Work Stress: Examining the Risks to Health in the Modern Workplace

This report examines the impact of work-related stress on various health issues, including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and overall mortality. It reviews studies and meta-analyses that highlight the positive correlation between job strain and hypertension, emphasizing the role of psychological demands and effort-reward imbalance in elevating blood pressure and increasing the risk of coronary heart disease. The report also clarifies the association between work stress and mortality, particularly in men with cardiometabolic disease, underscoring the clinical significance of managing work-related stress to prevent life-threatening diseases. The conclusion reiterates that work stress contributes to numerous health risks, negatively impacting the maintenance of a healthy and balanced lifestyle.

Work stress is a potential killer
Introduction
In today’s world, the employment sector has transformed completely in many countries,
particularly in the developed countries. Most employment sectors have transformed from
industrial mass and lean production to more information technology driven jobs. Also due to the
increasing globalization in economies, there has been an increase in competition among many
transnational companies thereby increasing work-related stress. Also due to the increasing
constraints of financial markets, this also lead to a significant increase in work –related pressure
too and this is often occurring in combination with decrease in job stability. In this context, the
work-related stress and pressure have been increasing greatly over time in many parts of the
world (Jian et al., 2016). Nowadays most adults spend about half their waking hours at the
workplace, meaning that the workplace setting is an essential part of our daily lives. There has
been an ongoing debate on whether the work stress poses as a potential risk factor in our daily
lives and whether they are responsible for causing issues like chronic diseases, hypertension
and blood pressure. Many researchers argue that work stress is the factor responsible for such
problems in our daily lives while some remain skeptical about this and have argued that work
stress effect on such problems is either negligible or confounded (Kawachi and Kivimaki, 2015).
The aim of this report is to review and study various findings regarding work stress’s effect on
our daily problems that we face and determine whether work stress poses itself as a threat to
our daily lives.
Body
In a study by Babu et al. (2013), the report aimed at estimating the association between job
strain and hypertension among adults in workplace settings. In order to study this, a
comprehensive meta-analysis was conducted. In order to assess this meta-analysis, individual
studies and previous reviews were considered. Cohort and case-control studies were also
included but cross-sectional studies were excluded since they were easily influenced by biases.
The pooled estimate from most of the studies was successful in showing a positive correlation
between job strain and hypertension. The study concluded that there needs to be an increasing
emphasis on the need to pursue research on job strain and all the stress factors that increase
the morbidity among the adults who are working. The huge size of the working population and
the relatively high impact that stress has on many adults today are more reasons for the need to
pursue research on job strain and examine the health profiles of adults who are working. The
meta-analysis also concluded that researchers need to study the effects of job related stress
and health outcomes so as to obtain more clear scientific guidance and knowledge that will be
helpful in improving the health outcomes among the working class population.
Gilbert et al.(2014) in his article, studied the impact that work-related stress has on blood
pressure. Having high blood pressure is a major threat to our lives as it is the leading risk factor
for causing cardiovascular diseases. Cardiovascular diseases being the leading cause of death
worldwide and causing about one third of male and female deaths in Canada is a very
dangerous disease to have and is also part of the costliest group of health problems in regards
to hospitalization. In order to assess the effect that work-related stress has on blood pressure,

