Craftwork, which predominated for many centuries, was largely replaced by the industrial revolution. At the beginning of the 20th century, Taylorism further reshaped the workplace with its emphasis on narrow performance and efficiency using the technique of the assembly line, at the expense of employee collectivity and broader employee expertise and knowledge of the work process. Small businesses have been replaced by large centralized, multinational organizations. Most importantly, power to control the production process has been increasingly concentrated in the hands of management. The contemporary work environment is the locus in which adults now spend the majority of their waking hours, performing activities which are increasingly characterized, both by scientists and the workers, as demanding, constraining, and highly stressful.
Psychosocial factors identified with the workplace are a particular focus.
The econeurocardiology concept offers a framework in which the reader can understand how these stress mechanisms give rise to various cardiovascular target organ responses. Chapter 6 explores the methodological issues in the measurement of psychosocial factors at the workplace. Recommendations are made on how to improve the reliability, validity, and feasibility of these measures. Chapters 7-10 offer the clinician a set of tools for the evaluation and management of working people at risk for heart disease. These trends may result in greater exposure to psychosocial risk factors at the workplace, which may, in turn, increase the CVD epidemic.