This study took place in a Swedish sawmill, which
employed workers in a range of occupations with
varying degress of responsibility and job control
There was a high-risk group
of 10 finishers, whose job
involves little control and high
responsibility and a low-risk
group of 10 cleaners who had
a lot of control and little
responsibility
The finishers had higher
stress hormone levels on
work days than rest days
The finishers had higher stress
hormone levels than the cleaners
The finishers had more
stress related illness
and more absence from
work
Evalutation
Individual differences were not accounted for. It may be
that people more vulnerable to stressors are attracted
to demanding jobs with high responsibility
Marmot et al
Marmot agrees with
Jonhansson that low job control
can lead to workplace stress
but did not find a link between
high responsibility and stress
related illness
They found that
employees with
low job control
were three
times more
likely to have
heart attacks
Marmot
et al
performed
a five year
study of
London
based
civil
servants
Evaluation
Research into
workplace stressors
does not account
for individual
differences
Different research
methods have
produced different
results
Workplace stressors are not
naturally harmful to health. In
fact, the workplace can provide
heightened oppurtunities to
increase self-esteem,
confidence and motivation
Workplace stressors are aspects of the
work environment which have a negative
impact on health