STRESS AT WORK

Overview

Primary themes in the NIOSH job stress research program:

1. To better understand the influence of what are commonly-termed "work organization" or "psychosocial" factors on stress, illness, and injury
2. To identify ways to redesign jobs to create safer and healthier workplaces

Examples of research topics at NIOSH within these two broad themes:

• Characteristics of healthy work organizations
• Work organization interventions to promote safe and healthy working conditions
• Surveillance of the changing nature of work
• Work organization interventions to reduce musculoskeletal disorders among office operators
• Work schedule designs to protect the health and well-being of workers
• The effects of new organizational policies and practices on worker health and safety
• Changing worker demographics (race/ethnicity, gender, and age) and worker safety and health
• Work organization, cardiovascular disease, and depression
• Psychological violence in the workplace

In addition, the NIOSH program also includes:

• Sponsorship of conferences on work, stress and health
• Publication of educational documents on work, stress, and health

Job Stress and NORA

In 1996, NIOSH established an interdisciplinary team of researchers and practitioners from industry, labor, and academia to develop a national research agenda on the "organization of work." Work organization refers to management and supervisory practices, to production processes, and to their influence on the way work is performed. (In this sense, the study of work organization and health subsumes the field of job stress.) This initiative is part of a broader, collaborative effort by NIOSH external partners to spearhead a "National Occupational Research Agenda" (NORA) to guide occupational safety and health research into the future, not only for NIOSH, but for the entire U.S. occupational safety and health community. During its tenure, the organization of work team has conferred with academic, industry, and labor stakeholders to identify essential research and other requirements to better understand how work organization is changing, the safety and health implications of these changes, and prevention measures. This effort culminated in the NIOSH report " The Changing Organization of Work and the Safety and Health of Working People ."

NIOSHTIC-2 Search

NIOSHTIC-2 is a searchable bibliographic database of occupational safety and health publications, documents, grant reports, and journal articles supported in whole or in part by NIOSH.
NIOSHTIC-2 search results on job stress

NIOSH Books, Reports, and Videos about Stress

Working with Stress Video

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2003-114d
A brief introduction to work stress issues for the worker and manager. Topics include the causes of job stress, physical and psychological effects, and what can be done to minimize job stress. The video is available in both DVD and VHS formats, and can also be viewed online. (17 minutes)

Stress... At Work Booklet

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 99-101 (1999)
This booklet highlights knowledge about the causes of stress at work and outlines steps that can be taken to prevent job stress.

The Changing Organization of Work... NORA Report

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2002-116 (April 2002)
This report was developed as the first attempt in the United States to develop a comprehensive research agenda to investigate and reduce occupational safety and health risks associated with the changing organization of work. Four areas of research and development are targeted in the agenda.

Worker Health Chartbook 2004: Anxiety, Stress, and Neurotic Disorders
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2004-146 (2004)
Provides data for anxiety and stress disorders based on magnitude and trend, age, sex race/ethnicity, severity, occupation, and industry.

Other NIOSH Pages on Stress

• Work Organization and Stress-related Disorders Program Portfolio
• NIOSH Occupational Health Psychology
• NIOSH Quality of Worklife Questionnaire
• Organization of Work: Measurement Tools for Research and Practice
• Work Schedules: Shift Work and Long Work Hours
• Traumatic Incident Stress
• Occupational Heart Disease