354 Journal of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies N. 4 / 2014 According to the reference bibliography, there are six sources of stress that may present risks of a psychosocial nature to workers, these are: 1. The “intrinsic aspects of work”, which are connected to the content of employment; such as, for instance, being overworked or long working days. In a study of Spanish soldiers in the Spanish army carried out by Bardera in 2010, it was found that the specific skills required by a position were directly related to absenteeism, job satisfaction, risk perception and the accident rate. 2. “Role stressors” are linked to ambiguity and role conflict that is to say when tasks to be carried out by the employee are not clear or if they contradict one another. Osca et al. found that the soldiers who clearly understood tasks assigned to them suffered less from emotional exhaustion and uneasiness but showed higher personal and professional self-fulfilment, the same results having previously been obtained by Bliese and Castro when studying NATO soldiers. 3. “Workplace relationships” are a highly relevant stressor in military professions, although they can also represent a protecting factor. In this regard, Stetz, Stetz and Bliese studied the effect that the social support of colleagues and superiors had on job satisfaction and welfare in “the military police” and found that, although social support buffers stress well, it does not function in the same way in all situations or for all subjects. 4. “Professional development” can be a source of stress for a variety of reasons, such as professional insecurity or role incongruity. There are few studies on the impact of these stressors on military personnel. In research carried out a few years ago with Spanish soldiers, career-related variables, far from being a stressor, were a source of professional motivation5 although it is true that the study was conducted with staff regulations and rules for promotion in place that are no longer in force. 5. Stressors arising from the “organizational climate” would include aspects such as communication and relationships. López-Araujo, Osca and Peiró established the link between these work environment stressors and the job satisfaction of Spanish soldiers. 6. Finally, with regard to “work/family life” stressors, the most recent research has highlighted that these types of variables are very closely linked to socio- economic aspects. Although regulations can buffer these types of stressors, in military contexts 5 BARDERA, Pilar: Antecedentes psicosociales en la salud laboral de militares españoles Psychosocial Background in the Occupational Health of Spanish Military Personnel, doctoral thesis, Madrid: UNED, 2010.
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