Handbook of Work and Health Psychology - Tapa blanda

This volume explores a range of topics linking the two fields of work and health psychology. It describes recent developments in the field and surveys illness and health in different occupations and in different parts of the world. The basic theoretical issues of work and health psychology are explored, such as job control, autonomy, job threat, individual differences, social support and organizational climate.

Unhealthy work practices create enormous human and financial costs. Well-being and work-related health are now of major managerial, financial, and legal concern within organizations. Psychologists are increasingly called upon as consultants to focus their knowledge on people?s behaviour and beliefs, as related to health and well-being, to address these organizational concerns, and to assess or advise on work organization or health-promotion programmes that protect and enhance both the individual and the organization. About half of absence from work due to sickness (which costs organizations worldwide billions of dollars each year) has been shown to be related to work stress or distress at work. A hidden, but perhaps larger, cost attaches to the underperformance of workers, whose health or well-being is so adversely impacted by their work situation that they are only fractionally productive or effective in their jobs. This volume will be a valuable resource and guide for psychologists and managers who need to understand and prevent, or minimize, work-related health problems. This major Handbook covers:

• Concepts and problems that define the field
• Diagnosis of individual stress and psychosocial work hazards
• Interventions and methods for a wide range of specific problems
• Preventive programmes for health promotion and counselling at work

Also addressed are process problems of career development and organizational change; acute problems like burnout and alcohol or drug misuse; and the special problems of women at work, and the impact of new technology.