(in German)

Impaired mental health is often seen as an individual problem (low resilience). This impression is supported by the fact that psycho-social stressors do not have direct effects; rather, they are interpreted and appraised differently, resulting in different individuals developing stress symptoms to different degrees. However, stressor appraisals are not only individual; they also reflect general human and cultural characteristics, thus resulting in similar reactions by many people. It is not appropriate to say "stress makes sick"; rather, stress augments the risk of becoming sick. Grave consequences usually do not result from single situations or episodes; rather, they emerge if the situation lasts over a long time and recovery is impaired. Typically, it is not single events but rather constellations of various stressors, combined with insufficient resources to counter these stressors, that increase the risk for stress-symptoms such as sleep problems, musculoskeletal symptoms, sweating, irritability, depressive mood, or high blood pressure. In the long run, performance will suffer, although many try to compensate for deteriorating performance capability by compensatory effort. Such developments are usually slow and initially reversible in that they improve if the situation improves. Over long periods of time, however, symptoms become chronic and are not easily reversed any more. Work that is interesting, contains challenges that are manageable, implies enough opportunity for recovery, is associated with support and appreciation, and offers good employment perspectives is conducive not only to the good health of the employees but also to the economic prosperity of the company.

This article is published in the Journal "Arbeitsmedizin, Sozialmedizin, Umweltmedizin : ASU, Zeitschrift für medizinische Prävention", Volume 53, Issue December 2018, pp. 54-56.

Please download the article "Mental health: Work psychology perspective" (in German only).