DCS and ERI models have been used. The demand control support (DCS) model shows that
people who are working and simultaneously experiencing high psychological demands and low
job control are very likely to develop stress-related health problems. Psychological demands
mean stuff like excessive workload or very complex tasks that require to be completed in
impossible time frame. With today’s increase in economy, the workplace demands a lot of these
psychological demands implying that more and more people today are developing stress-related
health problems. The ERI model determines the degree of imbalance between effort and the
corresponding rewards (Siegrist et al., 2004). Workers nowadays are in a state of detrimental
imbalance as high extrinsic efforts are accompanied by low rewards hence implying vulnerability
to health related problems. As mentioned here in the DCS and ERI models, people have been
experiencing a lot of stress. Stress affects blood pressure elevation because as the body is
stressed out, it produces a surge of hormones and these hormones are able to temporarily
increase the blood pressure resulting in heart to beat faster and blood vessels to be even more
narrow. Although there’s no proof that stress by itself is able to cause long-term blood pressure,
reacting to stress can potentially increase the risk of high blood pressure which can then result
in cardiovascular diseases (Mayoclinic, 2019). In order to determine whether stress had an
impact on blood pressure, a total of 74 studies were evaluated in this article. Out of these, 64
were the DCS models while 12 of them looked at the ERI models. Two of the studies
considered both the models. From this sample of 74 studies, it was concluded that about half
the studies showed a significant impact of work-related stress on blood pressure elevation. It
was also observed that it had a greater impact on men than women. Hence it can be concluded
that psychological work factors have a consistent effect on both men and women in regards to
blood pressure elevation which is a major risk factor in causing cardiovascular diseases.
According to Netterstorm (2013), his article on ‘Job strain and hypertension’ highlights the fact
that people who are being treated with high blood pressure, the cause for such a high blood
pressure could be cause of work-related stress or working conditions.
Work-related stress is also able to cause an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD)
(Chandola et al, 2007). It is able to affect the risk of coronary heart disease directly as a result of
activation of neuroendocrine responses to stressors and able to affect indirectly as a result of
unhealthy lifestyle activities such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption or even lack of
exercise. Job strain and work–related stress are also responsible for causing cardiovascular
disease (CVD) risk factors such as smoking, obesity, dietary fat intake and inactivity or lack of
exercise and this has a negative effect on overall long-term health too (Hellerstedt and Jeffrey,
1997).
In order to prevent cardiovascular diseases, the prevention guidelines have recommended to
manage and control work – related stress especially for patients with cardio metabolic disease.
However, the evidence regarding the importance of controlling work-related stress is weak.
Pentti et al (2018) in their article on ‘Work stress and risk of death in men and women with and
without cardiometabolic disease: a multicohort study’ clarified this association between work
stress and mortality in men and women with and without pre-existing cardio metabolic disease
by conducting a study and using data from seven cohort studies in the IPD-Work consortium
initiated between 1985 and 2002 in Finland, France, Sweden and the UK and were successfully
able to conclude that in men with cardio metabolic disease, the contribution of work-related

stress towards death was clinically significant and independent of other conventional risk
factors. Hence, managing work-related stress is very important in order to avoid death.
Conclusion
Babu et al (2013) in their article ‘Is hypertension associated with job strain? A meta-analysis of
observational studies ‘was successful in concluding that there is a positive correlation between
job strain and hypertension meaning that hypertension’s leading cause was because of work-
related stress. Gilbert et al(2014) also with their study ‘Adverse effects of psychological work
factors on blood pressure : systematic review of studies on demand-control-support and effort-
reward imbalance models’ successfully concluded that job strain is able to cause high blood
pressure which is a highly significant risk factor of cardiovascular disease, and this disease itself
is a leading cause of death. They used the help of DCS and ERI models in order to come to this
conclusion. According to Chandola et al (2007), their article on ‘Work stress and coronary heart
disease: what are the mechanisms’ was successful in concluding that work related stress was a
leading risk factor for causing coronary heart disease. Job strain and work–related stress are
also responsible for causing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors such as smoking,
obesity, dietary fat intake and inactivity or lack of exercise and this has a negative effect on
overall long-term health too. Pentti et al (2018) in their article on ‘Work stress and risk of death
in men and women with and without cardiometabolic disease: a multicohort study’ clarified the
association between work stress and mortality in men and women with and without pre-existing
cardio metabolic disease by conducting a study and using data from seven cohort studies in the
IPD-Work consortium initiated between 1985 and 2002 in Finland, France, Sweden and the UK
and were successfully able to conclude that in men with cardio metabolic disease, the
contribution of work-related stress towards death was clinically significant and independent of
other conventional risk factors. As a result, work stress is responsible for causing many life-
threatening diseases and have a negative impact on maintaining a healthy and well-balanced
life.