ABSTRACT
In1982Payne,JickandBurke,reviewingstressresearch,wrotethat'the volumeoforganizationalstressresearchhasgrownmarkedlyinrecentyears ashasgeneralinterestinthesubject.'The1980sweremarkedbyintense debateoverhowstressshouldbeconceptualizedandinvestigated,although throughoutthistimeworkstressresearchachievedlegitimacyasanareaof study(Newton,1989).By1991thepictureappearstohavebeenmuchthe same.Thefieldwasstilldescribedasrapidlyexpanding,markedthistimeby vigorousdisagreementsaboutmodelsandtheories,beginningwiththedefinitionofstressitself(KahnandByosiere,1991).Theviewthatemergesfrom thesereviewsisthattheattentionofwork-stressresearchershas,somewhat understandably,beendirectedprimarilytowardsidentifyingthoseconditions atworkthatareconsideredstressful,andthosevariablesthatmoderatethe relationship.Onlynowisresearchbeingdirectedtowardsthestressprocessthatis,thosemechanismsthatlinktheindividualtotheenvironment(see Lazarus,1991).
