The maladaptive effects of work-related strain constitute an ongoing and growing problem for many workers in the modern workplace. Contemporary understanding of the physiology of brain arousal processes suggests a consistent balance between brain arousal and recovery over the 24-hour work/rest cycle is crucial for maintaining an adaptative response to work strain. Broadly, intense brain arousal tends to occur at work, whilst its recovery occurs in non-work time, usually at home. This thesis describes the development and validation of a new self-report measure of work-related strain, which incorporates a new and unique measurement of recovery from work strain between successive work periods. This instrument has facilitated several studies of recovery from work-related stress/fatigue, which are reported in the form of papers published, in press or in review with peer-reviewed journals. In particular, it is evident that the type and frequency of non-work time behaviour may be significant in determining the level of recovery from acute work strain. This, in turn, mediates the quality of sleep subsequently achieved, and these combine synergistically to determine overall level of recovery that is achieved between work periods. Consistent with the known physiology of brain arousal and recovery, which is described, non-work time behaviours, which mediate adequate recovery from work strain consistently, may represent the difference between long-term adaptative and maladaptive outcomes of work strain exposure. This suggests an area for work-stress intervention hitherto underestimated in fatigue/stress research. It is argued to be of significance for workers in high stress occupations, since non-work time behaviour is potentially more completely within their discretionary power, than the stress/fatigue levels to which they may be regularly exposed through the inherent nature of their work.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/201905 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Winwood, Peter Charles |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | EN-AUS |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright Peter Winwood 2006 |
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