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STRESS @ WORK (2005)INTRODUCTIONStress and WorkStress is becoming a major health and safety issue. When stress is continuous,when pressures are intense it can cause physical illness and psychologicaldistress. When work is too fast, too heavy, or too unpleasant, stress can occur. Andwhether stress is caused by physical factors such as excessive noise or emotionalfactors such as the pace of work the results are the same. When stress becomeschronic the stress responses of elevated blood pressure, cholesterol, adrenal andblood sugar can lead to heart disease and other chronic diseases.
The International Labour Organization reports that "stress has become one of the mostserious health issues...." Perhaps to underline the point a recent survey by the CanadaHealth Monitor found that more than 1 in 4 workers reported stress, mental or emotionalhealth problems arising from work. According to the survey more than 1/3 of blue collar workers said they stayed home because of stress.A few years ago (November 1999) Statscan reported increasing time stress for every agegroup of Canadians. More and more research is pointing to the problems caused by jobinsecurity, more intense demands, time pressure, and rapid technological change. In arecent study (January 2002) released by Canadian Policy Research Networks dealing withthe quality of worklife in health care workplaces the authors conclude: "The people whodeliver the care have produced more with less, and coped with incessant change. Butthere has been a cost – in the form of burnout, declining morale and staff shortages."Responding to workplace stress is an area where we have taken some preliminary steps:We will continue to develop both our understanding and our bargaining response to stress.Stress management techniques may help relieve the short-term strains caused by stress.But stress needs to be controlled at the source. This includes our commitment to providemore opportunities for our members to attend to personal matters through shorter worktime, it means a focus on those workplace factors which lead to stress and it means amore adequate response from Workers’ Compensation boards.
Good Stress/Bad Stress?
"Good Stress" is a concept that was developed by Hans Selye, the Canadian physicianwho did the first major research on stress in the 1940s and 1950s. Selye defined stress invery general terms, as "the rate of wear and tear on the body." This definition was basedon the classic "fight or flight" physical response our bodies make to danger.Selye also talked about two forms of stress: eustress (or good stress) and distress (or badstress). This is only an opinion, or idea. It is not supported by scientific or physicalevidence. But it leads to statements such as this one:
"Stress is not a problem for people or workplaces. Stress is purely and simply avery powerful fuel."
But good stress/bad stress is still a very popular idea. Many articles and books argue thatstress can be positive if people learn to use it correctly.1
 
Stress-coping strategies can be very effective, but the good stress/bad stress approachcan "blame the victim." It implied that people who suffer from stress do so because theyare not skilled enough to control it. Stress becomes a problem that is "all in a person’shead."Another problem with stress is that we’re often told to take it for granted. It’s assumed that"stress" is a normal part of modern living. It’s not, and it doesn’t have to be. Uncontrolled,stress can cause enormous physical, emotional, family and social "disease".Stress-related problems cause more lost work-time than accidents, strikes and even coldsand flu. This doesn’t include the chronic or long-term diseases related to stress. Stressrelated costs on the bottom line are "worse than [they've] ever been," said Ravi Tangri,author of StressCosts, Stress-Cures at Health and Safety Canada 2005, today in Toronto.He believes good leadership is the key to reducing employee stress and thus improvingproductivity."People don't leave jobs, they leave bosses," said Tangri. "Seventy per cent of [work]culture is shaped by the leadership."According to Tangri's research, stress costs organizations:
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19 per cent of absenteeism;
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40 per cent of turnover (the cost of turnover is 150-250 per cent of the salary benefitenvelope for each position);
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55 per cent of EAP program costs (consult your provider for a more accuratenumber - it may be higher);
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30 per cent of short-term disability and long-term disability costs;
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10 per cent of drug plan costs to cover psychotherapeutic drug costs;
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60 per cent of the total cost of workplace accidents the total cost of workers'compensation claims and lawsuits due to stress.This paper uses the word, stress, to mean bad stress, and uses the word "arousal" todescribe good stress. We can be aroused in positive ways. Our bodies may, for a shorttime, experience physical changes similar to the stress response. But when this arousal iscalled stress it confused the issue. It leads to managers arguing that there are not badstressors, only bad stress-coping strategies or stress-producing personalities. This isclearly not true. It also prevents workers and unions from taking collective actions toeliminate workplace stressors. 
