Rlchard Pettlnger

KORNHAUSER, A. (1965) MENTAL HEALTH OF THE INDUSTRIAL WORKER: A DETROIT STUDY. WILEY

At the same time as the ‘‘Affluent Worker’’ studies were being conducted in the UK, Kornhauser was studying the attitudes, behavior, and lifestyles of car assembly workers in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The results indicated that low-grade repetitive factory work carried out in extremes of noise, dust, and dirt, and managed by an adversarial and confrontational supervisory style, led to both job dissatisfaction and poor mental health. Detroit workers complained of:

» low pay and job insecurity;

» poor working conditions, especially extremes of heat, noise, dust, and dirt;


» low status and a fundamental lack of respect and value exhibited by the company and its managers;

» lack of promotion opportunities;

» the adversarial and confrontational style of supervisors, especially over production quotas, quality of work, and meal and other breaks;

» the extreme effects of scientific management – the simplicity of job operations, repetitiveness, and boredom;

» lack of control or direct input into work; and

» the inability to use other capabilities at the place of work; and

» alienation fueled by feelings of futility, helplessness, and powerless- ness.

The stress-related outputs were as follows.

» The workers were anxious and tense, and were hostile to others.

» Long periods of work on car production lines led to negative self- concepts, and reduced feelings of self-worth.

» There was little satisfaction with life outside work, leading to social problems and the extent and prevalence of drink and drug abuse.

» The workers also tended to suffer from personal isolation and despair, and these feelings were transmitted to life outside work.

Kornhauser’s studies were carried out in similar occupational circum- stances to those of the ‘‘Affluent Worker’’ studies. However, the extent and prevalence of high levels of pay and rewards, and relative perceived job security in the ‘‘Affluent Worker’’ studies, meant that stress levels were found not to be as high as at Detroit. Kornhauser also argued that work with mass production characteristics such as these reduces this pattern of psychological reactions leading to stress, strain, and social problems, as well as workplace alienation.

Much of this was reinforced by a study carried out by R.A. Karasek at the University of Michigan and the Institute of Social Research in Stockholm, Sweden. Two surveys were conducted using random samples of the American and Swedish working populations, and asking similar questions about their experience of work.

Karasek argued that stress was related to two main job characteristics:

» workload; and

» discretion in how to do the work.

106 STRESS MANAGEMENT
Jobs in which workload and discretion are low require little mental or physical activity. Jobs with high workload and discretion are chal- lenging and provide opportunities to develop competence. Jobs with high discretion and low workload may be frustrating and create some stress. Karasek argued that the most stressful jobs were those that combined high workload and low discretion. This argument was confirmed by both the American and Swedish data. Examples of high stress jobs in America included assembly workers, garment stitchers, goods and materials handlers, all those in nursing and hospital activities, and telephone operators.

Karasek concluded that the two main symptoms of stress that could, and should, be observed by managers and supervisors were:

» exhaustion, including problems waking up in the morning and extreme fatigue in the evening; and

» depression, including nervousness, anxiety, and sleeping difficulties.

There was also a strong link demonstrated between high-stress work and the consumption of alcohol, drugs, tranquilizers, and sleeping pills. Karasek argued that it was not normally stressful to use mental ability, exercise judgment, and make decisions. Stress can therefore

be managed and reduced by increasing discretion in how work is performed. Discretion can be altered without changing workload, targets or deadlines, so mental health can be improved without affecting productivity.