ABSTRACT
The experience of alienating work, stress, personal sociopsychological factors, and symptom frequency is presented for each occupational group. White-collar employees had work with a low alienating content and were likely to have high levels of self-esteem and moderate levels of personal mastery, compared with other occupational groups. They were likely to experience conditions that lead to the least stress. Literature based on a labor process approach shows blue-collar workers are likely to experience the greatest stress and ill-health disadvantage at work. This chapter addresses some of the implications for further research and some policy implications for addressing occupational ill-health in industry. Compensation for ill-health caused by occupational stress will not alleviate the causes of stress, but in order to deal equitably with the consequences of entrenched, inequitable work relations, compensation legislation should be extended. The chapter also presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book.
