The following article on stress on the job is reprinted from the Canadian
Centre For Occupational Health and Safety, August publication. Stress and
fatigue are killers at work. The more we know, the better able we are to attack

the problem and save lives.

By Ron Labonte

he relationship be-
tween stress and

health is almost as
complex a Gorgon’s Knot as that be-
tween stress and working conditions.
The American Academy of Science
several years ago identified stress as
a factor in 90 per cent of illness. A
growing body of evidence supports
the new science of “psychoneuro-
immunology,” which holds that psy-
chological states (happiness, con-
nectedness with others, absence of
anxiety) exert a potent influence on
our immune system and, hence, our
ability to cope with disease states
ranging from cancer and heart dis-
ease to the common cold.

Stress and cardiovascular disease
(Canada’s no. 1 cause of death and
disability) show strong scientific
ties. Numerous studies have found
that persons with high stress scores
are more likely to have high blood
and serum cholesterol, and a higher
prevalence of angina, myocardial

»

v
ACD AX

dollars, jobs and headaches. In a
province such as B.C. where 25 per-
cent of the workforce is dependent
on the forest sector in one way or
another fires can mean economic
ruin. Fires hurt more than just the
economy though. They threaten
wildlife, water supplies and can have
a negative long-term effect on the

infarction (heart at-
tack) and coronary
heart and artery dis-
ease. Most of these stud-
ies have been “cross-sec-
tional”, a slice-in-time that makes
establishing cause and effect diffi-
cult. (Did the stress cause the heart
disease or vice versa?) But because
several have been “prospective”,
going forward in time and compar-
ing disease prevalence among per-
sons with and without high stress
scores, there is general agreement
that stress, for all its definitional
problems, should be considered an
important risk factor in heart dis-
ease. That the stress response syn-
drome loads the circulatory system
with gooey cholesterols and con-
stricts the circulatory system into
high blood pressure makes the con-
nection biologically | common-
sensical.

It’s difficult to quantify the heart
disease risk of certain stress condi-
tions because of the vast number of

tourist industry. A charred forest
does not make a pretty sight.

We in Canada have an impressive
track record when it comes to fight-
ing fires. Over 80 percent of all fires
are brought under control within 24
hours of detection. But, it is expen-
sive. In B.C. for instance, fire-
fighting costs an average of 37 mil-
lion annually. Each year we lose over
100,000 hectares and consume 4.65
million cubic metres of timber. That
represents a lot of jobs. Education is
helping to cut down on the number
of fires but, where there are forests
there will always be fires. Lightning
is still decimating more acres than
are people and there is little that can
be done about that.

But as we refine our firefighting
methods and detection the damage

can at least be controlled.

other “co-factors” — smok-
ing behaviour, eating and
exercise habits, degree of
social support, extent of stress-
coping practices, etc. In general,
though, cardiovascular disease rates
are two to four times higher among
lower-income, occupational and edu-
cational groups, those persons most
likely to encounter the powerless-
ness, isolation and suppressed or
inner-directed anger that have be-
come the toxic hallmarks of “stress”.
Finally, a word on “eustress” or
“good stress”: Accordingly to many
stress researchers, casting the con-
cept in bipolar terms (certain types
of amounts of stress are good, others
are bad) only makes muddier the
already murky waters. Hans Selyeis
responsible for the distinction be-

Organized
workers
increase

OTTAWA — As of January 1988,
union membership in Canada
totalled 3,841,000, an increase of 1.6
per cent from 3,782,000 a year ear-
lier, according to figures released
by Labour Canada.

Union members comprised 36.6
per cent of Canada’s non-agricultural
paid workers, a decline from the level
of 37.6 per cent in 1987.

The Canadian Labour Congress
remains the largest central labour
organization, with an affiliated mem-
bership of 2.2 million, or 58.1 per

tween good and bad stress,

and the Canadian Institute of
Stress continues to define it in
value-neutral terms as “purely and
simply, a very powerful fuel”. There
is, however, no empirical evidence to
support a bipolar theory.
Stimulation, challenge, variety
and control may be the bones and
muscle of a good job, but they are
not examples of “good stress”.
Stress, in common usage and scien-
tific inquiry, is the pathological tax-
ing of humans beyond their physical
and psychological capacity. As with
any occupational hazard, the first
choice in control should be elimina-
tion of workplace stressors, the sec-
ond “control along the path” (in-
creased worker participation and
social support), and the third “con-
trol at the worker” (personal stress-

coping and relaxation techniques.

cent of unionized workers.

The ten largest unions in Canada
maintained their ranking from a year
earlier. Those recording an increase
in membership were: the Canadian
Union of Public Employees (CUPE),
the National Union of Provincial
Government Employees (NUPGE),
the United Food and Commercial
Workers (UFCW) and the Social
Affairs FederationInc. (SAF). Mem-
bership declined in the Public Ser-
vice Alliance of Canada between
1987 and 1988 and was unchanged in
the other five largest unions.

These and other statistics, to-
gether with information on interna-
tional and national unions, indepen-
dent local organizations, central lab-
our congresses and world labour
organizations are included in the
Directory of Labour Organizations.

LUMBERWORKER/OCTOBER, 1988/3