Fed. govt. token acknowledgement of "psychiatric injury" in workplace.
"Psychiatric injury" seems to be more of a European and UK term.
They have more laws and hotlines about "workplace bullying."
Workplace bullying doesn't seem to be recognized legally in the US, although there is a site about it.
It took me a long to find a sanitized, Americanized reference to the phonenom, several years ago.
The conditions which cause stress at work are similar to those experienced by people who have been investigated by CPS, etc.
The article still denies that stress is a bad situation.
In other words, there is nothing wrong with the situation,
but there is something wrong with your reaction to the situation.
I have read that there is no condition of psychological disorder listed in the DSM (Diagnostic & Statistical Manual) that is defined by trauma. They are all defined by a person's REACTION to trauma. So it doesn't matter how a person REACTS, they can still find a disease label for any of it.
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/stresswk.html
Job stress can be defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. Job stress can lead to poor health and even injury.
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Nearly everyone agrees that job stress results from the interaction of the worker and the conditions of work. Views differ, however, on the importance of worker characteristics versus working conditions as the primary cause of job stress. These differing viewpoints are important because they suggest different ways to prevent stress at work.
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On the basis of experience and research, NIOSH favors the view that working conditions play a primary role in causing job stress. However, the role of individual factors is not ignored. According to the NIOSH view, exposure to stressful working conditions (called job stressors) can have a direct influence on worker safety and health. But as shown below, individual and other situational factors can intervene to strengthen or weaken this influence.
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Job Conditions That May Lead to Stress
The Design of Tasks. Heavy workload, infrequent rest breaks, long work hours and shiftwork; hectic and routine tasks that have little inherent meaning, do not utilize workers' skills, and provide little sense of control.
Example: David works to the point of exhaustion. Theresa is tied to the computer, allowing little room for flexibility, self-initiative, or rest.
Management Style. Lack of participation by workers in decision- making, poor communication in the organization, lack of family-friendly policies.
Example: Theresa needs to get the boss's approval for everything, and the company is insensitive to her family needs.
Interpersonal Relationships. Poor social environment and lack of support or help from coworkers and supervisors.
Example: Theresa's physical isolation reduces her opportunities to interact with other workers or receive help from them.
Work Roles. Conflicting or uncertain job expectations, too much responsibility, too many "hats to wear."
Example: Theresa is often caught in a difficult situation trying to satisfy both the customer's needs and the company's expectations.
Career Concerns. Job insecurity and lack of opportunity for growth, advancement, or promotion; rapid changes for which workers are unprepared.
Example: Since the reorganization at David's plant, everyone is worried about their future with the company and what will happen next.
Environmental Conditions. Unpleasant or dangerous physical conditions such as crowding, noise, air pollution, or ergonomic problems.
Example: David is exposed to constant noise at work.
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Stress sets off an alarm in the brain, which responds by preparing the body for defensive action. The nervous system is aroused and hormones are released to sharpen the senses, quicken the pulse, deepen respiration, and tense the muscles. This response (sometimes called the fight or flight response) is important because it helps us defend against threatening situations. The response is preprogrammed biologically. Everyone responds in much the same way, regardless of whether the stressful situation is at work or home.
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But when stressful situations go unresolved, the body is kept in a constant state of activation, which increases the rate of wear and tear to biological systems.
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There is a related document on
The changing organization of work.
In the workplace bullying literature, they call it "institutional bullying."
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/pdfs/02-116.pdf
page 22, "flexible staffing" is discussed
Research is needed to better understand how
new work systems affect workers’ capacity to
influence job conditions and opportunities for
learning and growth and, in turn, the impact on
safety and health in the workplace. Increased
worker control and learning opportunities are
recognized in the job stress literature as powerful
antidotes to stress and illness. But concern
exists that various worker participatory or involvement
strategies may often be more ceremonial
than substantive, having little meaningful
influence on worker empowerment—or perhaps
even eroding workers’ means to influence job conditions
through more traditional labor-management
mechanisms such as collective bargaining. Concern
also exists that cross-functional teamwork and job
enlargement strategies may in some instances multiply
the number of tasks workers perform with
little net effect on worker competencies.