Research on Work-related Stress - European Agency for Safety and

169 Pages·2000·0.59 MB·English

E u r o p e a n A g e n c y f o r S a f e t y a n d H e a l t h a t W o r k
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In order to encourage improvements, t
especially in the working environment, as n
regards the protection of the safety and i
health of workers as provided for in the .
Treaty and successive action programmes u
concerning health and safety at the e
workplace, the aim of the Agency shall be k.
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c Gran Vía 33, E-48009 Bilbao, Spain
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Email: [email protected]
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n Price (excluding VAT) in Luxembourg: EUR 11
a ISBN 92-828-9255-7
e OFFICE FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATION
p OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
ro L-2985 Luxembourg 9 789282 892558 > European Agency
for Safety and Health
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E EN EN at Work
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Research on
Work-related Stress
European Agency
for Safety and Health
at Work
R E S E A R C H
Agreat deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet.
It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int).
Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication.
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2000
ISBN 92-828-9255-7
©European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2000
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Printed in Belgium
E u r o p e a n A g e n c y f o r S a f e t y a n d H e a l t h a t W o r k
Report written by
Tom Cox
Amanda Griffiths
Eusebio Rial-González
Institute of Work, Health & Organisations
University of Nottingham Business School
Jubilee Campus, Wollaton Road
Nottingham NG8 1BB
United Kingdom
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C o n t e n t s
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9
1 TERMS OF REFERENCE 21
2 INTRODUCTION 23
2.1 The Nature of Work-related Stress in a Life Perspective 24
2.2 The Extent of the Problem 27
2.3 Summary 30
3 DEFINING STRESS 31
3.1 Conceptualisation and Frameworks 32
3.1.1 Engineering Approach 32
3.1.2 Physiological Approach 33
3.1.3 Psychological Approach 35
3.2 Interactional Theories of Stress 37
3.2.1 Person-Environment Fit 37
3.2.2 Demand-Control Model 38
3.3 Transactional Definitions 41
3.3.1 Theories of Appraisal and Coping 41
3.4 Summary: frameworks, theories and definitions 44
3.5 Coping 46
3.5.1 Coping Taxonomies 46
3.5.2 Coping as Problem-solving 47
3.6 Individual and Group Differences 49
3.6.1 Type A Behaviour 50
3.6.2 Vulnerable Groups 51
3.6.3 Selection 52
3.7 Summary: individual differences – work ability and coping 53
4 METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES 55
4.1 Measurement 56
4.2 Self-report Data and Triangulation 57
4.3 Summary 60
5 WORK HAZARDS AND STRESS 61
5.1 Physical Hazards 64
5.1.1 Noise 64
5.1.2 Other Physical Factors 65
5.2 Psychosocial Hazards 67
5.2.1 Context to Work 69
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5.2.2 Content of Work 75
5.2.3 New hazards: “The changing world of work” 80
5.3 Animal Studies 82
5.4 Distribution of Psychosocial Work Hazards 84
5.5 Summary 86
6 STRESS AND HEALTH 87
6.1 Effects of Stress: an overview 89
6.2 Psychological and Social Effects 90
6.3 Physiological and Physical Effects 92
6.3.1 Mechanisms of Stress-related Physiopathology 92
6.4 Work-related Psychoimmunology 95
6.4.1 Mechanisms 96
6.4.2 Other Pathologies 96
6.5 Organisational Effects 98
6.6 Summary 99
7 THE ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF WORK-RELATED STRESS 101
7.1 The Assessment of Work-related Stress: the control cycle 102
7.2 A Risk Management Approach to Work-related Stress 106
7.3 The Management of Work-related Stress 109
7.4 Principles of Stress Management 110
7.4.1 Objectives 110
7.4.2 Agency and Target 111
7.5 Common Interventions: Their Effectiveness 112
7.6 Summary 120
8 CONCLUSIONS 121
8.1 Defining Stress 122
8.2 Individual Differences: work ability and coping 123
8.3 Measuring Stress 124
8.4 Stress Management Interventions 125
8.5 Evaluation of Interventions 126
8.6 Individual- and Organisational-level Interventions 128
8.7 Overall Conclusions 130
9 REFERENCES 131
Appendix 1. Project Organisation 167
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E u r o p e a n A g e n c y f o r S a f e t y a n d H e a l t h a t W o r k
FOREWORD
Stress at work is a priority issue of the Eu- Thematic Network Group on Research -
ropean Agency for Safety and Health at Work and Health, to the European Com-
Work. As part of the Agency’s 1999 pro- mission, to the European social partners
gramme, an information project was and to other experts on the topic. The draft
launched in order to collect, evaluate and Report was also presented at a Joint Con-
review research data on work-related sensus Workshop organised by the Nation-
stress and its causes, and on intervention al Institute of Occupational Health
studies. (Denmark) and the Institute of Work, Health
and Organisations (United Kingdom) in
The Institute of Work, Health and Organi- Copenhagen on 25th–26th October 1999.
sations at the University of Nottingham, Following the consultation process, the final
United Kingdom, was appointed to carry report was prepared and published.
out this project within the framework of
The European Agency wishes to thank the
the Topic Centre on Research – Work and
authors for their comprehensive work. The
Health. This report on “Research on Work-
Agency wishes to thank also the partici-
related Stress” has been prepared by Pro-
pants in the Copenhagen workshop and
fessor Tom Cox CBE, Dr. Amanda Griffiths
all those individuals otherwise involved in
and Mr. Eusebio Rial-González from that
the review process.
Institute.
May 2000
A special consultation process was conduct-
ed in the autumn of 1999 by sending the European Agency for Safety and Health at
draft manuscript to the members of the Work
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E u r o p e a n A g e n c y f o r S a f e t y a n d H e a l t h a t W o r k
particular on the utility of the ‘control cy-
cle’ and problem-solving approaches to
the management of stress at work.
Introduction
Over the past three decades, there has
been a growing belief in all sectors of em-
ployment and in government that the ex-
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
perience of stress at work has undesirable
consequences for the health and safety of
individuals and for the health of their or-
ganisations. This belief has been reflected
both in public and media interest and in in-
creasing concern voiced by the trades
unions, and professional and scientific
bodies.
There are three basic questions that need
to be answered:
The European Agency for Safety and
(1) What is the nature of stress at work?
Health at Work commissioned this Status
(2) Does work stress affect health and
Report on stress at work within the frame-
well-being and, if so, how? and
work of the Topic Centre on Research –
(3) What are the implications of existing
Work and Health (TC/WH). The Report
research for the management of work-
considers early and contemporary scientif-
related stress?
ic studies on the nature of stress at work,
on its effects on health and on the way in
This Report addresses these questions af-
which such knowledge is being applied in
ter having briefly examined the difficulties
attempts to manage this problem. The
involved in placing work stress in the con-
Topic Centre on Good Practice – Stress at
text of other life stressors.
Work (TC/GP-ST) collects and evaluates
good practice information on stress at
The Extent of the Problem
work both within the EU and beyond.
Consequently, this Report deals with the Determining the extent of stress-related
research evidence regarding the assess- health problems at work is not an easy
ment and management of stress at work: task. Most countries routinely collect data
it does not review stress management in on ill-health retirements, work days lost
practice. However, it discusses the concep- due to sickness, injury and disability, etc.
tual frameworks implied in the practice of However, such data are imprecise and not
stress management at work and in current reliable in terms of describing trends due
health and safety legislation, focusing in to changes in, for example, the recording
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