Longitudinal study of work stress among information system professionals

In order to examine the effect of a stressor changing over time on information system professionals, a longitudinal study on work stress was conducted. Data on job events, urinary catecholamine, salivary cortisol, and subjective symptoms were collected for 10 male engineers who were observed every 2 weeks for 5 months and every week for the following 2 months. Results show that adrenaline reflects reactions to the acute job events whereas cortisol seems to capture the chronic state of work-stress reaction. This study allows us to specify the job events that affect stress, which can be useful for intervention.