Preventing Stress, Improving Productivity: European Case Studies in the Workplace

Michiel Kompier, Cary L. Cooper

Psychology Press, 1999 - Business & Economics - 345 pages

In a representative study made of European workers, twenty-eight per cent of employees reported that stress affects their health and their performance at work. Occupational stress is a serious problem for the performance of individuals, organisations and as a consequence, for national economies. Preventing Stress, Improving Productivity investigates the ways in which companies can combat stress by changing the working environment rather than only treating individual employees with stress symptoms.
Costs and benefits of stress prevention are discussed, with an emphasis on appraoches that involve both the work situation and the individual worker. The heart of the book consists of eleven European country chapters, each overviewing the current status with respect to occupational stress and its prevention in that country and then presenting one detailed case study an example of good preventive practice.
Preventing Stress, Improving Productivity identifies five factors that are critical for a stress reduction programme to work, both in terms of employee health and well-being and from a financial point of view. Successful strategies combine participation from workers and support from top management. Useful as a reference for psychologists, human resource managers, occupational physicians, ergonomists and consultants, this book will also be an invaluable aid to managers in the day-to-day running of organisations.

Contents

• Improving work health and productivity through stress prevention: 1
• Chapter 2 Workplace stress and stress prevention in Europe: 9
• Review and new methodology: 33
• Organisational wellbeing Ten years of research and development in a forest industry corporation: 52
• A hospital Healthy Working for Health: 86
• A pharmaceutical company: 121
• Evaluation of a stress management programme in the public sector: 149
• Selfrule on route 166 An intervention study among bus drivers: 175
• Mail processing: 195
• Reduction of stress by health circles: 222
• Stress prevention in an airport management company: 242
• Preventing occupational stress in a bank organisation: 264
• Stress management in the health care sector: 285
• A school of nursing: 297
• European countries and European cases compared: 312
• Index: 337

Bibliographic information

• Title: Preventing Stress, Improving Productivity: European Case Studies in the Workplace
• Editors: Michiel Kompier, Cary L. Cooper
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Psychology Press, 1999
• ISBN: 0415165563, 9780415165563
• Length: 345 pages
• Subjects: Business & Economics / Human Resources & Personnel Management; Business & Economics / Labor / General; Psychology / General; Psychology / Industrial & Organizational Psychology; Psychology / Movements / General; Self-Help / Self-Management / Stress Management; Technology & Engineering / Industrial Health & Safety