Workplace stresses

All of us need a certain amount of stress to keep us alert or just to keep us going. How much stress is good and how much is bad is always the question. Because so many individual differences exist for workers, it is nearly impossible to predict what is too much stress or too little stress. Some individuals thrive on stress while others have adverse bodily reactions to stress. No exacting measurement can predict stress levels. Those instruments that are used are often based upon very subjective factors and judgments. 

In the workplace, some factors have been shown to create stress for some workers. They are the lack of control on the job, the failure to fit into the workplace social structure, excessive demands of a job, or severe time expectations. Other job characteristics that contribute to workplace stress are 

The lack of job security has become very real with so much reorganizing and downsizing transpiring in the business community. Career pressures including increased responsibility are viewed as stressors by many workers. Some workers have jobs that are too complex for their talents, abilities, or skills. Last, but by no means unimportant, is the physical environment such as noise, temperature extremes, lighting, space, and odors. Other work environment stressors are 

Employers must take workplace stress seriously when they have warning signs such as 

Worker have little to say about how they do their job Workers who express feelings of being rushed Productivity is decreasing 

These types of stressors may manifest themselves in actual physical disorders such as gastro-intestinal disorders. Most health conditions develop or are exacerbated by stressors. Many workers have complained and filed work-related claims for all types of illnesses where stress is considered a contributing factor in the illness or disability. 

Most workplaces have instituted employee assistance program to assist worker in coping with workplace stress. Employers must assure that supervisors are trained in the effective use of these programs. Worker complaints of stress should not be taken lightly. Stress has been discovered to be the basis of many serious events in recent history. 

United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Subject Index. Internet. April, 1999. Available http //www.osha.gov. United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration. General Industry Digest (OSHA 2201). Washington GPO, 1995. United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Title 29 Code of Federal Regulations 1910. Washington GPO, 1999. United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Title 29 Code of Federal Regulations 1926. Washington GPO, 1999. 

---

Cooper, J. (1999). Managing workplace stress in outpatient nursing. Professional Nurse 14 540-3. 

Corporations tend to see stress as an individual problem due to an employee s lifestyle, psychological makeup, and personality. Workers view stress as result of excessive demands, poor supervision, or conflicting demands. However it is viewed, stress is a serious problem in the modem workplace. Stress-related medical bills and absentee rates cost employers about 150 billion annually (Smith, S.L. Combating Stress, Occupational Hazards, March 1994). Workers who must take time off work because of stress, anxiety, or a related disorder will be off the job for about 20 days. Over 290 billion dollars is spent in the U.S. economy every year relating to compensation claims from on-the-job stress, health insurance, low-productivity, and disability (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010). 

Workplace stress may lead to decreased productivity, higher absenteeism, higher job turnover, poor morale, and stress-related illnesses. Some behavior patterns attributed to workplace stress are ... 

Workplace Stress—Human reaction to threatening situations at work or related to the workplace. 

A nonprofit organization established in 1978 to serve as a clearinghouse for information on all stress related subjects. It maintains a library of information and reprints on all stress-related topics from scientific and lay publications, which can be ordered. A monthly newsletter is issued that reports on the latest advances in stress research and relevant health issues, and it also sponsors an international forum for the exchange of research information. See also Workplace Stress. 

Occupational and environmental medicine is a branch of medical practice specializing in disease and illness related to work and environmental exposures. Occupational health physicians diagnose and treat diseases and illness that may arise from work and exposure to hazardous environments. Such exposure may be a contributory factor in other diseases. Treatment may include various physical and occupational therapies to allow a return to work. Occupational health physicians also promote healthy workplaces and deal with workplace stresses. The professional organization in the United State is the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM). 

Results from the 2010 Healthy People objectives indicated that skin disorder more than met the goals. The goals for oveiexertion, repetitive motion, and workplace stress met approximately 50 percent of the goal. The results for pneumoconiosis and blood lead level were less favorable. Data for noise-induced hearing loss is not yet available. 

Most workplaces have instituted employee assistance programs to assist workers in coping with workplace stress. Other action employers can take include... 

Errors and mistakes can be reduced by the use of instruction, training and relevant information. However, communication can also be a problem, particularly at shift handover times. Environmental and organizational factors, involving workplace stress will also affect error levels. 

However, it is only really in the last twenty years that psychological hazards have been included among the occupational health hazards faced by many workers. This is now the most rapidly expanding area of occupational health and includes topics such as mental health and workplace stress, violence to staff, passive smoking, drugs and alcohol. 

Workplace stress has no specific health and safety regulations but is covered by the duties imposed by the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations to ... 

There have been several successful civil actions for compensatory claims resulting from the effects of workplace stress. However, the Court of Appeal in 2002 redefined the guidelines under which workplace stress compensation claims may be made. Their full guidelines should be consulted and consist of sixteen points. In summary, these guidelines are as follows ... 

Examples of health concerns, developed in the civil tort of negligence and which are receiving increasing attention in the courts and by the HSE, are workplace stress repetitive strain injury (RSI) and (WRULD) and vibration white finger (VWF). ... 

---