Abstract
Theoretical models of occupational stress are important because they suggest a focus for intervention, and inform practice. The gap between research and practice was exposed most recently by Burke (1993) claiming “little awareness of research findings by practitioners (managers, consultants, clinicians), little intervention activity being undertaken at the organizational level, little research being undertaken to determine the effectiveness of individual level interventions, and only modest use of work research findings for intervention and policy development” (p. 85). This paper discusses the issue of intervention, and examines values, assumptions and the politics of applied research. A critical review of the evaluation studies of individual vs. organizational level interventions is undertaken and finally the problem of occupational stress as a national and international issue is considered.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allinson T., Cooper, C. L., & Reynolds, P. (1989). Stress counselling in the workplace, the post office experience.The Psychologist, 384–388.
Billings, A. G., & Moos, R. H. (1984). Coping, stress and social resources among adults with unipolar depression.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 877–891.
Burke, R. J. (1993). Organizational-level interventions to reduce occupational stressors.Work and Stress, 7, 77–87.
Cooper, C. (1993). Paper presented at the American Psychological Association-National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Conference on Stress in the '90s: A Changing Workforce in a Changing Workplace, Washington.
Cooper, C. (1995). The Costs and Benefits of Workplace Stress Interventions. Paper presented at the Fifth International Conference on Stress at the Workplace: Health and Productivity, Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands.
Cox, T., Leather, P., & Cox, S. (1990). Stress, health, and organisations.Occupational Health Review, 23, 13–18.
De Frank, R. S., & Cooper, C. L. (1989). Worksite stress management interventions: Their effectiveness and conceptualization.Journal of Managerial Psychology, 2, 4–10.
Dewe, P. (1989). Developing stress management programs: What can we learn from recent research?Journal of Occupational Health and Safety, 6, 493–499.
Firth, J., & Shapiro, D. A. (1986). An evaluation of psychotherapy for job-related distress.Journal of Occupational Psychology, 59, 111–119.
Folkman, S., Lazarus, R. S., Dunkel-Schetter, C., Delongis, A., & Gruen, R. J. (1986). Dynamics of a stressful encounter: Cognitive appraisal, coping, and encounter outcomes.Journal of Personal and Social Psychology, 50, 992–1003.
Fried, Y. (1993). Integrating domains of work stress and industrial relations: Introduction and overview.Journal of Organizational Behaviro, 14, 397–399.
Freudenheim, M. (1987). Business and health.New York Times, p. 2.
Ganster, D. (1993). Paper presented at the American Psychological Association-National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Conference on Stress in the '90s: A Changing Workforce in a Changing Workplace. Washington.
Ganster, D. C., Mayes, B. T., Sime, W. E., & Tharp, G. D. (1982). Managing occupational stress: A field experiment.Journal of Applied Psychology, 67, 533–542.
Grippa, A. J., & Durbin, D. (1986). Worker's compensation occupational disease claims.National Council on Compensation Injury Digest, 2, 15–23.
Handy, J. A. (1988). Theoretical and methodological problems within occupational stress and bumout research.Human Relations, 5, 351–369.
Hurrell, J. J. (1989). An overview of organizational stress and health. In L. R. Murphy & T. F. Schoenborn (Eds.).Stress management in work settings (pp. 31–43). New York: Praeger.
Ilgen, D. R. (1990). Health issues at work: Opportunities for industrial/organizational psychology.American Psychologist, 45, 273–283.
Israel, B., & Schurman, S. (1993). Paper presented at the American Psychological Association-National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Conference on Stress in the '90s: A Changing Workforce in a Changing Workplace. Washington.
Ivancevich, J. M., & Matteson, M. T. (1987). Organizational level stress management interventions: A review and recommendations. In J. M. Ivancevich & D. C. Ganster (Eds.),Job Stress: From theory to suggestion (pp. 229–248). New York: Howarth Press.
Ivancevich, J. M., & Matteson, M. T. (1990).Organizational behaviour and management (2nd ed.). New York: BPI/Irwin.
Jackson, S. E. (1983). Participation in decision making as a strategy for reducing job-related strain.Journal of Applied Psychology, 68, 3–19.
Karasek, R. A. (1979). Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: Implications for job redesign.Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 285–308.
Karasek, R. A. (1993). Paper presented at the American Psychological Association-National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Conference on Stress in the '90s: A Changing Workforce in a Changing Workplace. Washington.
Karasek, R. A., & Theorell, T. (1990).Healthy work: Stress, productivity and the reconstruction of working life. New York: Basic Books.
Karasek, R. A., Baker, D., Marxer, F., Ahlbom, A., & Theorell, T. (1981). Job decision latitude, job demands, and cardiovascular disease: A prospective study of Swedish men.American Journal of Public Health, 71, 694–705.
Keita, G. P., & Jones, J. M. (1990). Reducing adverse reaction to stress in the workplace: Psychology's expanding role.American Psychologist, 45, 1137–1141.
Kenny, D. T. (1995).Occupational Rehabilitation in New South Wales. Sydney: Work and Rehabilitation Research Unit.
Landsbergis, P. L. (1988). Occupational stress among health care workers: A test of the job demands-control model.Journal of Organizational Behavior, 9, 217–239.
