Objective  To analyze occupational stress and its influencing factors among working populations in urban China.

  Methods  Employees aged 18 – 65 years were selected from 5 types of workplaces in Beijing, Xiamen, Quanzhou and Hohhot using stratified cluster sampling and surveyed with a questionnaire between March and October 2015.

  Results  For the 3 553 employees with valid responses, the average age was 34.2 ± 9.7 years; 62.3 % (2 213/3 553) of the participants had high degree of occupational stress, and there was a significant difference in the proportions of the occupational stress among the participants from the 5 types of workplace (χ² = 100.19, P < 0.01). The results of analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that there were significant differences in job demand scores among the employees categorized by gender, age, education, job type, income, household registration, occupational group, type of contract, work shift, and working condition (all P < 0.05); there were significant differences in job control scores among employees categorized by age, education, job type, marital status, household registration, occupational group, and working condition (all P < 0.05); and there were significant differences in social support scores among employees categorized by age, education, job type, income, household registration, occupational group, type of contract, working hours, and working condition (all P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis indicated that employees who were female (odds ratio OR = 1.20, 95 % confidence interval 95 % CI:1.03 – 1.38), with education of college and above (OR = 2.14, 95 % CI:1.73 – 2.65), being a administrator (OR = 1.37, 95 % CI:1.09 – 1.71), having working hours of > 8 hours/per day (OR = 1.24, 95 % CI:1.06 – 1.47), and experiencing unfavorable working condition (OR = 1.48, 95 % CI:1.28 – 1.71) were more likely to have occupational stress.

  Conclusion  The occupational stress is high and mainly influenced by gender, education, occupational group, working hours, and unfavorable working condition among urban working population in China. Interventions should be taken on individual and organizational level to reduce the occupational stress.