What makes people stressed at work? Is school more or less stressful than work? Why?

Define the following:

Work overload Lack of control Role conflict and role ambiguity Environmental factors

Johansson et al. (1978) Compared sawyers (repetitive task, attention and responsibility) with other workers.

Findings: Sawyers in Swedish sawmill (high responsibility/demand) had more illness and higher levels of adrenaline in urine than low risk group (e.g. maintenance workers with more job flexibility). Highest on work days rather than rest days. Conclusions: Shows direct link between job demand (with responsibility), stress hormones and illness.

Workplace stressors as a source of stress demand versus control

Marmot et al. (1997) Aim / Procedure / Findings / Conclusions / Criticisms

To test the job-strain model (stress due to high demand and low control). Comparison made between group with high demand (highgrade workers) and group with low control (low-grade workers).

Aim: what idea were they testing? Procedure: who were the participants? What measures did they use? What was the main outcome looked for? Findings: what was the difference between the groups? What factors were linked to it? Conclusions: what does the study tell us about workplace stress? Criticisms: what are the strengths of this study? Why can t we be sure the conclusion is correct?

Over 7000 high grade (high job demand) and low grade (low job control) Civil Service employees (men and women) rated for cardiovascular disease, coronary risk factors, sense of job control, and amount of social support. Re-assessed 5 years later.

Higher grade civil servants developed fewest cardiovascular problems. Lower grade civil servants had weaker sense of job control and poorest social support. Cardiovascular disease also related to risk factors (smoking and being overweight).

Low control linked to higher stress and cardiovascular disorder, not fully supporting the job strain model because high demand was not linked to illness.

(1) Can explain findings in terms of SES instead of control/demand. Confounding variable due to indirect causes of illness. (2) Biased sample: urban, job-oriented and ambitious.

What factors in school could make teachers and students lives stressful? In a group of 2-3 design an interview to test whether the factors identified in your textbook are significant at Cheney.

Schaubroeck et al. (2001) Findings: Some people had higher immune responses (measured in saliva) in low control situations. Conclusions: Some people view negative work outcomes as being their fault. For these employees, control can actually worsen the negative effects of stress.

Glass et al. (1969) Findings: Physical factor (noise) caused stress (measured by GSR), especially when unpredictable. Conclusions: Lack of predictability (control?) stressful.

Brady (1958) Findings: Executive monkey (who had control over lever) died within a few weeks due to a perforated ulcer; yoked control unaffected despite equal exposure to shocks. Conclusions: Stress (linked to control), not electric shocks, causes ulcer, presumably linked to the immune system. Criticisms: clever monkeys chosen as executives. Bacteria may have caused ulcer.