Abstract
Psychological stress in the workplace is particularly common and has been the topic of numerous studies. In this chapter we update our prior systematic review (Jarczok MN, Jarczok M, Mauss D, Koenig J, Li J, Herr RM, Thayer JF, Neurosci Biobehav Rev 37:1810–1823, 2013) and elucidate the current knowledge about work stress and autonomic nervous system activity. A systematic search was conducted, and 18 studies published between the year 2013 and March 2019 were included reporting data from the years 2007–2016. Overall, 7 out of 17 studies reported a negative and significant association between vagally mediated HRV and measures of stress at work. The remaining ten studies report small negative or positive but nonsignificant associations to work stress measures. Some of the mixed findings might be traced back to small sample sizes, or other measurement issues. A comprehensive meta-analysis was not possible due to very heterogeneous data collection and measurement procedures and also due to insufficient data reporting. Based on this chapter, one can tentatively conclude that work stress is associated with autonomic nervous system imbalance which has been shown to be a risk factor for increased morbidity and mortality. Future high-quality studies are needed to explicate the relationship between stress at work and health.
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Jarczok, M.N., Jarczok, M., Thayer, J.F. (2020). Work Stress and Autonomic Nervous System Activity. In: Theorell, T. (eds) Handbook of Socioeconomic Determinants of Occupational Health. Handbook Series in Occupational Health Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05031-3_27-1
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