Source
Occupational and Environmental Health. Recognizing and Preventing Disease and Injury, 5th Edition. Levy BS, Wegman DH, Baron SL, Sokas RK, eds., Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005 Nov; :382-396
Abstract
Nowhere are the rising costs of work-related chronic ill-health more evident than in the area of occupational stress. For example, claims for stress-related illnesses in California increased by approximately 560 percent over a 6-year period, inflating costs for individuals, organizations, and society at large. Disability due to job stress alone - without evidence of any physical injury or illness - is now a compensable condition in about one-half of U.S. states. Despite increased recognition by the legal, medical, and insurance communities, for many people - even scientists - stress remains an intuitively understandable yet nebulous construct, implying numerous events and processes. Although there are many definitions of job stress, it can be most simply viewed as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. tress-related responses are ubiquitous in human society. This chapter focuses specifically on work-related stress. Other important sources of stress that impact individuals and communities include unemployment, poverty, environmental exposure, racial and ethnic discrimination, violence, and other factors that are beyond the scope of this chapter.