Johansson : work as a cause for stress Flashcards
What is the aim of the study?
to investigate wether work stressors such as repetitiveness , machiene regulated pace of work and high levels of responsibility increase stress-related physiological arousal and stress related illness.
Whats the method?
A quasai xperimennt
workers eitehr defined as high risk or in a control group
How many pp’s?
24 - 14 high risk
10 low risk
where did the study take place?
A swedish saw mill
what was the nature of the high and low risk participants?
high risk = 14 workers who work at a set pace governed by the production line; their job was complex and required a great deal of knowledge about raw materials - cutting logs of wood
low risk = 10 cleaners and maintenance workers
what was the procedure?
researchers identified the 14 finishers
their job was to finish off wood
the work was machiene operated, paced amd very repetitive
14 finishers compared with 10 low risk whode work was more varied and allowed for socialising with other finishers
How was the data collected?
levels of stress rel;ated hormones ( adrenaline and non adenaline) in the urine measured on work days and rest days
records kept of stress related illness and absenteeism
self reports used to assess their mood and alertness
caffine and nicotine consumptions recorded
whats the results?
The high-risk group had adrenaline levels twice as high as their baseline and these continued to increase throughout the day. The control group had a peak level of 1½ times their baseline level in the morning and this then declined during the rest of their shift.
From the self-reports, the high-risk group felt more rushed and irritated than the control group. Furthermore, they also rated their wellbeing lower than the control group.
The baseline measures were used to compare simply the presence of being at work compared to being at home stress levels.
what were the conclusions?
The repetitive, machine-paced work, which was demanding in attention to detail and was highly mechanised, contributed to the higher stress levels in the high-risk group.
