1. Statement of the Problem (pp. 1, 7)
A. NIOSH (1999) has noted that the nature of work is changing at whirlwind speed, and reports that as a result job stress poses a stronger threat to the health of workers than ever before.
B. One-fourth of employees view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives, while three fourths of employees believe the worker has more on-the-job stress than he/she did a generation ago (NIOSH).
C. Excessive demands or barriers to work goals are experienced by all, including hairdressers. The hairdressing field is predominately female and research suggests that work stress levels are substantially different as a function of gender (p. 4).
D. Work problems are associated with health complaints more than any other life stressor, including financial and family problems (NIOSH).
E. Work stress is related to depression, anxiety, general mental distress, heart disease, ulcers, and chronic pain (Long, 1995).
F. Methods have been employed in an attempt to reduce work stress. These include altering work conditions, job-stress education programs, and work with stressful relationships. Despite these techniques, the problems continue, demanding the exploration of alternative techniques.
G. The need to discover ways to effectively reduce stress implied. This fact gives significance to the proposed research, which will help to determine whether one of the newest techniques in the field of stress reduction is able to solve the work stress levels of individuals.
1. Does the F/O Holding Technique significantly reduce the work stress levels of sample hairdressers?
2. Is the stress reduction effect, if any, of the F/O Holding Technique differentially associated with gender?
A. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Frontal/Occipital (F/O) Holding technique for the reduction of stress for the hairdresser.
B. This is a relatively new techniq...