Japense CEO Resigns over Employee Suicide due to Overwork, Company Charged With Death

'I accept responsibility': Japanese company boss resigns to take responsibility for young woman 'driven to suicide by overwork'

• Dentsu Inc. president Tadashi Ishii has quit following death of employee, 24
• Advertising agency boss resigned as prosecutors pressed charges against firm
• Want charges against unidentified worker who overworked Matsuri Takahashi
• 2000 Japanese people a year kill themselves due to work-related stress, the government said. 
  
  

The head of a top Japanese advertising agency has resigned just 24 hours after prosecutors pressed charges against his company for the suicide of an overworked employee.

* The first person to be officially ruled a suicide from overwork was also a Dentsu employee. 

* Ichiro Oshima, 24, didn't get a single day off for 17 months.
* She had averaged less than two hours of sleep a night.
* Still, Dentsu had argued in the 1997 court case that personal troubles were behind his 1991 suicide.
* Death linked to exhaustion is so common it's expressed as a special term, 'karoshi' which includes suicides from overwork. 

Dentsu Inc. president Tadashi Ishii told reporters he would take responsibility for the death of Matsuri Takahashi. The resignation came a day after prosecutors demanded charges be laid against an unidentified worker for driving the 24-year-old woman to kill herself last year, after clocking up massive overtime in the first months on the job.

Dentsu Inc. president Tadashi Ishii tell reportors he will resign over the suicide of a worker who had clocked massive overtime. (Kyodo News via Associated Press image)

Mr Ishii acknowledged overtime was still a major problem with more than 100 workers still doing more than 80 hours of extra work a month.

'This is something that should never have been allowed to happen,' he told reporters at his company's Tokyo headquarters on Thursday.

Ms Takahashi started working at Dentsu in April 2015. Her workload surged by October and she often returned home at five in the morning after working all day and night. She was clocking up 100 hours of overtime a month before she jumped from her workplace balcony in December 2015.

Matsuri Takahashi committed suicide in December 2015, just eight months after starting work at the Dentsu advertising agency which overworked her.

Labour regulators raided Dentsu last month after the company repeatedly promised to curtail overtime, suspected of being widespread.

It started turning off headquarters lights at 10 pm so workers would go home.

Dentsu acknowledged Takahashi's treatment was like harassment because her records showed monthly overtime within company regulations of 70 hours, with numbers like 69.9 hours, when she had actually been working far more hours.

 

Dentsu Inc. president Tadashi Ishii, pictured centre, bows with other senior executives during a media conference at the company's Tokyo headquarters (Kyodo News via AP)

 

She left a farewell email begging her mother to not blame herself. 

'You're the best mum in the world,' Ms Takahashi wrote. 

'But why do things have to be so hard?'

In September, the government ruled overwork had killed her.

                                   Japanese advertising company Dentsu Inc. Tokyo's headquarters

The first person to be officially ruled a suicide from overwork was also a Dentsu employee. 

Ichiro Oshima, 24, didn't get a single day off for 17 months and had averaged less than two hours of sleep a night. 

Still, Dentsu had argued in the 1997 court case that personal troubles were behind his 1991 suicide. 

Death linked to exhaustion is so common it's expressed as a special term, 'karoshi' which includes suicides from overwork. 

About 2000 Japanese people a year kill themselves due to work-related stress, the government said. 

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4070530/Dentsu-chief-resign-employees-suicide-overwork.html

Hospital worker claims toxic culture of bullying is leaving her colleagues suicidal and suffering panic attacks

• Stevie-Lee Semgreen resigned from Townsville Hospital in June this year 
• She did a year of night shift and claims hospital ignored her complaints  
• Managers and supervisors at the hospital have been accused of bullying
• Several employees suffer panic attacks, intense anger or feeling suicidal  
• The hospital said it provides effective channels for employees to complain
  

Stevie-Lee Semgreen worked on night shift for an entire year at Townsville Hospital until she resigned in June, saying her complaints were ignored by the hospital's management

A WOMAN has resigned from Townsville Hospital, Queensland, Australia claiming a toxic work environment has left several employees suicidal and others with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Managers and supervisors have been accused of bullying and harassing staff over the past three years. Several employees have taken sick and stress leave while others have suffered from panic attacks, severe anger and post-traumatic stress disorders, staff members claim.

They said incidents of verbal abuse had been reported, including inappropriate comments on people’s weight and workers being told they were not wanted on their rounds.

One woman, who chose to remain anonymous, launched an external review of Townsville Hospital after she lodged a complaint saying she felt suicidal

Hospital managers have been accused of bullying over a three-year period leaving several staffers suffering panic attacks, post-traumatic stress disorders and suicidal thoughts (stock image)

The Bulletin has been told dozens of complaints had been made to Townsville Hospital’s human resources department and the Australian Workers Union, but workplace issues, including heavy workloads, were being ignored.

However, Townsville Hospital and Health Service acting chief executive Kieran Keyes said the hospital had proven and effective channels for staff members to escalate concerns.

Former employee Stevie-lee Semgreen said she resigned as a result of the ongoing issues in June and has since moved to the Sunshine Coast. Ms Semgreen, who worked for a year on permanent night shift, said her complaints were brushed aside.

“I was told by one woman at AWU that by putting in a complaint, I was putting a target on my own back,” she said. “I had asked a few times if I could take my issues further but hospital’s management told me that I could not.”

AWU Queensland branch secretary Ben Swan said the union had been investigating Ms Semgreen’s complaints before she left the hospital. “The member concerned left Queensland Health and, as a consequence, that part of the investigation ceased,” he said.
“Our organisers do what they can to assist members through these processes.”

But two other employees, who requested anonymity due to fear of repercussions in the workplace, said they lodged complaints months ago that had still not been dealt with.
One woman called for an external review after she was left feeling suicidal.

