Occupational Stress

Occupational stress is a broad concept that has been defined in a variety of ways in the popular and professional literature. It is generally agreed that occupational stress consists of the harmful physical and psychological consequences to individuals that result when an imbalance exists between demands of the work environment and individual needs, abilities, and resources. Most people experience some level of occupational stress on occasion, and it is generally believed that such short-lived, episodic experiences do not pose serious or lasting harm to the individual. However, when a significant level of occupational stress persists for an extended period of time, potentially serious physical and psychological harm may occur. Although occupational stress is most often considered to be undesirable, the notion of good stress, also referred to as eustress, has been used to describe stress that motivates and energizes the worker to learn new skills and perform more effectively, without the debilitating impact typically associated with occupational stress. In the case of good stress, the result of having successfully mastered the challenge posed by the stressful condition is a sense of personal satisfaction and achievement.

Occupational stress in the American workplace is widespread and appears to be growing. When asked about primary sources of stress in their lives, a substantial number of people point to conditions in their work environments such as long hours, workload, poor communication, management problems, and lack of support, to name several examples. Recent surveys of workers suggest that as many as 80% of workers experience stress in their work, and 40% of respondents find their work to be very or extremely stressful. Occupational stress poses a very real threat to the quality of life for employees within an organization as well as a serious threat to the productivity and profitability of the organization itself.