Perception on Work Environment Stress by Cooks in Commercial Kitchens

The workplace entails an environment in which the worker performs his work while an effective workplace is an environment where results can be achieved as expected by management. The air quality in the commercial kitchens was found to be below the satisfaction level by majority of the respondents (59 %). Among them catering centre had very poor air quality. In the present study 62.2 per cent have said that the lighting levels are insufficient to perform the work and are often experiencing strain and irritation in their eyes. Among the three cooking environments catering centres (26.6 %) were found to have low lighting levels followed by restaurants (18.8 %). It was found that 42 per cent of the cooks are not comfortable with the noise levels at their work place of which 20 per cent restaurant cooks and 15.5 per cent catering centre cooks revealed that communicating with others requires effort due to noise in the kitchens and is very bothering leading to irritation and distraction at work. Fifty six per cent of the cooks of which 22.2 per cent representing catering centre and 20 per cent from restaurant and fast food centres respectively suffer from heat strain due to direct exposure to heat. Cleanliness was not given due importance in the selected commercial kitchens.