adigun Amusa, 2026. "Assessment of the Relationship between Job Demand, Work Stress and Fatigue among Railway Workers in Warri-Itakpe Train Service, Nigeria," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science (IJRIAS), vol. 11(5), pages 599-609, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bjf:journl:v:11:y:2026:i:5:p:599-609
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cuiyan Wang & Riyu Pan & Xiaoyang Wan & Yilin Tan & Linkang Xu & Cyrus S. Ho & Roger C. Ho, 2020. "Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-25, March.
    2. Beauregard, T. Alexandra & Henry, Lesley C., 2009. "Making the link between work-life balance practices and organizational performance," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 25224, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
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