Occupational Stress and Nutritional Status among Daily Wage Workers in Small-Scale Industries of India

Background: Daily wage workers in small-scale industries frequently face job insecurity, financial stress, and substandard working conditions, which contribute to occupational stress and inadequate nutrition. Odisha reports a high prevalence of undernutrition, with many adults having a body mass index (BMI) below 18.5. Understanding stress and nutritional patterns among these workers is vital for designing nursing-led workplace health interventions. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 randomly selected daily wage workers from two small-scale industries in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and anthropometric measurements for BMI assessment. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20 with descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, Spearman’s correlation, and binary logistic regression. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Among the participants, 55.7% reported moderate stress, 21.0% reported high stress, and 23.3% reported low stress. Regarding nutritional status, 60.0% had a normal BMI, 26.3% were underweight, 10.7% were overweight, and 3.0% were obese. Stress and nutritional status were weakly negatively correlated (r = − 0.06, p = 0.28). Stress was significantly associated with age, gender, marital status, job duration, dependents, and salary, while nutritional status showed no significant associations with sociodemographic variables. Conclusions: Daily wage workers experience substantial occupational stress and varying nutritional status. Integrating nursing-led workplace interventions that focus on stress reduction, nutrition education, and routine health assessments could enhance their overall well-being and productivity.