“I’ve been with Queensland Health for many years and I’ve never witnessed anything like it,” the woman said. “I have had several workers tell me they are dealing with suicidal thoughts in the workplace because the bullying is so bad.”

AWU Queensland branch secretary Ben Swan said they were investigating Ms Semgreen's complaint about staff mistreatment before she resigned (stock image)

The employee said she had lodged complaints to the hospital and the AWU more than 12 months ago and had still heard nothing back. “We are isolated and alienated and not given any support,” she said. “Some of the workers feel they are powerless within their union.”

Another employee said she was still waiting to hear back about complaints that she had lodged six months ago.

Mr Keyes said the health service worked closely with staff and unions to resolve any issues. “The health service works closely and productively with unions who routinely raise workplace issues and act on behalf of their members at formal meetings with the health service,” Mr Keyes said.

AWU northern district secretary Bede Harding said complaints were taken seriously.
“All matters reported with the union by our members at Townsville Hospital have been and continue to be raised and addressed with the hospital’s HR executive team,” he said.
“Matters in relation to the advancement in careers and workload issues are also being addressed by the AWU formally with Townsville Hospital management.”

Source: http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/employee-quits-hospital-claiming-toxic-work-environment-and-bullying/news-story/9523cb59857b09a6c3a8bab21c1edfdd

VIDEO STORY : Bullied workers shattered; Workplace bullying costs Australian businesses an estimated $36 billion a year

Source TodayTonight

Bullying in the workplace is something that's rarely discussed, but it should be, as those whose lives it affects can be shattered forever.

Workplace bullying costs Australian businesses an estimated $36 billion a year.
In Victoria, the recently passed Brodie's Law has made bullying at work a criminal offence, but in every other state it's still not against the law.

Karen Carr lives a hair’s breadth from becoming yet another bullying statistic. She barely hangs on each day, having suffered months of ridicule, abuse and sabotage in a job she loved.
“It has reduced me to a shadow of my former self," Carr said.

WATCH STORY here - Video Link 

One in five Australian workers is bullied at work, with almost half of all victims simply leaving their jobs. It’s an epidemic that’s getting worse, and no company or industry is immune.
"This is an insidious disease that's of epidemic proportions," Carr said.
“Bullying is premeditated. It is intentional, repeated assault."

Carr still thinks of suicide daily. She is unable to return to work of any kind, and a successful career in newspapers has been destroyed by a pack of frenzied workmates. Despite this, she is the one punished, and the bullies have not even been reprimanded. “I am viewed as the criminal in this, and I am made to feel like that. Whereas the bullies are all living life just as they were seven years ago."

Nine years of constant harassment and bullying has left gentle giant Rob a quivering wreck, after he suffered a complete mental breakdown from taunts and abuse. Now his wife Tina is terrified to leave him alone, even for a minute. "It came to the point where Tina had to full-on wrestle me to the ground to get a knife off of me, because I was going to slit my throat," said Rob.
Workplace bullying, says Rob, destroyed his life.

“It was a day-to-day fight just to keep him from hurting himself, from killing himself, just to keep him alive,” Tina said. Rob now survives on a small pharmacy of pills and potions to get through every day. “People don't realise how serious bullying can be, and what it can do. People just think it's names in a schoolyard, but it is so much more than that," he explained.

Telstra linesman Levin Madeley is another bullying victim hounded out of his work by unrealistic pressures, crazy deadlines and workplace bullying. “I ended up having to go to the doctor before I did something really stupid," Madeley said. His wife Jenny knew something was wrong, but has no idea just how wrong or serious it was. “You think you know somebody really well, and Levin is my soul mate, so to not know that he was that close (to suicide), it hurts a lot," Jenny said.

Sadly some do take that terrible, final step. Nineteen-year-old Brodie Panlock jumped from a multi-story car park after enduring more than a year of workmates treating her like dirt at a Melbourne cafe. She was spat on, called fat and ugly, and once had fish sauce poured all over her. Under the tougher laws in Victoria, three so-called ‘workmates’ and the cafe owner were fined more than $300,000 after the all pleaded guilty.

Victoria is the only state to make bullying a crime, but is that enough?

Doctor Carlo Caponechia is doing a nation-wide study of workplace bullying and its terrible costs. He has been shocked by what he's uncovered. “One of the negatives is that it's not preventative. It takes for something bad to happen, like suicide or death or someone feeling very threatened and humiliated, and really negatively affected by this," Dr Caponechia said. “People are being hurt and they shouldn't be hurt in the course of their work."

But how do you fix a problem where the bulk of victims are too frightened to come forward?
According to Dr Caponechia “You have to make it safe for people to report, and you have to make sure people know how to report."

Carr is still waiting for her case to reach court. She’s hanging on, day by day, and praying for justice, but unable to banish her demons. “I will never forget. How can you forget an event that basically takes your life away as you knew it?"

Contact details

• Workplace bullying information - www.reachout.com

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263)

Research - Childhood trauma can shave years off life

Although this research is not about Bullying or Harassment in the Workplace, I thought that it was still of interest to post as Trauma is Trauma and the effects are lasting whether it be for a child or adult as the sufferer.

Report - Childhood trauma can cut your life short, according to new research that shows how adversity during childhood can shave a decade or more off your life.

"Our latest research shows that those reporting multiple adversities could shorten their lifespan by 7 to 15 years," Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, a health psychologist at the Ohio State University College of Medicine, told a Saturday sesson of the American Psychological Association meeting here.

Kiecolt-Glaser and her research partner Ronald Glaser and co-authors found that "childhood adversity can lead to inflammation and cell aging much earlier than for those who haven't experienced these events." Such adverse events include losing a parent, being abused or witnessing parental marital strife.

