Stress Reduction Techniques for Workers

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

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techniques were used. 3. The study uses only one measure of job stress (The Work Stress Inventory). Findings may have been different if a different measure of job stress were used. B. Another study limitation is the fact that a control group was not used. Lack of a control group opens research up to a threat to internal validity known as a testing effect. In a pretest-posttest design it is possible that the process of pretesting may in and of itself produce a change in subjects, thereby contributing variance to the dependent measure. If the study included a control group it would be possible to look for the presence of a testing effect. On the other hand, the study is reflective of a solution-oriented approach and the use of a control group would prohibit everyone from having this opportunity. C. Another possible limitation of this research concerns its generalizability. Volunteer subjects were used for this study and volunteers have decidedly different characteristics than non-volunteers (e.g., more sociable, more conventional, more supportive of scientific endeavors, etc.). It is therefore possible that the findings may not generalize to other groups. 6. Influential References A. Authors relating information on work stres

Category: Psychology - S