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Job Stress

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Over the past few decades, many people are hearing more about job related stress. With many households depending on duel incomes, people are working more and having less leisure time. Many claim that job stress has contributed to such illnesses as heart disease, depression, gastric problems, exhaustion, and many other related illnesses. This paper will focus on the background issues surrounding stress; as well as, the steps that need to be taken by one’s self and the employer. According to The Random House Dictionary, stress is defined as “physical, mental, or emotional tension.” Job stress occurs when demands are imposed upon the workers in which they can not meet those demands, or when there are not …show more content…

136). At stage four, one can experience problems getting through the day. Once-pleasant activities become quite difficult, and the ability to communicate in social affairs or talking with friends becomes quite burdensome. There is more difficulty sleeping with the occurrence of unpleasant King 4 dreams. The stressed individual develops a feeling of negativism, inability to concentrate, and nameless fears. Stage five is represented by a deepening of the stage four symptoms along with extreme fatigue (Bensahel et al., 1984, p. 137). The final stage can produce terrifying symptoms. This can include heart pounding and panic caused by release of adrenaline. There is often gasping for breath, trembling, shivering, sweating, numb and tingling hands and feet, and sheer exhaustion. The symptoms of stress are frequently conflicting and confusing. “The stress disorder is essentially a step-by-step exhaustion of the body’s fuel reserves” (Bensahel et al., 1984, p. 139) During the early 1980s, workers compensation claims nearly tripled for those reporting stress related illness due to work (Schor, 1991, p. 11). There has been a dramatic increase in the number of stress related illnesses, particularly among women. Jobs have been a major contributing factor to this stress. Only one-forth of wives with children held paying jobs outside the home in the 1960s. By the 1990s, two-thirds of American wives

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