"What we have is clear evidence that adverse childhood experience may have lasting measurable consequences, even later in life," she says.

Using a community sample of 58 caregivers for a spouse or parent with Alzheimer's disease or dementia and a control group of 74 demographically similar people who had no caregiving responsibilities, researchers analyzed participants' depression levels and occurrence of childhood trauma to see how negative emotions and stressful experiences affect known biochemical markers of stress.

The researchers measured several blood inflammatory markers, including telomeres, which are the ends of strands of DNA. Shorter telomeres have been linked with aging, age-related diseases and death.

Participants completed questionnaires on depression and responded to questions about past child abuse or neglect; a parent's death during childhood; witnessing severe marital problems; growing up with a family member suffering from mental illness or alcohol abuse; or lacking a close relationship with at least one adult during childhood.

"We found that childhood adversity was associated with shorter telomeres and increased levels of inflammation even after controlling for age, caregiving status, gender, body mass index, exercise and sleep," Kiecolt-Glaser says. "Inflammation over time can lead to cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers."

In the sample, 32% of participants reported some form of abuse — physical, emotional or sexual — during childhood; 68% reported no such abuse. Just under half (44%) reported no childhood adversities; 33% reported one, and 24% reported multiple adversities.

Participants with cancer or diabetes and those who had surgery recently were excluded from the study, as were those taking anti-inflammatory drugs.

Kiecolt-Glaser says the study found that childhood abuse and caregiving were also associated with higher levels of depression, which she says suggests that psychological factors may influence the incidence and progression of a variety of age-related diseases.

"Interventions that diminish stress or depression or inflammation may enhance health and have a positive impact on immune and endocrine regulation," Kiecolt-Glaser says. Psychological treatment, exercise, yoga and meditation can lessen these negative emotions, which she says may diminish the inflammation.

"In terms of the whole inflammation literature, I'm very much impressed by the data in terms of exercise and how powerful it is. Of all the things that people can do for themselves, exercise is perhaps one of the best interventions," she says.

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When Workplace Harassment Boarders Harassment as Employers use myriad ways to monitor employees... OR How Do Employers Monitor Internet Usage at Work?

Is this you?

Or is this more accurate?

More employers use tech to track workers

Almost every worker has done it: gotten in a little Facebook updating, personal e-mailing, YouTube watching and friend calling while on the clock.

Such indiscretions often went undetected by company management everywhere but the most secure and highly proprietary companies or governmental agencies. Not anymore.

METHODS: Employers use myriad ways to monitor workers

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FOR ENTREPRENEURS: Small Business front page

Firms have become sharp-eyed, keenly eared watchdogs as they try to squeeze every penny's worth of their employees' salaries and to ensure they have the most professional and lawsuit-proof workplaces.

Managers use technological advances to capture workers' computer keystrokes, monitor the websites they frequent, even track their whereabouts through GPS-enabled cellphones. Some companies have gone as far as using webcams and minuscule video cameras to secretly record employees' movements.

"There are two trends driving the increase in monitoring," says Lewis Maltby, author of the workplace rights book Can They Do That? "One is financial pressure. Everyone is trying to get leaner and meaner, and monitoring is one way to do it. The other reason is that it's easier than ever. It used to be difficult and expensive to monitor employees, and now, it's easy and cheap."

Employers no longer have to hire a pricey private investigator to install a complicated video system or computer-use tracking devices. Now, they can easily buy machine-monitoring software and tiny worker-tracking cameras at a local electronics store or through Internet retailers.

Monitoring has expanded beyond expected, highly regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals and financial services. Employees at radio stations, ad agencies, media outlets, sports leagues, even thinly staffed mom-and-pop workplaces are tracked.

Smarsh, one of many firms that offers technology to monitor, archive and search employee communications on e-mail, IM, Twitter and text-messaging, services about 10,000 U.S. workplaces.

"Employees should assume that they are going to be watched," says CEO Stephen Marsh.

Keeping an eye out

Two-thirds of employers monitor workers' Internet use, according to an American Management Association/ePolicy Institute survey from 2007, the latest data available from those groups. Nearly half of employers said they track content, keystrokes and time spent at the keyboard.

They're seeking increased productivity but also are watching workers to make sure they're not spilling trade secrets, sending boss-slamming e-mails to bloggers who cover their particular industry, sexually harassing co-workers or posting discriminatory remarks on personal blogs.

Such monitoring has increasingly become part of the public debate in recent months because of several publicized events:

•Next month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case examining the allowable scope of monitoring workers' use of a company-provided pager.

Ontario, Calif., police officer Jeff Quon sent personal, and sometimes sexually explicit, text messages to his wife and a co-worker using an employer-provided pager. His office had a written company policy stating it retained the right to monitor work activities such as e-mail and Internet use but didn't specify text messages. Quon says his rights were violated because the department had an informal practice of not reviewing messages when the employee paid for overage charges, which he had done.

Among the issues the Supreme Court will examine: "Does the employee have an expectation of privacy when using an employer-issued handheld device to transmit personal messages? ... And whether his wife, who was not an employee, had a privacy expectation," says Wendy Lane, an attorney at Rutter Hobbs & Davidoff.

The decision in this case could be a "game changer" if Quon prevails, says Nancy Flynn, founder of training and consulting firm ePolicy Institute. "This could have implications for all (employer-supplied) electronic devices."

•The National Transportation Safety Board last month suggested using the "black box" cockpit recorders to routinely monitor pilots' conversations to make sure they are focused on work. The NTSB says this type of monitoring is a safety "essential" to make sure pilots are focused on flying — but pilots' unions say the practice would be intrusive.

