I have had this Baywood Publications stress book for review for some time and I finally found a window of time to read it. I am intrigued that a United States publisher continues to publish exciting research produced in Australia and Europe as well as the US. Sadly, this arrangement often results in important research bypassing the country of origin.

But what about this workplace stress collection?

Chris Petersen’s first chapter has unfortunately dated as Australia’s industrial relations system has been quickly overhauled in ways that will have unexpected impacts on workplace safety.  However, his findings are relevant elsewhere as other countries interpret Australia’s revolution as economically advantageous (watch out Britain!)

A major benefit of Petersen’s chapter is that it looks at the revolution’s precursors so that others can anticipate the likely outcomes of Australia’s experiment. He finds that “control in the workplace is a major predictor of stress”. (p28) This is the link for further research into the relationship between changes in labour relationships and stress.

By researching the Australian experiment it should be possible to quantify the economic and social costs of major industrial relations changes so that future plans can incorporate these costs or be amended to minimise them.

Lawrence Murphy and Lewis Pepper look at the stressful impact of downsizing and restructuring. They mention early on that research is showing considerable benefits from attending to employees’ sense of fairness. The perceptions of fairness, transparency and justice can “moderate the effects of downsizing on health and productivity”. (p54) Again, downsizing can have minimal negative impacts on employees’ health and productivity if employees are involved in the decision- making. In other terms, they have some degree of control. In OHS practitioner lingo, employees need to be consulted about their workplace.

Murphy and Pepper found from their own studies that

“ downsizing episodes will be associated with measurable effects on survivors’ stress and well-being.” (p69)

They find that planning for the post-downsizing period is vital to achieving a suitable level of productivity and harmony. This period need to be creative and interesting. The researchers also find that this process is improving but, from my perspective, this usually occurs because of previous mistakes.

Jane Ferrie‘s investigation of stress and job status was summarised in the introduction and included the following:

“...morbidity was greater for those in insecure employment thatn for those securely reemployed. Ferrie found that the study supports the relationship between unemployment and health effects. She also found that social support at work, normally considered a buffer for stress and ill-health, suffered as a result of privatization, and that reemployment may be experienced as unsatisfactory.” (p5)

The health needs of the casual worker has been receiving attention in many countries but not often in the context of stress; and I would expect the neo-liberals to argue that the increased hourly cash rate of remuneration should compensate the casualized workforce for any harm occurring. Who said “danger money” was an historical concept?

Wendy McDonald is a well-known Australian ergonomist provides two chapters from that perspective. She “ maintains that the relationship between workload and stress is not well understood, in that high workload on its own does not necessarily ensure high levels of stress.” (p5) and shows that ergonomics is not as narrow a field as as some think by showing some commonality with risk management in her multi- disciplinary approach to hazard assessment and control.

McDonald says

“...the relationship between workload and stress levels is not well understood. It cannot be described purely in terms of number of hours worked: even when total working hours are highly correlated with the quantity of work performed, an increase in hours is not necessarily associated with an increase in stress levels.” (p114)

McDonald provides a useful illustration of a “conceptual framework for identifying determinants of job workload” (p124) which demands discussion in the broader safety management disciplines.

I appreciate that McDonald does not mention “culture” in this chapter as it would have lead to a fruitless distraction but I could see some of her suggestions relating to the safety culture advocates. Her focus on workload though is a much more useful approach.

Her second and complementary chapter looks at “the effects on employees stress levels of work demands related to work rates and performance pacing....”(p139) For those involved in manufacturing processes with a high degree of automation and line speed, there is much to gain in this chapter. McDonald’s research relates to some of the control issues mentioned elsewhere in the collection. Her seven “implications for workplace management” are points that I will remind myself of frequently when consulting in manufacturing plants.

The third section of the collection details case studies and, although the language can still be very academic, this type of book needs to demonstrate a real-world applicability.

John McCormick writes about stress in the medical profession which is one that includes repetitive tasks and occasional extremes and challenges. McCormick suggests that job stress may relate to work expectations that are unrealistic and idealistic.

Chris Petersen balances the McCormick chapter by looking at blue-collar workers. Loss of control as a major stressor is particularly noticeable in this section and Petersen does flag the work intensification that the Australian government’s workplace reforms have generated.

Claire Mayhew discusses her work in researching stress and precarious employment with particular emphasis on the contribution to stress levels from a lack of control or influence in the workplace. Mayhew’s chapter is important because it provides the evidence that supports the tenet that “precariously employed workers carry a disproportionately high burden of injury, ill health, and economically induced stress.”(p215)

She concludes with

“Recent research data unequivocally indicates that the extension of precarious employment results in an intensification of economic pressure that in turn exacerbates both the incidences and severity of stress-induced ill-health conditions.”(p216)

The Australian government would probably say that in a climate of near-full employment they are dealing with a major stressor at the source. Sadly they rarely differentiate between precarious and static employment.

The book rounds off with approaches to managing stress in older workers, caregivers and retirees which clearly indicates that the book is not limited to workplace issues or social issues but a broad combination of all elements. The collection is sub-headed as “A Book of Readings” and this is the best way to approach the book.

Although it was published in 2003, and I have been slack in not reviewing it earlier, I am reassured with the currency of the research, suggestions and findings. As articles elsewhere in this edition of Safety At Work show, workplace stress is a hazard that is taking some time to understand and some time for workplaces to achieve the necessary change. “Work Stress” is a neglected classic which deserves a broader readership which I hope this review assists with.

A review copy of the book was provided to Kevin Jones.

“Work Stress – Studies of the Context, Content and Outcomes of Stress, A Book of Readings”, edited by Chris Petersen. Published in 2003 by Baywood Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 0-89503-280-5

More information on this title is available at http://www.baywood.com/books/previewbook.asp?id=0-89503-280-5 which includes a download of the introduction