The largest single cause of stress is lack of control over one's situation and, in today's competitive world with its greater time pressures, job instability, skills requirements and increasing demands at work, almost all occupations are subject to it. Controlling workplace stress The ILO and specialists in occupational psychology such as Doctors Cary L. Cooper, Tom Cox, Amanda Griffiths and Michiel Kompier, who contributed to the ILO project, recommend that before any efforts to design a healthier workplace are undertaken, a stress assessment must be carried out to determine what the sources of stress are. A stress audit addresses the work-related causes whereas other actions only address the symptoms. Occupation-specific sources of stress also exist, as the ILO's five studies show. For example, one of the more stressful parts of working in the offshore oil and gas industry is the helicopter travel to and from the rig in abysmal North Sea weather, while, for bus drivers, reconciling driving to a tight schedule with driving safely and being pleasant with passengers is a great source of stress.
Nurses have to live with constant suffering and death while providing comfort.
It is often these sources of stress which are the most difficult to counteract. The biggest source of stress is change and uncertainty. You need to communicate change. We've had a number of factory closures but have taken measures to notify people potentially concerned at a very early stage. This creates less pressure.