Although work can be very beneficial, it also carries potential risks to the worker’s physical and mental health. Some types of work are associated with particular health risks. However, there are some factors which can occur in any type of work which are also potentially harmful. Where work environments are stressful (or where the work itself is stressful) the individual can suffer a variety of illnesses which are at least partly due to stress or may be made worse by stress. Stress tends to be greater where the worker has little if any control over the work done or over the work environment, or when the work does not lead to any sense of achievement or satisfaction. Paradoxically, work which is repetitive can also be very stressful.

While some types of work are widely recognised as more stressful than others, it is important to recognize that stress is really a product of the combination of the person and his or her work. Some people manage to cope better overall with stress than others, and we all cope better with some stressors than others. A job which one person finds too stressful to do may give another person great satisfaction.

Unemployment is commonly very stressful and increases the risks of falling ill. Those most likely to cope adequately with unemployment are people who are particularly resilient - they remain active, maintain their interests, continue to meet their friends and so on. Unfortunately, those are least able to cope with unemployment (because they lack such personal strengths) are sometimes also the ones who have the greatest difficulty in finding work.

There is a high rate of unemployment among people who have suffered a mental illness. For people whose illness has left them particularly vulnerable to further episodes of illness, the stress of attempting to return to work may be sufficient to bring on the illness again. However, such people are probably a small minority. Most people who have recovered sufficiently from a mental illness are capable of returning to some form of work, if only the opportunities were available. Those who are able to return to work commonly show definite benefits, like a reduction in symptoms and a lowered chance of having to be readmitted to hospital. However, being ill as well as without work commonly undermines a person’s self-confidence. This, and the long absence from work, often make returning to work even harder.

Therapeutic Work & your doctor continued...