•Japanese cellphone maker KDDI this month announced the creation of motion-sensing technology that can monitor even the smallest movements by employees, such as walking, climbing stairs and cleaning, according to a BBC report. If strapped to a cleaning worker's waist, a device with this technology can track actions such as scrubbing, sweeping and emptying garbage cans — and report the results back to managers.

Employer advantage

In most cases, the employer has the upper hand.

"Federal law gives employers the legal right to monitor all computer activity," says Flynn. "The computer system is the property of the employer, and the employee has absolutely no reasonable expectations of privacy when using that system."

That means employers can track which websites workers visit, the instant messages they send to co-workers, even e-mails sent through personal accounts — such as Gmail — while employees are logged onto the company network or using company-owned equipment such as a laptop.

"A classic mistake is thinking that changing to your personal account buys you any privacy," says Maltby. "If you send an e-mail out, it goes through your company server. If they're monitoring e-mail, the personal e-mail gets monitored just like business e-mail." Often, employers have good reason to snoop. According to a 2009 AMA/ePolicy survey:

•14% of employees admit to e-mailing confidential or proprietary information about a firm, its people, products and services to outside parties.

•14% admit to sending third parties potentially embarrassing and confidential company e-mail that is intended strictly for internal readers.

•89% of users admit to using the office system to send jokes, gossip, rumors or disparaging remarks to outsiders.

•9% have used company e-mail to transmit sexual, romantic or pornographic text or images.

On the employer side, 1-in-10 say they've gone to court to fight lawsuits that were specifically triggered by employee e-mail. In addition, 2% of employers were ordered by courts or regulators to produce employee instant messages (IMs). That's twice the amount reported in 2006.

Seen as intrusive

Maltby's book and a new report from the law firm Jackson Lewis list multiple examples of employees getting fired for something as innocuous-sounding as social-media use. But once employees step into dangerous areas such as publicly criticizing their company, they are vulnerable to employer discipline.

Bosses can penalize employees for what they deem as "inappropriate" posts, videos and pictures on social-networking sites, even if a worker uses those sites during non-working hours.

Management at independent brokerage and investment banking firm J.P. Turner not only tracks e-mail, it also follows up on the personal Twitter and Facebook use of the approximately 100 employees at their Atlanta headquarters and the company's registered representatives at more than 180 U.S. offices.

J.P. Turner doesn't allow "unapproved, professional use of social-networking sites," and searches for company mentions on those sites — such as an employee listing the firm name on his or her personal Facebook biography. If a posting associated with the company doesn't reflect good judgment on behalf of the user, the firm notifies that worker's supervisor and asks to have the post removed, says Compliance Officer Michael Isaac.

Even as they make some seemingly harmless — and some not-so-harmless — infractions, employees are usually horrified when they realize they are being watched.

"Frankly, employees tend to resent monitoring," says Flynn.

And they are often surprised and embarrassed at the ramifications.

In 2001, Heather Armstrong launched the blog Dooce.com to write about topics such as pop culture and music. She also wrote about her co-workers at a small software company.

"I really, really thought that my employer was not ever going to find it," she says. But a fellow employee tipped off the company vice presidents, and Armstrong was fired.

"They just said it was unacceptable that I had done this," she says.

All of her belongings were boxed up, and she was escorted to her car. "I was humiliated," she says. "It was a dumb move on my part."

Her advice for would-be bloggers: Get company permission. "No matter who you don't want to read it — they'll find it," she says.

They have their reasons

Many staffers don't realize that their employers have legal and ethical reasons behind their snooping. Workplaces with monitoring policies often don't let employees know they are trying to prevent serious issues such as sexual harassment cases.

"You can't expect an untrained workforce to be compliant," says Flynn. "If employers would just take the time to do some training and explain, 'Here's why we're doing the monitoring. We're not electronic voyeurs, we're not trying to dig into your personal life, that's not our concern,' then the whole monitoring scenario would go over much more successfully with employees."

Yet, even if a company is seemingly open about its monitoring, there is reason for workers to be concerned about what communications they receive from management.

A court precedent says that employees have no rights to privacy in e-mail, even if a company promises not to track it, Maltby says. Also, workers should never assume that if they don't get any memos on monitoring, that it isn't happening. "Just because your boss doesn't tell you he's monitoring, that doesn't mean it's not happening," he says.

Maltby and other workplace experts suggest a healthy dose of paranoia — as well as the purchase of a personal cellphone and computer that are never used for work-related tasks — as the only safe way around the watchful boss.

"It's technically possible to monitor just about anything," says Marsh. And for those who really want to be safe, he suggests leaving the work building, going around the corner and "talking to someone face to face."
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Employers use myriad ways to monitor employees

Physically going undercover

Some top managers are known for surreptitiously strolling into their company's retail stores to see how the front lines are doing. CBS turned this practice into a reality show, last month launching Undercover Boss.

WORKPLACE: More employers use tech to track workers

"I typically try to find things that are positive," says 7-Eleven CEO Joe DePinto, who was recently featured on the show. "But I will always see things that can be improved."

DePinto adds that managers can sometimes get more candid feedback when they go undercover: When employees know they're talking to the CEO, they often "tell you what you want to hear rather than what is really happening."

Scrutinizing social-media use

"With social media, (employers) can monitor the actual posts and (view) what the pages and accounts look like, and take snapshots," says Stephen Marsh, CEO of Smarsh, a firm that offers monitoring technology. "If you don't like that someone is going to follow someone on Twitter, you can block that action."

Last year, 2% of employers said they terminated workers for content posted on personal social-networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace; 1% lost their jobs due to videos posted on sites such as YouTube.

Monitoring e-mail and IMs

A quarter of companies said they fired employees for e-mail policy violations in 2009, up from 14% in 2001, according to an American Management Association/ePolicy Institute poll. And 4% of companies said they've had IM-related terminations — double the 2% in 2006.

