Review of Occupational health psychology.

Abstract

Occupational Health Psychology, by Stavroula Leka and Jonathon Houdmont (Editors). Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010, 368 pages (ISBN 978-1-4051-6809115-9, CA$71.95, Paperback) Reviewed by E. KEVIN KELLOWAY DOI: 10.1037/a0023317 Although a relatively young subfield in psychology, occupational health psychology (OHP) is at point of consolidating a diverse research literature. Journals devoted to field (e.g., Work & Stress, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology) have emerged and there are several collections devoted to summarising research literature for researchers and graduate students. Leka and Houdmont offer a further contribution with this volume which they describe as textbook devoted to occupational health psychology intended for undergraduate instruction in field. Certainly there is a growing need for such a text. Undergraduate courses in occupational health psychology are beginning to emerge and, at present, instructors must either adapt texts from other areas (e.g., health psychology or occupational health and safety) or rely on collections of research articles. Despite this need, creating the first textbook in field is a daunting task as such a venture is likely to be scrutinized by others in field who may have themselves contemplated writing such a volume. Leka and Houdmont have chosen an interesting strategy in creating an edited textbook with individual chapters written by estabUshed experts in field. In doing so, they have in many cases gotten the best people in a particular area to write chapters in their area of expertise. Despite their reliance on multiple authors, editors have maintained a consistent style throughout volume ? each chapter begins with a chapter outline and ends with a chapter summary. Textboxes throughout are used to highlight individuals prominent in field (e.g., Tom Cox) or to highlight applications and research issues and to provide definitions of key terms. I would expect that students will appreciate such pedagogical features in addition to depth of expertise that underlies each chapter. Although not divided into sections, one can intuit a structure to book that begins with a broad perspective on occupational health psychology and then progressively adopts a narrower focus. As one would expect, volume begins with an introduction to occupational health psychology authored by Leka and Houdmont. They offer a definition of field as well as a brief history. Although based in United Kingdom, they also incorporate emergence of OHP as a field in North America. The major of chapters deals with issues of work stress. Cox and Griffiths (Chapter 2) provide a theoretical view of work stress ? they focus on major theories that have dominated much of recent research in area. O'DriscoU and Brough (Chapter 3) review effects of work organisation on health with a specific focus on psychosocial risk factors. In fourth chapter, Randall and Nielsen review interventions designed to e?minate or mitigate effects of workplace stressors. In Chapter 5, Leka and Cox review management of psychosocial risk factors in organisations. This is an approach to stress management that is well established in U.K. and has considerable potential for application in organisations. In contrast to this narrowing focus on workplace stress, next set of chapters deals with a variety of issues related to occupational health psychology. Noblet and Rodwell consider issues of workplace health promotion. Bakker and Derks review implications of positive organisational scholarship for occupational health psychology. In Chapter 8, Leather Zarola and Santos consider effect of physical workplace ? an issue often overlooked by psychologists. Zwetsloot and Leka focus on issues of corporate culture with implications for health and well-being. …