Levi, L. (1990). Occupational stress: Spice of life or kiss of death?American Psychologist, 45, 1142–1145.
Levi, L. (1995). Global Review and State of the Art Approaches in Stress Management and Prevention. Paper presented at the Fifth International Conference on Stress at the Workplace: Health and Productivity, Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands.
Lewin, K. (1951).Field theory in social science. New York: Harper Row.
Logie, R. (1995). The Use of a Systemic Model in an Intervention for Occupational Stress. Paper presented at the Fifth International Conference on Stress at the Workplace: Health and Productivity, Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands.
Luthans, F., & Waldersee, R. (1989). What do we really know about EAPs?Human Resource Management, 28, 385–401.
Meichenbaum, D. (1977).Cognitive-behaviour modification: An integrative approach. New York: Plenum.
Mitchell, J. (1994). Organisational Culture and Stress: Developing Organisation-Specific Strategies. Paper presented at the Australian Psychological Society—National Occupational Stress Conference, Stress and Well-Being at Work, Gold Coast, Australia.
Morgan, D. L. (1988).Focus groups as qualitative research. Newbury Park: Sage.
Murphy, L. R. (1987). A review of organizational stress management research: Methodological considerations. In J. M. Ivancevich & D. C. Ganster (Eds.),Job stress: From theory to suggestion (pp. 215–227). New York: Howarth Press.
Murphy, L. R. (1988). Workplace interventions for stress reduction and prevention. In C. L. Cooper & R. Payne (Eds.),Causes, coping and consequences of stress at work (pp. 301–339). London: Wiley.
Neale, M. S., Singer, J., Schwartz, G. E., & Schwartz, J. (1982).Conflicting Prespectives on Stress Reduction in Occupational Settings: A Systems Approach to Their Resolution. Report to NIOSH on P. O. No. 82-1058, Cincinatti, OH.
Offerman, L. R., & Gowing, M. K. (1990). Organizations of the future: Changes and challenges.American Psychologist, 45, 95–108.
Oskamp, S. (1984).Applied social psychology. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Otto, R. (1985). Health damage through work stress: Is “stress management” the answer?New Doctor, 35, 13–15.
Parkes, K. R. (1990). Coping, negative affectivity, and the work environment: Additive and interactive predictors of mental health.Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 399–409.
Pearlin, L. I., & Schooler, C. (1978). The structure of coping.Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 19, 2–21.
Pierce, J. L., & Newstrom, J. W. (1983). The design of flexible work schedules and employee responses: relationships and processes.Journal of Occupational Behavior, 4, 247–262.
Rapaport, R. N. (1970). Three dilemmas of action research.Humann Relations, 23, 499–513.
Rossi, P. H., & Freeman, H. E. (1989).Evaluation: A systematic approach. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Sauter, S. L., Murphy, L. R., & Hurrell, Jr., J. J. (1990). Prevention of work-related psychological disorders.American Psychologist, 45, 1146–1158.
Scheflen, K. C., Lawler, E. E., & Hackman, J. R. (1971). Long-term impact of employee participation in the development of pay incentive plans: A field experiment revisited.Journal of Applied Psychology, 55, 182–186.
Shinn, M., Rosario, M., Morch, H., & Chestnut, D. E. (1984). Coping with job stress and burnout in the human services.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 864–876.
Spector, P. E. (1986). Perceived control by employees: A meta-analysis of studies concerning autonomy and participation in decision making.Human Relations, 39, 1005–1016.
Spillane, R. (1986). Overview of research developments in occupational stress, In M. G. Patrickson (Ed.),Readings in organizational behaviour (pp. 494–529). South Australia: Techsearch.
Terborg, J. R. (1988). The organization as a context for health promotion. In S. Spacapan & S. Oskamp (Eds.),The social psychology of health (pp. 129–174). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Terry, D. (1991). Coping resources and situational appraisals as predictors of coping behaviou.Personality and Individual Differences, 12, 1031–1047.
Thompson, P., & McHugh, D. (1990).Work organisations: A critical introduction. London: Macmillan.
Toohey, J. (1992).Quality of working life project: A study of occupational stress in Commonwealth Government Agencies. Comcare Australia.
Toohey, J. (1994). Managing the Stress Phenomenon at Work. Paper presented at the Australian Psychological Society—National Occupational Stress Conference: Stress and Well-Being at Work, Gold Coast, Australia.
Wall, T. D., & Clegg, C. W. (1981). A longitudinal study of group work redesign.Journal of Occupational Behavior, 2, 31–49.
Wheeler, S., & Lyon, D. (1992). Employee benefits for the employer's benefit: How companies respond to employee stress.Personnel Review, 21, 47–65.
Whyte, W. F. (1994).Participatory action research. Newbury Park: Sage.
Williamson, A. (1994). Stress in the Workplace: National Problem, National Approaches. Paper presented at the Australian Psychological Society—National Occupational Stress Conference: Stress and Well-Being at Work, Gold Coast, Australia.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dollard, M.F., Winefield, A.H. Managing occupational stress: A national and international perspective. Int J Stress Manage 3, 69–83 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01857716
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01857716