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Work Stress and Health: The Case of Japan

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Work Stress and Health in a Globalized Economy

Part of the book series: Aligning Perspectives on Health, Safety and Well-Being ((AHSW))

Abstract

Japan was the first non-western modern society where the ERI model was tested and extensively explored. The positive findings were an important step towards judging the model’s validity across different socio-cultural contexts. In this chapter, the socioeconomic and political background of the current employment and working conditions in Japan is briefly described, followed by a review of main research findings, including some important methodological improvements contributed by Japanese scientists. While there is a rich body of findings on associations of ERI with a variety of health indicators (specifically mental health, musculoskeletal disorders, sleep disturbances), biological markers, health behaviors, and job performance, evidence derived from prospective cohort studies is still scarce. Given a well-developed occupational health and safety policy in this country, more vigorous efforts in monitoring and improving adverse psychosocial work are warranted, and the ERI model seems well suited to instruct such developments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan

    Akizumi Tsutsumi

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  1. Akizumi Tsutsumi
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Correspondence to Akizumi Tsutsumi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Life Science Centre, University of Düsseldorf Life Science Centre, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Johannes Siegrist

  2. Institute for Medical Sociology, University of Düsseldorf Institute for Medical Sociology, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Morten Wahrendorf

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Tsutsumi, A. (2016). Work Stress and Health: The Case of Japan. In: Siegrist, J., Wahrendorf, M. (eds) Work Stress and Health in a Globalized Economy. Aligning Perspectives on Health, Safety and Well-Being. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32937-6_8

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