Occupational stress and workplace health have become issues of great concern over the last decade, both internationally and nationally. Given the value of work in this society, the amount of time spent at work and the current changes that are affecting the nature of work, it is not surprising that work stress appears to be increasing. Stress is the body’s physiological response to the stressor, thus, a stressor is an event or set of conditions that causes a stress response. Work stress is defined as being the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker.

For instance, as a result of the rapidly changing global economy, organizations now operate in cultures of increased speed, efficiency and competition. Consequently, economic imperatives and the need to retain competitive advantage have resulted in restructuring and uncertainty. For instance, workforces are constantly being downsized, small organizations are merging or being subsumed by larger more competitive organizations and change is the only constant. These changes to the nature of work, together with definitional changes in the legislation, have paved the way for an alarming rise in claims that are associated with chronic stress in the workplace, (Trochim’s Knowledge Base 2008).

One of the causes of occupational stress is organizational change. Change is difficult for an organization and for its employees. There is uncertainty about the future, about what the organization will “look like,” and how the employees feel they will fit into the new structure. While some individuals embrace change, most simply accept it and with widely varying degrees of willingness. There are those, however, who refuse to change. The subsequent rejection of cooperative progress puts increased stress on supervisors,