Tapping office phones

Employers can listen in on business calls and personal voice mail messages, says author Lewis Maltby. But they can't eavesdrop on personal calls while they're taking place, since that would violate federal wiretapping laws.

Watching personal Web postings

"So many people have been fired for the content that they posted on their personal blogs, that there's a term for that — it's dooced," says Nancy Flynn, founder of training and consulting firm ePolicy Institute. (That term came about after the founder of the Dooce.com blog was fired from her software job because of her blogging.)

"People put anything that pops in their head on their personal websites and social-networking sites, thinking their boss will never read it, but that's not true," says Maltby.
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HEALTH - Your Boss Really Is Killing You - Women May Be More Vulnerable To The Detriments of Stress In Texas

Your Boss Really Is Killing You;

Women May Be More Vulnerable To The Detriments of Stress In Texas

By Patt Carpenter

"You know, I can handle my job. It's my boss that's killing me." Well, it turns out Christine, an administrative assistant for a large Midwestern city government office, may not be far from the truth. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Americans are more likely to suffer a second heart attack if they work a stressful job. Authors Katherine Crowly and Kathi Elster of Working With You Is Killing Me: Freeing Yourself From Emotional Traps At Work, say complaints about bosses are what they hear the most.

To most of us, this seems like common sense. We joke with family and colleagues all the time about it. "Come on," we say when a loved one comes home after a stressful day. "You're going to give yourself a heart attack. Relax!" Workers from high-stress, bustling environments, like those in Austin, Dallas, and Houston, can probably relate. Our comforting words may serve a greater purpose than simple solace, however -- they may amount to life-saving advice.

For women, the news is even more disconcerting. In the United States alone, half a million women under age forty-five perish every year due to heart disease. In Texas, the condition killed more people than stroke and all other cancers, but women are more likely to suffer from it than men, according to the Texas Heart Institute. The statistic is surprising considering that the female sex has been treated less aggressively in the past for cardiovascular conditions. Women were not referred for diagnostic tests as often, according to the Institute, and heart attacks were recognized less of the time due to symptoms that often differ from those experienced by men. By the time many women are diagnosed, the severity of heart disease is usually greater and the diagnosis poorer.

In the year following a heart attack, women have a fifty percent greater chance of dying, and in six years, they're more likely to suffer a second one. Females also carry a 300% greater risk of enduring a heart attack or stroke within five years after experiencing a full-blown panic attack, according to a study recently published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

So what's going on? Why do women seem so much more vulnerable to the detrimental effects of stress? Dr. Jordan Smoller, co-author of the study on panic attacks and heart risk, speculated that the link between panic attacks, heart attacks, and stroke may be due to heart rhythm problems or a release of stress hormones associated with panic attacks. Older women may also be more prone to the potentially deadly episodes due to decreasing estrogen levels.

Laura Kubzansky, of the Harvard School of Public Health, was not involved in Smoller's study, but conducts similar research. "The body is flooded with hormones that in the short run help [it] cope with the emergency," she said, "but in the long run take a toll."

What could, perhaps, be just as frightening is that nearly fifty million Americans are currently living without health insurance -- including one million women in Texas, according to a 2004 report released by Planned Parenthood of Houston. Lack of insurance is often linked with less access to care, says the Commonwealth Fund, a non-profit agency. So if more women are suffering from heart disease, a condition in which screening is of vital importance, yet many of those women lack adequate access to care due to health insurance issues, the nation has a serious healthcare dilemma on its hands -- and that's only considering the implications of one disease. What of cancer, HIV, obesity, and diabetes? This dire situation is of particular importance for Texas, which has the highest rate of uninsured adults at twenty-five percent, and a growing problem with chronic conditions -- like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

One way to reduce risk, with or without health insurance, is to get a grip on stress in the workplace. In an interview with CNN, Crowly and Elster lent the following advice:

(1) Detach and depersonalize from situations you can't control.
If you have a difficult boss, for instance, accept the fact you are not going to change that person. Stress often comes about from expecting something you're simply not getting, so understand what he or she will, and will not, provide. If it's appreciation you're seeking, find it in co-workers or from simply knowing you are doing a good job.

(2) Accept that it may not be your fault.
Life isn't fair, and that sometimes includes the treatment you receive. Maybe your boss is a screamer -- a ranter and a raver, even -- but guess what? It may have nothing to do with you. Accept what you can improve on and do it, but don't blame yourself for another's nasty behavior, even if it comes from your superior.

(3) Find a physical outlet for your tension.
Go to the gym. Take a run, a hike, or a yoga class. Hell, get a massage. Just find a way to get it out! Tension builds up on a physical, as well as a psychological, level. Developing a method of dealing with it will help relax your frantic mind, as well as your clenched body.

(4) Just say "moo."
A "sacred cow" at work is what Crowly and Elster define as that boss -- you know, the one everyone thinks should have been "laid-off" long ago, but has somehow managed to hang on to give you orders. Yeah, that one. What do you do? Blow it off. Give him or her credit for being there and simply move on. Refusing to get wrapped up in negative emotions over the situation may be the only way to function on a professional level.

(5) Campaign for yourself.
Back-stabbers at work will always exist. They cut you out of meetings, into conversations, are always eager to jump in when you're not there, but are oh-so-sweet to your face. Confronting them is useless. Instead, make sure the truth is known about your skills and competencies. Know you're good at what you do, and don't be afraid to show it and to let it be known...diplomatically, of course.

(6) Remember you are in control of your experiences.
No one can dictate how you feel or how you react to situations. Ultimately, this is your responsibility, and there's a great freedom in knowing that no one has the power to upset or anger you unless you allow it. Someone else may hold your paychecks, but they can never hold your emotions.

