Occupational Stress: The Problem and Its Background 
CHAPTER 1
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND INTRODUCTION
It has been agreed that, in the caring profession, nurses from the largest group of which the principal mission is the nurturing of and caring for people in the human health experience. They provide around-the-clock services to patient in hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, as well as to clients using supportive and preventative programs and related community services (kipping, 2000:207) The nursing profession follows a holistic approach, taking to account the person in totality in his or her environment. Nurses provide presence, comfort, help and support for the people confronted with loneliness, pain, incapacity, disease and even death. The fact that nursing has been extensively and unfailingly recognized worldwide as a stressful job is therefore not surprising (Farrington 1995:574). Nurses who are stressed are more likely to have an increased incidence of absenteeism (Easternburg, Williamson, Gorsuch & Ridley, 1994:1233), which in turn not only results in a lack of continuity in care but also contributes to the nursing turnover (Kipping, 2000:207). Furthermore, an increased amount of interpersonal conflict has been noted in work context; nurses experience feelings of inadequacy, suffer from self-doubt, lowered self-esteem, irritability, depression, somatic disturbances and sleep disorders, all of which jeopardize the quality of care they provide (Hillhouse & Adler, 1996:297). Eventually burnout will set in due to chronic stress and may impact negatively on the nurse-patient relationship (Kipping, 2000:207). Nursing is, by its nature, a stressful occupation because of exposure to a wide range of potentially stressful situations and conditions. Stressors for nurses consistently identified in the literature include work overload, pressures associated with the demands of the contemporary work environment (World Health Organization, 2004), unpredictability of the staffing and scheduling
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND INTRODUCTION
It has been agreed that, in the caring profession, nurses from the largest group of which the principal mission is the nurturing of and caring for people in the human health experience. They provide around-the-clock services to patient in hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, as well as to clients using supportive and preventative programs and related community services (kipping, 2000:207) The nursing profession follows a holistic approach, taking to account the person in totality in his or her environment. Nurses provide presence, comfort, help and support for the people confronted with loneliness, pain, incapacity, disease and even death. The fact that nursing has been extensively and unfailingly recognized worldwide as a stressful job is therefore not surprising (Farrington 1995:574). Nurses who are stressed are more likely to have an increased incidence of absenteeism (Easternburg, Williamson, Gorsuch & Ridley, 1994:1233), which in turn not only results in a lack of continuity in care but also contributes to the nursing turnover (Kipping, 2000:207). Furthermore, an increased amount of interpersonal conflict has been noted in work context; nurses experience feelings of inadequacy, suffer from self-doubt, lowered self-esteem, irritability, depression, somatic disturbances and sleep disorders, all of which jeopardize the quality of care they provide (Hillhouse & Adler, 1996:297). Eventually burnout will set in due to chronic stress and may impact negatively on the nurse-patient relationship (Kipping, 2000:207). Nursing is, by its nature, a stressful occupation because of exposure to a wide range of potentially stressful situations and conditions. Stressors for nurses consistently identified in the literature include work overload, pressures associated with the demands of the contemporary work environment (World Health Organization, 2004), unpredictability of the staffing and scheduling