Stress In Our bodies
Our reaction to different stressors are often personal. Our bodies may react to stress indifferent ways. But there are some basic physical changes that occur that are typical of stress-reactions. Understanding what happens in our bodies when we experience stresshelps us to understand why stress causes so many different diseases.Our brain is the first organ that "fires up" under stress. The brain decides whether or not acertain situation is stressful and alerts the rest of the body. The brain’s role in a stressfulsituation is to release as much energy into the body as quickly as possible. There aremany different ways the brain does this.The first organ the brain "calls" is the pituitary gland. This small gland at the bottom of thebrain releases a hormone called "ACTH" (adrenocorticotrophic hormone, sometimes called2
 
the stress hormone). ACTH races to the adrenal glands located above the kidneys. Theadrenals manufacture over 50 hormones for the stress response. The main one isepinephrine, commonly known as adrenaline.Adrenaline is the body’s version of a very strong cup of coffee! It puts everything else intohigh gear. It increases the body’s energy levels by releasing all the stored reserves of glucose (sugar) and other chemicals that the liver changes into glucose. These reservesare stored in the muscles and fatty tissues, such as the liver. Some of the differentchemicals released are cholesterol and triglycerides ("free fatty acids"). Although the liver converts these into sugar, these chemicals can also coat the blood vessels and may be acause of future disease.The lungs work harder, trying to get more oxygen into the bloodstream. The heart beginsto beat very rapidly to push the blood around faster. This allows oxygen, hormones andstored up sugars to move around quickly, keeping the body in a state of alertness. Theadrenals release another hormone that causes the kidneys to retain sodium. This, in turn,causes the kidneys to release "pressor substances" that cause the blood vessels to shrinkin size. The smaller the blood vessel, the higher the blood pressure and the faster theblood pumps around.The adrenals also release another hormone called cortisone. Cortisone helps increase thebody’s "sugar rush." It also boosts the body’s energy levels a second way: it helps shutdown all the energy-consuming body systems that aren’t required to cope with the stressincident. Cortisone puts the immune system on hold by reducing the flow of white bloodcells and other helper cells. These cells normally attack invading viruses, or block off locally inflamed tissues.Sometimes this immune system creates its own problems. Badly sprained ankles or wristscan swell to very painful sizes. Harmless pollens can trigger serious immune reactions thatwe call allergies. People suffering from these immune system problems are often givencortisone to purposely shut down the immune system.Cortisone also prevents the muscles from absorbing protein (energy) from the blood.Instead the muscles tense and prepare to work on overdrive. This lack of protein is whatcauses them to "hurt".Food digestion is another energy-draining activity. Do you ever notice how often animalssleep after eating? To stop this drain during a stress incident, the body lines the digestivesystem with nasty acids. These acids smooth out the little bumps in the intestines thatdigest the food. Sometimes these acids work so effectively that the whole system basically"let’s go" and... Well, you can imagine the rest. 
The Three Stages of Stress Response
Hans Selye, the world’s first prominent stress researcher, called these body changes the"General Adaptation Response." It’s now referred to simply as the "stress response." Selyediscovered that these changes are part of our genetic makeup. They are an in-bredsurvival pattern. Humans developed this pattern hundreds of thousands of years ago to"fight or flee" from dangers in our environment. The stress response is often called the"fight or flight" response.The stress response always has three stages. First, there is the alarm or danger stimulusstage. The brain (mind) sees there is some danger in the environment and blows the panic3
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