[Author’s Name]
[Institution’s Name]
Essay on Stress in the workplace
Stress is a serious and widespread problem in the workplace. As with substance abuse, an organization should have procedures in place to identify workers who are victims of stress and provide an effective intervention program. The implementation of stress mitigation and personal wellness programs should also be considered by employers. Workplace stress has reached epidemic proportions in the United States again. It began in the 1950s with the rat race. In the 1970s, enough people worried about the harmful effects of stress that Type A Behavior and Your Heart became a best seller. In the 1980s, according to Time magazine, the epidemic was job stress. And in the 1990s, the United Nations labeled job stress the 20th century disease.
A recent Japanese study showed that people who worked more than 11 hours a day had more than twice the rate of acute myocardial infarction than those who worked for only seven to nine hours( Moodie, R. & Borthwick, C. 1999). Chronic stress brings about high blood pressure and releases concentrated energy in the form of fats in the blood that may contribute to the clogging of arteries. In a person faced with the faux combat of an office confrontation, blood prepares itself to clot in anticipation of a wound; this may explain why managers apparently run twice the normal risk of heart attack during the week after they dismiss an employee or face a high-pressure deadline.
Downsizing, rapid growth and reorganizations all lead to stress. More and more companies are going through it, and their workers often don't handle the pressure well. Nationwide, reported cases of stress have increased 12 percent since 1990. Mental stress leading to mental illness now accounts for one of every 10 reported work injuries. In fact, a study revealed that in the previous ten years..................
