Is work conducive to self-destruction?

ABSTRACT

While the current literature contains numerous studies and even more numerous assumptions linking aspects of the work setting, stress, and mortality; no systematic investigation has been made of possible patterns of stress-induced self-destructive behaviors among the work settings per se. This research paper attempts to help fill that gap by reporting on an analysis of data on industry, age and mortality rates for seven stress-related causes of death (suicide, homocide, hypertensive heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver, arteriosclerotic heart disease, ulcer of the stomach, and hypertension). Using available United States' mortality statistics, a consistent pattern is found for all of the stress-related types of deaths by industry and age. A suggested explanation of this pattern is based on status integration theory.