Theoretical and Methodological Problems Within Occupational Stress and Burnout Research

Abstract

This article examines the implicit assumptions underlying current research into occupational stress and burnout. It argues that the two fields utilize similar theoretical models and research techniques and therefore have a number of problems in common. These problems arise from their common tendency to adopt a psychological perspective which pays insufficient attention to the complexity of the interrelationship between social conditions and subjective experience. The article suggests that both fields could be strengthened by incorporating more sociological concepts and developing analyses of the effects which discrepancies between the manifest and latent functions and surface and deep structures of organizations have on the individual's subjective experiences of work. The value of such analyses is illustrated with three examples of empirical research utilizing this perspective.

Stress at Work : A Study of Organizational-Professional Conflict and Unmet Expectations

“…The importance of longitudinal data in the study of stress has been noted in the literature (e.g., Handy 1988;Lazarus 1991). Longitudinal data allows a clearer understanding of the causal order of the variables, and of the processes taking place over time.…”

Occupational stress of emergency workers in Gauteng

“…Meyerson (1994) and Handy (1988Handy ( , 1991 showed that stress occurs in a particular context, since individuals differ in the meaning they attribute to stressful experiences. The influence of social construction of stressful experiences should also be taken into account.…”

La psychodynamique du travail et le paradigme du stress : une saine et utile complémentarité en faveur du développement des connaissances dans le champ de la santé au travail

“…En ce qui concerne les méthodes utilisées, il peut être dit que même si de rares études réalisées sous le paradigme du stress donnent une place à la question du sens et si quelques chercheurs rattachés à ce courant réclament davantage de recherches qualitatives (Bourbonnais et al, 2000 ;Handy, 1988), les études sur le stress font principalement appel à des méthodes quantitatives. L'évaluation du stress passe ainsi habituellement par la technique de mesure de paramètres physiologiques et par des enquêtes administrées sous forme de questionnaires le plus souvent auto-évalués individuellement.…”