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HEALTH - Other workplace hazards - How your office makes you sick

From long hours at your desk to keyboards that harbour more germs than loo seats – working life can be a real health hazard. Rob Sharp offers survival tips

Vertebrae-skewing chairs, Mr Angry for a boss, an air-conditioning unit that's a ticking time-bomb – many factors can destroy the calm of our working environment, but most of us hope to survive each day at the office so that we are alive and well to battle our way through the next.

However, research is claiming that such hopes might be misplaced. According to a report published this month by the American Journal of Epidemiology, middle-aged workers working for more than 55 hours a week have poorer mental skills, short-term memory and word recall than those working less than 41 hours over the same period. What's more, some media reports have linked dawn-to-dusk working times to the onset of cognitive afflictions such as dementia. The extent of the damage to one's mental faculties is thought to equate to what one might experience from extensive smoking.

The study – conducted by researchers at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health – has won at least partial support from the British scientific community. Dr John Challenor, a consultant occupational physician who advises the Society of Occupational Medicine, says: "The research seems to suggest a link between middle-aged people working long hours and cognitive function. From their research, it seems there are grounds to think this is true. However, the link to cognitive diseases, such as Alzheimer's, is tenuous."

However, the specialist says there are a number of salient connections between other factors affecting the quality of our working environment and stress levels, as well as the spread of disease. "A certain amount of anxiety is healthy because it is natural to feel that adrenalin-mediated sensation of fight, flight or frolic.

However, if anxiety is unremitting it can have adverse health effects, put hearts under strain, deteriorate our moods and interrupt our sleep."

Here, we run through some of the main reasons why office-based strain can cause us harm, and what we can do to lessen its effects.

Experts say common hazards includes uncomfortable chairs and germ-ridden keyboards.

Open plan? Then wash your hands

While open-plan offices can aid inter-departmental communication, they also allow viruses such as common colds to spread easily. "If there are epidemics around, the illness can easily be spread," Challenor says. "You're at a higher risk of picking up viruses in a place where there are large numbers of people coming into contact with each other."

Poor design of offices can make your day-to-day life noisy and vulnerable to intrusion, and thus stressful. "Newspapers, say, are stimulating environments in which to work," says Professor Cary Cooper, an expert in workplace stress at Lancaster University. "But working in a solitary profession – say, as a financial analyst – and being cooped away from people; does that involve and engage people?"

What to do: Challenor says the spread of germs can be halted by regularly washing your hands. "Keep the place that you work as tidy as you would your house," he says. "Some offices don't have natural ventilation, so your facilities managers should make sure the air-conditioning inflow and outflow ducts are spotless." Open windows if you can, and don't come to work gratuitously if you have a cold.

Don't burn the midnight oil

"If you consistently work long hours, you will get ill – that's a fact," Cooper says. "It will damage your health. It is generally the case that you have no control over it, and if you are being overloaded by a manager, then that will make you sick." He says the ill effects will be minimised if you are in charge of your own workload, in which case you are less likely to burden yourself with unmanageable tasks.

Work is beneficial to begin with. As the amount of time spent working increases, so do the benefits, until a plateau is reached. "If too little time is engaged in concentrating and thinking about things constructively, then you go stale," Challenor says. "If you increase the amount of time you spend working, your ability increases and you get job satisfaction. But it does get to a point where there are adverse health effects. Enormous amounts of time doing the same task invariably causes what my teenage son used to call brain ache."

What to do: If your boss is expecting you to work more than your contracted hours, that needs to be addressed, although short spells of working long hours are relatively harmless. If you are working for long periods week after week, then you should request time off in lieu. Any ill effects can be mitigated with good diet, regular breaks and exercise three times a week.

Sit up straight and pay attention to your back

According to the charity BackCare, sitting badly, or sitting on a badly designed chair, can put too much pressure on the muscles of the lower back, potentially causing serious back pain that can become a chronic problem. Challenor says: "I have spent a lot of time looking at chairs throughout my career. And I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of people who know how to adjust their workstation properly."

Most organisations should assess their employees' workstations and be able to advise whether they are set up correctly. If they are not, it can cause visual, muscular or skeletal strain. Workplace regulations insist that organisations pay for eye tests if employees' sight is being affected by computer work, although Challenor says he "knows of no evidence that working with computers can affect your eyesight".

Cooper thinks computers can affect our health in other ways. "Being electronically overloaded can cause enormous problems. In the days of snail mail, people were much more active in their offices. People get in at nine in the morning and will send emails all day until they leave. They even have their lunch in front of a computer."

What to do: Find out how to adjust your chair to maximise comfort. "A chair adjusted for a 4ft 9in employee will not work for a 6ft tall employee," Challenor says. The best posture is to sit back in your chair, not perched at the front, with your back and shoulders supported by the back of the chair.

Can electrical smog make you itch?

The existence of "electrical smog" – the electrical fields created in offices by large amounts of electrical equipment – is controversial, and evidence relating to its detrimental effects is anecdotal.

"When I worked in the electronics industry, there was an enormous amount of electrical equipment and there were occasionally scares where people thought they had been bitten by fleas," Challenor says. "People would get these irritations on their skin. In these closely controlled environments, there were no insects – so this must have been the effect of electrical discharge. I think there can be local adverse effects where there is a lot of static." We can observe this in offices that have older CRT-screen monitors, which collect static.

What to do: If an employee thinks there's something wrong with the air in the office, they should take steps to adjust ventilation, buy an ioniser, or make sure equipment is properly earthed.

Your boss could be killing you

Working for someone who's difficult isn't only bad for your mental health. A bad boss can actually be bad for your heart, increasing the risk of heart attack and death in people of all ages, according to a study published last year in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The research found a higher rate of heart disease among those who considered their boss to be incompetent. Some people thrive under the pressure of meeting persistent deadlines, but in others this can cause anxiety. What helps most workers is having a manager who works with, rather than against them. "Most human beings can put up with a lot of emotional and physical challenges," says the occupational health specialist. "But when management and the physical environment are under par, it can seem like everything is conspiring against you."

