Job stress linked to heart disease
Working in a high-pressure job, and feeling undervalued for it, appears substantially to increase a man’s risk of suffering from heart disease, researchers have found. For the study, a team at the Smidt Heart Institute in Los Angeles looked at two types of work stress, identified by previous research. One was work strain, which is experienced when the job is demanding, but the worker’s control over it is low. The other relates to an effort-reward imbalance, when the person is working hard, but feels unfairly compensated, in terms of pay, promotion or job stability. Some 6,000 white-collar workers were assigned to different groups, according to whether they fell into one or both or neither of these categories, and tracked for 18 years. The results…
