Generational Shift Prime Reason for Work Stress

Addressing the Royal Society of Medicine, Dr David Wainwright, a senior health lecturer at the University of Bath, said that one reason for increasing work stress is a generational shift in the workers of today that makes them way less resilient towards daily pressures at the workplace than their forefathers were. In his paper, ‘The Limits of the Work Stress Concept’ he emphasized that the notion of work stress is a metaphor used to indicate an illusory stage of breaking point for workers.

Wainwright added that the model of work stress in fact creates more confusion over the relationship between mental health and work, and that it is quite flawed in its approach. He also suggested that the small changes that most of the sectors have undergone over the years could not be held responsible for the increasing stress levels. In his view, rising stress levels can be directly attributed to the generational changes that have crept in the modern societies that make the workers feel physically and psychologically vulnerable.

However, Wainwright’s opinion was refuted by Dr Neil Shah from Stress Management Society, who suggested that it is irrational to compare the lives in modern times with those of the people living 60 years ago. He also pointed out that the workers of the present generation work for extended periods without taking any break.

A survey for the year 2007-08, done by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), suggested that around 442,000 workers reported severe work stress as cause of their illness, due to which 13.5 million working days were lost in total.

Written by Giles Kendrick
giles.kendrick@googlemail.com
http://www.workplacelaw.net/nebosh/