S/HR/70. Dissertation. Managers and Occupational Stress

Stress in the workplace has been described as “the black plague” of modern times and, depending on which set of figures you read, is either a serious problem or has reached epidemic proportions (Palmer, 2004). It can have major detrimental consequences on both individuals and organisations alike. There is growing interest and debate about this issue and in particular how to best deal with it. The Health & Safety Executive has led the way as regards research in the United Kingdom and following lengthy consultations and detailed studies have recently proposed the first practical and workable occupational stress model. This dissertation will examine how current literature and in particular the HSE model applies to a group who are arguably the most pivotal players in the management of stress in the work place, namely the managers themselves. It will be shown that research in this area has been limited. With the help of feed-back from managers of four different organizations information was gathered and analysed in relation to the causes of and influences upon occupational stress for management and the suitability or otherwise of the HSE model. It was found that while the current model displayed some usefulness and relevance it’s terms of reference was either flawed or incomplete as a stress management tool for managers. Numerous possible additional causes of occupational stress, not included in the HSE model, were identified by this research as well as various influencing factors which may directly affect or contribute towards stress levels amongst managers. This led to the conclusion that a more specific, better-defined and more inclusive model was required to be developed for dealing with stress-at-work levels amongst managers. In addition possible areas that may merit further research were identified.