"Obviously, a bullying boss will damage your health," Cooper says. "The less control you perceive yourself to have over your work, the more vulnerable you will be to being ill."

What to do: First, talk to colleagues and work out the frequency of any unpleasantness – "Are they always like this?" – and make a judgement on whether you are being oversensitive. Challenor says an employee should speak to the offending individual and tell them that their manner can be upsetting or offensive. "By far the best way is to solve these things without acrimonious or litigious action," says Challenor.

What's lurking in your keyboard?

Research by Dr Charles Gerba, an American microbiologist, has found that keyboards have 3,295 microbes per square inch, compared with 49 per square inch for the average lavatory seat. Upper-limb discomfort is also commonly experienced as a result of too much typing. In this case, some believe the term "repetitive strain injury" is too emotive. "Yes, there is repetition when you are using a keyboard. But there is repetition in writing longhand," Challenor says. "In exams, you can get a tired arm but it is a long way from saying it is an injury."

Repetitive working activities such as data entry and keyboard work while on the telephone are worst for upper-body ache.

What to do: Keyboards should be kept clean and assessed to see if they are functioning properly. Problems such as sticky tab buttons or the angle of the keyboard's slope should be adjusted immediately. "Maintenance ought to be able to adjust these things," Challenor says.

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NEWS - CAMPAIGN : UK Employers must be able to manage stress in the workplace

In the UK they are taking Workplace Stress seriously.

Agency worker safety campaign launched

On 9th February the £1 million government campaign'KNOW YOUR RIGHTS' was launched to help employers know what their responsibilities involve regarding the health and safety of agency workers.

The scheme has also been launched to help employees hired through an agency know what they are entitled to and what rights they have in the workplace, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) reported.

A poster campaign will feature in public places, online and in local press, encouraging workers to be aware of their rights.

Over 13,000 employment agencies will be written to by Pat McFadden, business minister, to outline how they can make sure that their practices adhere to legislation.

Simon Garbett, chairman of the Employment Agents Movement, commented: "Enforcing minimum standards such as health and safety, minimum wages, holiday pay and ensuring workers pay is not reduced by illegal or unfair deductions is entirely appropriate."

In addition, Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said agency employees are among the most vulnerable workers in the UK and said the campaign is "welcome" to help them, which may interest companies considering risk assessment training.

WHAT ONE HEALTH & SAFETY CONSULTANCY AGENCY IS SAYING ABOUT THIS:
NUR IS OFFERING A RANGE OF COURSES FOR EMPLOYERS

Norwich Union Risk Services is urging employers to be more vigilant of the signs of stress in the workplace and have procedures to manage it effectively.

According to Health and Safety Executive (HSE) figures, work-related stress accounts for over a third of all new incidents of ill health and each case of stress-related absence is likely to lead to an average of one month off work.

Helen Toll, health and safety consultant, Norwich Union Risk Services, says that the Samaritan's Stress Down Day on 6 February was an important reminder that stress remains a very real issue, particularly in the current economic climate.

"Stress doesn't just affect the individual; it can have a detrimental impact on a business as well. It can lead to high levels of sickness absence, increased staff turnover and poor morale, all of which can all have a knock on effect on a company's reputation and customer satisfaction."

There are some practical tips that employers need to take into consideration in relation to managing stress in the workplace, according to Toll:

"Employers should establish a clear policy on stress management and other issues such as dealing with workplace harassment and bullying and violence to staff, which can be significant workplace stressors."

"Stress should be treated like any other workplace hazard. A risk assessment should be carried out, both at organisational level and within each team. It is important to work closely with employees and their representatives to identify the main sources of workplace pressure and develop realistic and workable solutions that proactively tackle the underlying causes of stress."

"Key to the successes of stress management programmes are senior management commitment, employee participation and the competence of line managers. It is essential that managers are provided with guidance and training in how to recognise the signs and symptoms of stress and understand the causes.

"They need to be clear about their role in stress prevention and management, know how to assess the risks and deal sensitively and supportively with employees who are struggling to cope."

"Employers should provide additional support for employees experiencing stress. This could be through the business's HR department or occupational health professionals. Providing access to confidential counselling services is also recommended."

Norwich Union Risk Services has just launched a new one day training course for employers. It includes advice on legal responsibilities, approaches to stress risk management and strategies for preventing and managing workplace stress.

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STUDY - Effect on ambulatory blood pressure of working under favourably & unfavourably perceived Supervisors

The effect on ambulatory blood pressure of working under favourably and unfavourably perceived Supervisors.

N Wager, G Fieldman, T Hussey

Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, UK

Correspondence to:
Dr N Wager,
Department of Human Sciences,
Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College,
Queen Alexandra Road,
High Wycombe,
Buckinghamshire HP11 2JZ, UK;
nwager01@bcuc.ac.uk

Aims: To investigate the role played by employees’ perceptions of their supervisors’ interactional styles as a possible source of workplace stress that may be associated with increased morbidity and mortality rates from cardiovascular disorders in workers in the lower strata of organisational hierarchies.

Methods: A controlled, quasi-experimental, field study of female healthcare assistants. Allocation to the experimental and control groups was based on participants’ responses to a supervisor interactional style questionnaire. Experimental participants (n = 13) reported working under two divergently perceived supervisors at the same workplace, on different days. The control group (n = 15) worked either under one supervisor, or two similarly perceived supervisors. Ambulatory blood pressure was recorded every 30 minutes, over a 12 hour period for three days.

