Social Support, Social Integration, and Stress at Work

As the demands of today's working life increase, the amount of stress and related health problems experienced by workers are rising accor­dingly. This often results in people "collapsing under the pressure": about 50-60% of absenteeism and the related health costs in the EU are accounted for by the effects of stress experienced at the work­place, making it the greatest work-related health problem of our time. This book focuses on some of the protective factors which may help to alleviate work-related stressors and strains: social support and social integration at the workplace. By integrating previous research and new empirical findings from a cross-sectional study conducted with workers in trade and industry, we show how these two variables affect the experience of work stressors and strains and, consequently, job satisfaction and well-being at the workplace. Implications for pedagogic-psychological interventions at the workplace are derived with the aim of giving interested employers and employees alike theoretical and practical guidelines on how to reduce job stress and its negative consequences by making use of the protective function of social resources at the workplace.