Tien

Nguyen ENG 119 Academic Essay

Word count: 1620 Words

A comparison of the impact of work-related stress upon health in the United Kingdom and Poland

Society has undergone drastic changes over the last fifty years. The fast pace of life compels humans
to keep up with new technologies and run to hectic schedules, emphasizing the downsizes of
unitasking. Yet such pressure, in a vicious circle, according to Brown (2014), can induce behavioral,
mood and attention disorders. Intrigued by the nature of pressure, the author decided to devote this
piece of writing to exploring how work stress, a topic closely related to pressure, influences modern
business in the United Kingdom, a Western European country, and Poland, an Eastern European
country and at the same time a post-communist nation. This essay sets out with the differences
between pressure and stress to explain stress more clearly. It continues with distinctive types of stress,
its causes, its consequences. Next, certain differences related to health behaviors and aspects in the
two countries are pointed out. The final section is dedicated to the comparison of work-stress
association with health in the United Kingdom and Poland.

To begin with, it is vital to distinguish pressure from stress, which is the main theme of this essay, for
the two concepts are often mistaken with each other due to their supposedly shared negative
implication. Pressure, as defined in Oxford Learners Dictionaries (2015), points to hardships and
anxious feelings triggered by the drive for achievement or certain behavior. This tension can either
motivate one to accomplish their tasks on time with fine results or result in apathy, depression and
rust-out - the state of underbeing. (Palmer and Cooper, 2010). The definition of stress, in contrast,
varies slightly. Epstein (1999) refers stress to a state in which physiological balance is unachievable.
The condition involves emotional problems and mental unpleasantness. From another standpoint,
Roger (1997) suggests people experiencing stress are excessively preoccupied with emotional issues
provoked by certain events. Sharing these authors opinions, Palmer and Cooper (2010) simplify the
definition of stress as the unfavorable outcome when one is placed under intolerable pressure.
Expressed in another way, excessive pressure causes stress. This interpretation will be referred to
continually in this piece of writing for easier understanding.

According to Roger (1997), stress can be divided into post-traumatic stress and everyday stress. He
defines the former relatively similar to Palmer and Coopers general definition of stress (2010) as
mentioned previously, yet putting more emphasis on the exposure to certain series of happenings
such as a severe calamity or a dreadful accident involving death. A typical aftereffect is the occurrence
of frequent sudden flashbacks, bringing about all negative emotional reactions following the
unfortunate incident. This type of stress is also regarded as a psychological disorder demanding skilled
and experienced counsellors. On the other hand, daily stress denotes the constant effort of adapting
to inescapable occurrences in life. This fact raises the issue of symptom identification and detection
for several reasons: the vague link between everyday stress and symptoms accompanying this stress
type; the immense diversity of symptoms in terms of individual differences; the confusion derived
from an attempt to recall past events and the extra anxiety over existing emotional distress. (Roger,
1997) Work stress, which is the subject of this essay, falls into the second category.

The precedents for stress, known as stressors, are threatening factors that jeopardize ones safety as
well as physical, financial and mental well-being. While such apparent elements as an overdue bill, the
presence of a serial killer on the loose or a hungry tiger are noticeable sources for one to mentally
prepare to either defend or flight, this state can still exist in spite of the unavailability of actual risks.
(Epstein, 1999). For example, one might find himself or herself in the state of extreme panic when
getting a call from a strange number though the call might actually bring good news. Providing an
explanation as to how one might suffer from stress, Epstein (1999) and Roger (1997) concur that the
condition must be taken individually. A research by the Health and Safety Executive (no date) reveals
that work-related stressors comprise of work overload, inability to control, influence or involve in the
job, poor work relationships, a lack of understanding of role and responsibilities and a lack of
employee engagement in times of change. The study also emphasizes that these factors correlate with
each other: Higher control over what to be accomplished reduces work overload, while supportive
colleague/employee-employer relationships greatly raise the level of control.

Major consequences emerge as the body encounter work-stress. First, stress can disrupt the natural
circadian rhythm by gradually changing eating and sleeping patterns. One may have to spend more
time to fall asleep, or wake up easily for a trivial sound, or feel extremely tired despite having enough
sleep. As the immune system is deteriorated, one may also find himself or herself illness-prone,
absent-minded, slow-thinking, frequently tired and anxious, more apathetic and easily angry. More
seriously, one may suffer heart attack, stroke, permanent or long-term damage to the brain. Regarding
the aspect of personal life, relationship issues and sexual problems arise, while taking into account of
corporate level, absenteeism and reduced productivity spring, which in turn pushes up health
insurance and compensation expenses and even legal actions for the company. (Epstein, 1999; Roger
1997). In fact, a survey carried out by CIPD (2016) among 1000 HR professionals in the U.K indicates
that stress stands as the second-most common cause of short-term absence and the top popular cause
of long-term state of not being present. Work strain also costs U.K business owners 6.5 billion
approximately on an annual basis (Shearer, 2013).

However, only a few studies tap into the level of influence that work stress has on health in Poland
and United Kingdom population (Salavecz et al., 2010). There has been a small gap between Poland
and UK considering morbidity and mortality rates after the shift to market economies. Current life
expectancy for women is 82.8 years and for men is 79.1 year in the UK (Office for National Statistics,
2016) while it is 81.6 years for women and 73.5 years for men (Country Economy, no date). Economic
factors in Poland, however, are less favorable than United Kingdom. To illustrate, United Kingdom
GDP per capita was recorded at over $41,000 in 2015, healthcare expenditure per person was nearly
$3,000 in 2013 compared with Polands $15,000 GDP per capita in 2015 and $910 health expenditure
per capita in 2014 (Trading Economics, 2017; Office for National Statistics, 2015). Therefore, several
researchers assume that such unhealthy behaviors of a higher level as drinking alcohol excessively,
smoking frequently and inadequate, poor-balanced diet and nerve-wracking experience regarding
work role in Poland can elucidate the differences in health between the country and the UK (Salavecz
et al., 2010).

In attempt to test the theory, Salavecz and his colleagues employed several quantitative methods
including questionnaires and sampling (2010). 10,000 UK male and female took part in the study, and
there were 28,947 individuals in the Czech Republic, Poland and Russia area, with under-65 age
restriction. Their collected data are shown as follows:

Source: Salavecz et al. (2010)

Source: Salavecz et al. (2010)


Source: Salavecz et al. (2010)

The findings show no distinctive difference regarding the level of association of work stress with health
in these two countries. Excluding all research explanation, Salavecz et al. (2010) claims that it might
stem from firstly the fact that Polish do not consider most jobs as stressful. Strong material deprivation
can also be attributed to the result. Accordingly, despite all differences stated previously, there is no
concrete evidence to justify a more intense connection of work-related stress with health in Poland
compared with the UK. (Salavecz et al., 2010)

To recap, the negative influence of work stress on health is transparent in both the United Kingdom
and Poland. Despite political and economic differences together with the gap of mortality rates and
life expectancy between the two countries, the impacts in the post-communist country Poland are not
clearly stronger than those in the Western European country United Kingdom.

 Reference List
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