Editing Workload (section)

==Occupational stress==
{{Main article|Occupational stress}}
In an occupational setting, workload can be stressful and serve as a [[stressor]] for employees. Three aspects of workload can be stressful.
:Quantitative workload or overload: Having more work to do than can be accomplished comfortably.
:Qualitative workload: Having work that is too difficult.
:Underload: Having work that fails to use a worker's skills and abilities.<ref>Katz, D., & Kahn, R. L. (1978). The social psychology of organizations 2ed. New York City: John Wiley.</ref>

Workload has been linked to a number of strains, including [[anxiety]], physiological reactions such as [[cortisol]], fatigue,<ref>{{cite journal | author = Ganster D. C., Rosen C. C. | year = 2013 | title = Work stress and employee health: A multidisciplinary review | journal = Journal of Management | volume = 39 | issue = 5| pages = 1085–1122 | doi = 10.1177/0149206313475815 | s2cid = 145477630 }}</ref> backache, headache, and gastrointestinal problems.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Nixon A. E., Mazzola J. J., Bauer J., Krueger J. R., Spector P. E. | year = 2011 | title = Can work make you sick? A meta-analysis of the relationships between job stressors and physical symptoms | journal = Work & Stress | volume = 25 | issue = 1| pages = 1–22 | doi = 10.1080/02678373.2011.569175 | s2cid = 144068069 }}</ref>

Workload as a work demand is a major component of the demand-control model of stress.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Karasek R. A. | year = 1979 | title = Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain-implications for job redesign | journal = Administrative Science Quarterly | volume = 24 | issue = 2| pages = 285–308 | doi=10.2307/2392498| jstor = 2392498 }}</ref> This model suggests that jobs with high demands can be stressful, especially when the individual has low control over the job. In other words, control serves as a buffer or protective factor when demands or workload is high. This model was expanded into the demand-control-support model, which suggests that the combination of high control and high social support at work buffers the effects of high demands.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Johnson J. V., Hall E. M. | year = 1988 | title = Job strain, work place social support, and cardiovascular disease: A cross-sectional study of a random sample of the Swedish working population | journal = American Journal of Public Health | volume = 78 | issue = 10| pages = 1336–1342 | doi=10.2105/ajph.78.10.1336| pmid = 3421392 | pmc = 1349434}}</ref> A 2019 survey by Cartridge People identified workload as the main cause of occupational stress.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What's Causing UK Workers Stress in 2019 |url=https://www.cartridgepeople.com/info/blog/uk-workers-stress-statistics |access-date=2023-10-28 |website=www.cartridgepeople.com |language=en}}</ref>

As a work demand, workload is also relevant to the [[job demands-resources model]] of stress that suggests that jobs are stressful when demands (e.g., workload) exceed the individual's resources to deal with them.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Demerouti E., Bakker A. B., Nachreiner F., Schaufeli W. B. | year = 2001 | title = The job demands-resources model of burnout | journal = Journal of Applied Psychology | volume = 86 | issue = 3| pages = 499–512 | doi = 10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.499 | pmid = 11419809 }}</ref><ref>Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2014). Job demands-resources theory. In P. Y. Chen & C. L. Cooper (Eds.). Work and wellbeing Vol. III (pp. 37-64), Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell</ref>