- Email: [email protected]
Job stress, employee health and death: An open letter
COMMUNICATIONS
JOB STRESS, EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND DEATH: AN OPEN LETTER My father is dead of a heart attack. The obituary in the newspaper indicates vaguely the kind of man he was, but it is impossible to do justice to his considerate and kind nature in such an article. He was always thinking of others and helping them in many ways. His help was quietly given, and, as I found out at the funeral services, many times known only t o those he helped. This deep, genuine concern for others is in such contrast to what I have observed in today's world (especially in business) that I find it to be not only a point of pride b u t inspirational. My father, like all of us, was greatly affected by what happened at work. I know that his organizational work environment was stressful. I also k n o w that, although he was a competent businessman, he was basically a reserved person. Perhaps he was too reserved, too controlled. Perhaps he should have developed some form of emotional outlet. He didn't. At home, he seldom, i f ever, talked about workrelated problems, and I'm quite sure he did not air his complaints at work. He seemingly spent his time consoling others. My research and experience, as well as the research and experience of others, indicate that the psychological climate of a workplace is predominantly determined by one's boss and to a lesser b u t still great extent by one's coworkers. In that light, each of us, whether boss or coworker, has a great responsibility for providing a decent, humane work environm e n t - o n e that does not literally kill people. It's not easy, though. It requires that we realize that we are working with other human beings. They are not simply coworkers or subordinates. They are individuals who need to be loved, recognized and thanked. After all, some of them are literally giving their lives for the company or the boss. In addition, the nature of our organizations, our career advancement strategies and so on generally do not reward kindness, consideration and helping others. It's hard to care about other people when you are constantly forced by your organizational environment to engage in self-image maintenance (oneupmanship; I ' m perfect, you're an idiot; d o n ' t take a chance) or cope with other personal pressures.
JUNE 1977
If we assume that it's every man for himself, then that is what it's going to be. I personally believe that we are all in the same boat and on the same earthship; that we are all equal; that thinking of and helping others is just as important as thinking of and helping ourselves; and that when we hurt others, we hurt ourselves. Regretfully, I must admit to becoming overly self-centered and insensitive to others as a result of my organizational experiences over the last twelve years (in college, graduate school, the military and business) and have been "rewarded" for it! Shallow victories and rewards, indeed. Is personal success in the organization worth our loss of humaneness? And is success of the organization worth loss of humans? Research continues to document the association between organizational stress and its undesirable human consequences: mental illness, physical illness (coronary heart disease is only the tip of the iceberg) and alcoholism, to name a few. Needless stress is not good for people or organizations. A healthy company will not tolerate abuse of its own human resources; it is neither humane nor good business to do otherwise. A manager determines the psychological work climate for his subordinates and coworkers. A thoughtful one will never have to attend the funeral of a subordinate and wonder if the climate was responsible.
An industrial~organizational psychologist NOTE: The author, an official in a major U.S. company, has
requested that his name be withheld.
HUMPHREY-HAWKINS ALTERNATIVES To the Editor:
In response to the article concerning the HumphreyHawkins bill [ " A Critique of the Humphrey-Hawkins Bill," February 1977, pp. 20-24] I have to agree with Raymond Saulnier on his critique. I feel that this bill
95
JOB STRESS, EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND DEATH: AN OPEN LETTER My father is dead of a heart attack. The obituary in the newspaper indicates vaguely the kind of man he was, but it is impossible to do justice to his considerate and kind nature in such an article. He was always thinking of others and helping them in many ways. His help was quietly given, and, as I found out at the funeral services, many times known only t o those he helped. This deep, genuine concern for others is in such contrast to what I have observed in today's world (especially in business) that I find it to be not only a point of pride b u t inspirational. My father, like all of us, was greatly affected by what happened at work. I know that his organizational work environment was stressful. I also k n o w that, although he was a competent businessman, he was basically a reserved person. Perhaps he was too reserved, too controlled. Perhaps he should have developed some form of emotional outlet. He didn't. At home, he seldom, i f ever, talked about workrelated problems, and I'm quite sure he did not air his complaints at work. He seemingly spent his time consoling others. My research and experience, as well as the research and experience of others, indicate that the psychological climate of a workplace is predominantly determined by one's boss and to a lesser b u t still great extent by one's coworkers. In that light, each of us, whether boss or coworker, has a great responsibility for providing a decent, humane work environm e n t - o n e that does not literally kill people. It's not easy, though. It requires that we realize that we are working with other human beings. They are not simply coworkers or subordinates. They are individuals who need to be loved, recognized and thanked. After all, some of them are literally giving their lives for the company or the boss. In addition, the nature of our organizations, our career advancement strategies and so on generally do not reward kindness, consideration and helping others. It's hard to care about other people when you are constantly forced by your organizational environment to engage in self-image maintenance (oneupmanship; I ' m perfect, you're an idiot; d o n ' t take a chance) or cope with other personal pressures.
JUNE 1977
If we assume that it's every man for himself, then that is what it's going to be. I personally believe that we are all in the same boat and on the same earthship; that we are all equal; that thinking of and helping others is just as important as thinking of and helping ourselves; and that when we hurt others, we hurt ourselves. Regretfully, I must admit to becoming overly self-centered and insensitive to others as a result of my organizational experiences over the last twelve years (in college, graduate school, the military and business) and have been "rewarded" for it! Shallow victories and rewards, indeed. Is personal success in the organization worth our loss of humaneness? And is success of the organization worth loss of humans? Research continues to document the association between organizational stress and its undesirable human consequences: mental illness, physical illness (coronary heart disease is only the tip of the iceberg) and alcoholism, to name a few. Needless stress is not good for people or organizations. A healthy company will not tolerate abuse of its own human resources; it is neither humane nor good business to do otherwise. A manager determines the psychological work climate for his subordinates and coworkers. A thoughtful one will never have to attend the funeral of a subordinate and wonder if the climate was responsible.
An industrial~organizational psychologist NOTE: The author, an official in a major U.S. company, has
requested that his name be withheld.
HUMPHREY-HAWKINS ALTERNATIVES To the Editor:
In response to the article concerning the HumphreyHawkins bill [ " A Critique of the Humphrey-Hawkins Bill," February 1977, pp. 20-24] I have to agree with Raymond Saulnier on his critique. I feel that this bill
95