PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE: COGNITIVE ERGONOMICS OR COGNITIVE THERAPY?

摘要

Broadbent's (1971) classic account of work stressors in Decision and Stress reviewed the psychological effects of environmental stressors in the workplace. Such cognitive ergonomics clearly places the onus on stress reduction on the employer. Thirty years later a wider range of stressors are acknowledged and there is an emphasis on coping with stressors rather than environmental manipulation to remove them. Many employers now offer cognitive or transactional psychotherapy to aid in coping and resolving stress related problems. Some workers have suggested that the provision of such services, whose efficacy is limited, may be employed as a defensive strategy in the face of possible litigation. We discuss the possibility that one outcome of this would be the attachment of 'blame' for being stressed to the litigant. Cognitive therapy embraces the notion that stress has a cognitive appraisal component and this could be used to bolster this argument.