Occupational Health Psychology

Historical Roots

In many respects, OHP grew out of efforts to understand, and later to remediate, the impact of the widespread application of Frederick Taylor's management principles on workers in both the United States and Europe. Nearly a century ago, Taylor argued that industrial productivity can be improved by simplifying, compartmentalizing, and standardizing worker tasks. Thinking about work was considered the domain of managers, while doing the work (without thinking) was the role of the mass of workers. At its most extreme, the Taylor approach aims to make workers interchangeable and the emotional responses or perceptions of workers are considered irrelevant.

Although the Taylor approach has always had detractors, particularly among organized labor, it wasn't until the 1960s that researchers began to investigate the links between one's work life and one's physical and emotional health. Much of this seminal research was conducted in Europe, particularly in Scandinavian countries. Prominent among these efforts were Robert Karasek's studies demonstrating that workers who experience high job demands and have low decision-making latitude tend to experience poorer mental health and are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Researchers began focusing on ways to redesign jobs to improve worker health and satisfaction. Others investigated the impact of un- and/or underemployment on workers. Contrary to the precepts of the Taylor management approach, it is now recognized that many of the same factors associated with physical and mental health (stimulation, variety, task control, autonomy, etc.) are also associated with higher levels of job performance.

In the United States, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has been a leader in researching work-related stress. Although occupational safety and health often seems to concern itself only with traumatic injuries and toxic exposures, it is significant that the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 that created NIOSH specifically recognized the need to investigate the role of psychological factors related to occupational safety and health. In 1990, NIOSH partnered with the American Psychological Association (APA) to fund the initial development of OHP curriculum at 12 universities in the United States. This partnership also led to a series of conferences on topics related to work organization and work-related stress. Recently, the newly formed Society for Occupational Health Psychology joined NIOSH and APA as a conference sponsor and plans [Page 1586]have been formalized for future conferences to be held biennially. In 1996, the partnership between NIOSH and APA also gave birth to the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.

Areas of Emphasis

As was discussed earlier, OHP can trace its roots to investigations of the impact of Taylor management principles on the emotional and physical health of workers. However, this early focus has broadened considerably in the last 25 years. During this time, there have been significant changes in the structure of work in both the United States and Europe. Many manufacturing jobs were lost and economies shifted toward service jobs. In the last 2 decades, corporate mergers and downsizing efforts left many workers needing to switch employment, if not careers, often accepting lower incomes, in their 40s and 50s—ages that previously were associated with stable employment and peak earning potential. Companies have moved away from making long-term commitments to employees, relying instead upon temporary workers and/or contractors. Correspondingly, there has been an increase in the number of self-employed people. All of these changes were accompanied by stress, both for workers losing or changing jobs and for those retaining employment, but needing to adapt to new contingencies.

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