Intervention In Occupational Stress

Yannis Ritsos (1909-1990), one of Greece's great poets, was nine times nominated for the Nobel Prize. In Secret gives the reader David Harsent's free versions, "re-imaginings," "adaptations"--a precious few of Yannis Ritsos' short lyrics. His books were publicly burned and he spent many years in prison or in island detention camps. Ritsos sometimes wrote at near-epic length, but much of his work consists of short lyrics: story-fragments, tiny psychodramas. "Harsent has an unmistakable, endlessly adaptable style, able to hit every tone on the scale, from leer to lament . . . Pain and loss light us through the darkness." -- From The Guardian review of Harsent's Night by Frances Leviston

This book brings together a number of experts in the field of organizational interventions for stress and well-being, and discusses the importance of process and context issues to the success or failure of such interventions. The book explores how context and process can be incorporated into program evaluation, providing examples of how this can be done, and offers insights that aim to improve working life. Although there is a substantial body of research supporting a causal relationship between working conditions and employee stress and well-being, information on how to develop effective strategies to reduce or eliminate psychosocial risks in the workplace is much more scarce, ambiguous and inconclusive. Indeed, researchers in this field have so far attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of organizational interventions to improve workers’ health and well-being, but little attention has been paid to the strategies and processes likely to enhance or undermine interventions. The focus of this volume will help to overcome this qualitative-quantitative divide. This book discusses conceptual developments, practical applications, and methodological issues in the field. As such it is suitable for students, practitioners and researchers in the fields of organizational psychology and clinical psychology, as well as human resources management, health & safety, medicine, occupational health, risk management and public health.

1. Introduction. 1.1. Organization of report; 1.2. Preparation of the report -- 2. Conceptual framework. 2.1. Occupational stress and mental health; 2.2. Stressors (stress agents); 2.3. Stress; 2.4. Strain; 2.5. Moderators -- 3. Method: literature search. 3.1. Analysis -- 4. Results of literature search. 4.1. Frameworks; 4.2. Process frameworks; 4.3. Content frameworks; 4.4. Evidence-based framework; 4.5. Effectiveness of intervention strategies -- 5. Recommendations and conclusions. 5.1. Research needed; 5.2. Research measurement and design; 5.3. Practice issues for organizations; 5.4. Issues for research excellence -- References -- Appendix I: Symposium participants.

Providing an overview of researchers' and practitioners’ “confessions” on the fascinating phenomenon of failed or derailed organizational health and well-being interventions and contextualizing these confessions is the aim of this innovative volume. Organizational intervention failures, paradoxes and unexpected consequences can offer a lot of rich and extremely useful practical lessons on intervention design and implementation and possibly on the design of future research on organizational interventions. This volume presents lessons learned from derailed interventions and provides possible solutions to those tasked with implementing interventions. It provides an open, practical and solutions-focused account of researchers' and practitioners' experiences in implementing organizational interventions for health and well-being.

Downsizing, reorganization, global competition, and constantly changing technology are some of the sources for job stress in the US workforce. Here, 27 empirical studies present models for intervening both at the individual level and the organizational and policy level. They investigate topics including stress management training, the promotion of coping strategies among unemployed workers, post-traumatic stress, and policy and legislation issues such as workers' compensation claims. This is the third of three books derived from a 1992 national conference titled Stress in the '90s: A Changing Workforce in a Changing Workplace. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Workers in the service industry face unique types and levels of stress, and this problem is worsening. Many workers and organizations are now recognizing work stress as a significant personal and organizational cost, and seeing the need to evaluate a range of organizational issues that present psychosocial hazards to the workers. Occupation

1. Introduction. 1.1. Organization of report; 1.2. Preparation of the report -- 2. Conceptual framework. 2.1. Occupational stress and mental health; 2.2. Stressors (stress agents); 2.3. Stress; 2.4. Strain; 2.5. Moderators -- 3. Method: literature search. 3.1. Analysis -- 4. Results of literature search. 4.1. Frameworks; 4.2. Process frameworks; 4.3. Content frameworks; 4.4. Evidence-based framework; 4.5. Effectiveness of intervention strategies -- 5. Recommendations and conclusions. 5.1. Research needed; 5.2. Research measurement and design; 5.3. Practice issues for organizations; 5.4. Issues for research excellence -- References -- Appendix I: Symposium participants.

Overview / Pamela L. Perrewé, Daniel C. Ganster -- Performance impacts of appraisal and coping with stress in workplace settings : the role of affect and emotional intelligence / Neal M. Ashkanasy, Claire E. Ashton-James, Peter J. Jordan -- The impact of display rules and emotional labor on psychological well-being at work / Russell Cropanzano, Howard M. Weiss, Steven M. Elias -- Areas of worklife : a structured approach to organizational predictors of job burnout / Michael P. Leiter, Christina Maslach -- Feeling vigorous at work? The construct of vigor and the study of positive affect in organizations / Arie Shirom -- Social influence and job stress : direct, intervening, and non-linear effects / Wayne A. Hochwarter -- Beyond self-report : using observational, physiological, and situation-based measures in research on occupational stress / Norbert K. Semmer, Simone Grebner, Achim Elfering -- Eustress : an elusive construct, an engaging pursuit / Debra L. Nelson, Bret L. Simmons -- Democracy at work and its relationship to health / Töres Theorell -- Executives : engines for positive stress / James Campbell Quick, David Mack, Joanne H. Gavin, Cary L. Cooper, Jonathan D. Quick.