Time pressure as a stress factor

Time pressure, increasing pace of work, stress and "burnout" are the most a pparent changes to have taken place in working conditions in Finland in rec ent years. The situation poses questions like: Should claims about stress a nd time pressure be taken seriously and should more research be directed to these problems? One of the reasons why time pressure has not been research ed properly is that the Scandinavian tradition in stress research, emphasis ing the organisational and management impacts on stressful time pressure, i s losing influence. Researchers study how individuals could adapt to ever i ncreasing time pressure: they do not ask what causes the pressure and how i t could be avoided. The Finnish Quality of Work Life Surveys, carried out in 1977, 1984, 1990 a nd 1997, have shown clear connection between growing demand for productivit y, shortages of personnel, and increased time pressure. Psyche-social conse quences are clear: social conflicts in workplaces and stress symptoms among employees. Both the results from the surveys, and qualitative interviews s how that women and men relate differently to time pressure, stress, and wor k in general. This difference should be taken into account when researching links between work orientation, management strategies, and the stressfulne ss of work.