Johansson et al: The Sawmill Study (1978)

They wanted to find out about how work and the amount of work can affect stress levels and the subsequent levels of controls that the workers have over the workload.

Stress-related hormones and stress-related absenteeism in finishers were measured and these were compared with other workers in the factory.

There were higher levels of stress-related illness and more stress hormones in finishers than other workers.

This shows that a combination of work environment, work overload and control leads to greater stress.

• There may have been individual differences (e.g. personality type) might have been a factor affecting the stress response of different workers.
• Because the study is not done in a laboratory, there are uncontrollable variables. This means that a number of factors could be causing stress, e.g. lack of control or poor environment.