Stressor Load and Stress Resilience: A New Perspective for Occupational Stress

摘要

In modern society with fierce competition, occupational stress has become a critical factor for people's health and well-being. Through several outstanding models proposed for occupational stress have been widely used and verified in different industries under various cultural backgrounds, they still have some limitations and/or difficulties in theory and application. Therefore, this paper defines the concept of stressor and stressor load, and puts forward the Stressor Load-Stress Resilience Model (SLSRM) from a new perspective. Based on this model, the perceived stress depends on severity of the stressor in the job context and individual ability to withstand stress (i.e. stress resilience). Stressors are classified into seven categories in this model, including the interpersonal relationship, organizational management, career development, job requirements, working environment, role ambiguity and work-family conflict. The individual stress resilience is determined by the positive personal characteristics, including psychological capital, knowledge/skill, working experiences and personality. Moreover, importance (weight) of stressor for different persons is also taken into account. An overview of a validation research is provided. This model provides a new approach for understanding and measuring the occupational stress and has the potential to be integrated into/developed to a complete stress management framework.