Results: The control group showed a 3 mm Hg difference in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and a non-significant difference in diastolic blood pressure (DBP; mean difference 1 mm Hg) between the two supervisor conditions. The experimental group showed significantly higher SBP (15 mm Hg) and DBP (7 mm Hg) when working under a less favoured compared to a favoured supervisor. The degree of divergence in perceptions of supervisors shows a significant positive relation with the difference in blood pressure between the two workdays. Divergence in perceptions of interpersonal fairness is the strongest predictor of difference in blood pressure.

Conclusion: An unfavourably perceived supervisor is a potent workplace stressor, which might have a clinically significant impact on supervisees’ cardiovascular functioning.

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Keywords: work stress; supervisor; blood pressure

Abbreviations: CD, coefficient of determination; CHD, coronary heart disease; CI, confidence interval; CVD, cardiovascular disorders; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; SBP, systolic blood pressure; SD, standard deviation

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RESEARCH - Stress-induced immune dysfunction: implications for health

FIGURE 1 Stress-associated modulation of the hormone response by the central nervous system.

Experiencing a stressful situation, as perceived by the brain, results in the stimulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic–adrenal–medullary (SAM) axis. The production of adrenocorticotropic hormone by the pituitary gland results in the production of glucocorticoid hormones. The SAM axis can be activated by stimulation of the adrenal medulla to produce the catecholamines adrenaline and noradrenaline, as well as by 'hard-wiring', through sympathetic-nervous-system innervation of lymphoid organs.

Leukocytes have receptors for stress hormones that are produced by the pituitary and adrenal glands and can be modulated by the binding of these hormones to their respective receptors. In addition, noradrenaline produced at nerve endings can also modulate immune-cell function by binding its receptor at the surface of cells within lymphoid organs. These interactions are bidirectional in that cytokines produced by immune cells can modulate the activity of the hypothalamus. APC, antigen-presenting cell; IL-1, interleukin-1; NK, natural killer.

FULL PUBLISHED PAPER
source: Nature Reviews
Stress-induced immune dysfunction: implications for health
Ronald Glaser and Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser
Nature Reviews Immunology 5, 243-251 (March 2005)

HEALTH - Psychological Stress in the Healthy Human Brain

In 2005 - For the first time ever scientists visualized the effects of everyday psychological stress in the healthy human brain.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine used fMRI - functional magnetic resonance imaging - to image brain activity in their subjects. The researchers induced stress on healthy subjects by asking them to quickly perform challenging mental tasks while being monitored for performance.

During the tasks, the subjects' emotional responses - such as stress, anxiety, and frustration, were measured - as well as changes in stress hormones and heart rate. Many subjects described themselves as being "flustered, distracted, rushed and upset" during the task.

During the "stress test," results showed increased blood-flow to the right prefrontal cortex of the brain - an area long associated with anxiety and depression. The increased blood-flow continued even after the task was complete.

These results suggest a strong link between psychological stress and negative emotions.

Or, since the prefrontal cortex is also associated with the ability to perform executive functions, such as working memory and goal oriented behavior, this result could be highlighting that action.

"How the brain reacts under psychological stress is an untouched subject for cognitive neuroscientists, but it is certainly a critical piece of the puzzle in understanding the health effects of stress," said study leader Jiongjiong Wang. "Our findings should help significantly advance our understanding of this process."

This research - Perfusion functional MRI reveals cerebral blood flow pattern under psychological stress - is detailed in the Nov. 21 2005 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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UK Study - Aggressive e-mails from your boss are a Health Risk

'Aggressive' e-mail health threat

The health effects of "threatening" e-mails sent by bosses to their workers has been revealed by researchers.

Critical e-mail from a boss is a sure-fire blood pressure booster, says a U.K. researcher.

"Certainly sending out hostile e-mails has physiological consequences," said Dr. George Fieldman, a psychologist with Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College in the U.K.

In a linked programme, Howard Taylor, Saadi Lahlou (Head of the Laboratory of Design for Cognition at Electricité de France) and Dr Fieldman demonstrated that e-mail phraseology can influence psycho-physiological responses:

He hooked volunteers up to a blood pressure monitor and them got them to read their e-mail inbox.

Messages aggressively written from a boss shot the recipient's blood pressure readings up by about 10 per cent.

That could have a cumulative effect on a person's health, he said: "With an elevation that lasts weeks, months and years … then there may be health consequences of a cardio-vascular nature. So people may be more prone to getting heart attacks and strokes," he said.

Some companies in the U.K. have banned internal e-mail because it's become a burden to internal team-building.

Fieldman said one problem is that it's too easy for a boss in the heat of the moment to send a negative message.

The U.K. employment agency Reed.co.uk found in a poll that one in six workers say they have been the victim of e-mail bullying, and 46 per cent say the problem has grown in the past three years.

"For whatever reason, e-mail encourages stupid behaviour in people, said Sunny Marche, a Dalhousie University professor who studies the use of computers in business.

His advice? "I think it's very easy to misinterpret a negative e-mail and overemphasize what is communicated."

Fieldman said bosses should grab their phones rather than jump to their keyboards the next time they want to communicate with an employee.
sources:reported 8 January 2004 BBC , reported 12 January 2004 CTV.ca

Professor Cooper, who lectures in organisational psychology at Lancaster University, told BBC News Online that face to face meetings were best for important instructions or news.

He said: "You should never hire or fire someone by e-mail - or choose this way to castigate them.

Professor Cooper ' suggests that face to face discussion allows for vital non-verbal cues to soften a tough message from the boss, but with an e-mail people only see the aggressive words, increasing the tension and potential for misinterpretation. "E-mail is not a social support for us anymore" he said, "it's more like a source of stress. I once spoke to someone who said he was frightened to open his e-mail after two weeks' holiday.'
source: worksmart.org.uk