This paper discusses occupational stress literature in terms of the movement from looking for job-related causes towards considering individual sources of stress such as dispositions and neuroticism. It goes on to consider this by a detailed examination of the personal meanings of job stress for one individual manager in psychodynamic psychotherapy. It outlines the ways in which measured job perceptions and satisfactions became more positive as symptoms decreased. The study supports the argument for some individually-related causes of stress but also shows how therapy and counseling can change perceptions, rather than treating them as dispositional and unchangeable.
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