Stress at Work: Management and Prevention

By J Stranks

Elsevier Australia, 2005

$64.90

Stress means different things to different people of course. But either way it costs economies –including our own – billions every year in lost labour and production as well as health care.

Workplace stress, and the potential for stress-induced ill health, is a topical issue and it is possible that claims for stress at work will become a significant legal issue of the next decade.

With this in mind, Strank explains what stress is, what causes it, how people respond to and cope with it, how stress can be evaluated and managed and what employers’ legal responsibilities are. Some causes are obvious, others less so (who knew not having enough to do could be stressful!), and they include more than environmental, occupational and social stressors.

Written for managers, HR professionals and safety officers, the emphasis of this book is on practical advice and solutions. It offers simple tools to measure and assess stress and shows how to deal with a range of stress-creating workplace situations, such as bullying, harassment and violence at work.

The book also details how to implement a stress management system and shows why not all stress is bad for people.