Work Stress and Employee Health

Abstract

We review and summarize the literature on work stress with particular emphasis on those studies that examined the effects of work characteristics on employee health. Although there is not convincing evidence that job stressors cause health effects, the indirect evidence is strongly suggestive of a work stress effect. This evidence comes from occupational studies that show differences in health and mortality that are not easily explained by other factors and within-subject studies that demonstrate a causal effect of work experiences on physiological and emotional responses. We argue that studies relying on self-reports of working conditions and outcomes, whether cross-sectional or longitudinal, are unlikely to add significantly to the accumulated evidence. Finally, we make recommendations for how organizational researchers are most likely to contribute to this knowledge.