Psychological well-being at work: Is prevention better than cure?

Reynolds, Shirley (1997) Psychological well-being at work: Is prevention better than cure? Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 43 (1). pp. 93-102. ISSN 1879-1360

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Abstract

This article describes a comparative stress management intervention study. The impacts and outcomes of an individual level intervention (counseling) and an organizational level intervention (increasing employees' participation and control) are compared. The results suggest that counseling has clear benefits for employees' psychological well-being and that the organizational intervention does not. Neither intervention had any impact on perceptions of work characteristics, physicial symptoms, or absenteeism. It is suggested that the causal relationships between the work environment and psychological distress have not been demonstrated and that techniques for bringing about change in complex organizations are poorly developed. For these reasons, the strategy of changing work conditions cannot, at present, be expected to improve the psychological states of employees. Thus, whereas organizational interventions that aim to prevent psychological distress may be “better” in ethical and moral terms, individual interventions that aim to treat existing psychological problems or help individual employees manage difficult working conditions appear to be “better” in terms of efficacy and efficiency.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	sdg 3 - good health and well-being ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/good_health_and_well_being
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Psychological Sciences (former - to 2018)
Depositing User:	EPrints Services
Date Deposited:	25 Nov 2010 11:12
Last Modified:	16 Apr 2024 15:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/14562
DOI:	10.1016/S0022-3999(97)00023-8

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