EDITORIAL
The Future of Stress and Health Research Cary L. Cooper*†‡ Organizational Psychology and Health, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster University, England, UK
Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/smi.2544
I have been editor of Stress & Health now for over six years. We have seen a marked improvement in the quality of the articles, a restructuring toward human studies of stress only, an invited conceptual section, another on research review articles and a team of associate editors representing the full range of stress topic areas from occupational/organizational stress to health psychology to medical/physiological stress, covering the whole life cycle span. I have been particularly honoured to have worked with a team of associate editors who have been truly committed and innovative in their ideas but also a joy to work with. I leave the journal in the hands of two outstanding joint editors, Tahira Probst and Martin Hagger, knowing that they will take the reins of this journal and make it one of the most vibrant and leading edge journals, continuing our effort to explore the human condition and attempting through science to enhance the well-being of people throughout the world. Given the last few years of the global economic recession, we have seen unprecedented levels of stress-related ill health in most countries, from the developed to the developing world, as people have lost their jobs, suffered major financial deprivation and have had an array of adverse life events heaped upon them in an effort to maintain and sustain their jobs, families and communities. How individuals, workplaces, communities and countries have coped, and continue to cope, with the consequences of these turbulent times, is a real challenge for those of us who do research in this arena. The journal has a real opportunity to make a contribution here, not only in basic scientific research on identifying the sources of stress in a variety of contexts, but also on intervention studies that suggest ways in which we can deal with the pressures of modern day life. The latter type of studies is not easy to do but important if we are to enhance the
mental capital and well-being of people in different environments, from the family/home to schools to the workplace to communities and into retirement (Cooper, Field, Goswami, Jenkins, & Sahakian, 2009). Those of us who work for the improvement of the human condition must keep in mind the essence of what Robert Kennedy said in 1968 in a speech he gave at the University of Kansas, when discussing what is important in life: ‘Too much and for too long, we seemed to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our Gross National Product now is over $800b a year, but that GNP, if we judge the USA by that, that GNP counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and the ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of the redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in the chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and counts nuclear warheads and armoured cars for the police to fight the riots in our cities.....Yet the Gross National Product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our passion nor our devotion to our country. It measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile’. This is our real challenge. REFERENCE Cooper, C. L., Field, J., Goswami, U., Jenkins, R., & Sahakian, B. (2009). Mental Capital and Wellbeing. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
*Correspondence to: Cary L. Cooper, Organizational Psychology and Health, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster University, England, UK † E-mail: [email protected] ‡ Distinguished Professor
Stress Health 29: 349 (2013) © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
349
The Future of Stress and Health Research Cary L. Cooper*†‡ Organizational Psychology and Health, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster University, England, UK
Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/smi.2544
I have been editor of Stress & Health now for over six years. We have seen a marked improvement in the quality of the articles, a restructuring toward human studies of stress only, an invited conceptual section, another on research review articles and a team of associate editors representing the full range of stress topic areas from occupational/organizational stress to health psychology to medical/physiological stress, covering the whole life cycle span. I have been particularly honoured to have worked with a team of associate editors who have been truly committed and innovative in their ideas but also a joy to work with. I leave the journal in the hands of two outstanding joint editors, Tahira Probst and Martin Hagger, knowing that they will take the reins of this journal and make it one of the most vibrant and leading edge journals, continuing our effort to explore the human condition and attempting through science to enhance the well-being of people throughout the world. Given the last few years of the global economic recession, we have seen unprecedented levels of stress-related ill health in most countries, from the developed to the developing world, as people have lost their jobs, suffered major financial deprivation and have had an array of adverse life events heaped upon them in an effort to maintain and sustain their jobs, families and communities. How individuals, workplaces, communities and countries have coped, and continue to cope, with the consequences of these turbulent times, is a real challenge for those of us who do research in this arena. The journal has a real opportunity to make a contribution here, not only in basic scientific research on identifying the sources of stress in a variety of contexts, but also on intervention studies that suggest ways in which we can deal with the pressures of modern day life. The latter type of studies is not easy to do but important if we are to enhance the
mental capital and well-being of people in different environments, from the family/home to schools to the workplace to communities and into retirement (Cooper, Field, Goswami, Jenkins, & Sahakian, 2009). Those of us who work for the improvement of the human condition must keep in mind the essence of what Robert Kennedy said in 1968 in a speech he gave at the University of Kansas, when discussing what is important in life: ‘Too much and for too long, we seemed to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our Gross National Product now is over $800b a year, but that GNP, if we judge the USA by that, that GNP counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and the ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of the redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in the chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and counts nuclear warheads and armoured cars for the police to fight the riots in our cities.....Yet the Gross National Product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our passion nor our devotion to our country. It measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile’. This is our real challenge. REFERENCE Cooper, C. L., Field, J., Goswami, U., Jenkins, R., & Sahakian, B. (2009). Mental Capital and Wellbeing. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
*Correspondence to: Cary L. Cooper, Organizational Psychology and Health, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster University, England, UK † E-mail: [email protected] ‡ Distinguished Professor
Stress Health 29: 349 (2013) © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
349
