The majority of Britons believe stress can have a positive influence on their working lives by increasing job satisfaction, according to a survey released today.

A team of occupational psychologists investigated the attitudes of UK workers towards stress after 77 per cent of people in the UK confirmed the claim.

Only seven per cent reported signs of slowing down when they felt stressed. Time passed more quickly at work for 46 per cent of people when they were under pressure, according to the study.

Some 49 per cent said they were most effective when under pressure, 47 per cent focused better on what needed to be done when stressed and 83 per cent produced work of average to high quality when under pressure.

Report author Aparna Malhotra said: "We have found poor job satisfaction is a major cause of rising stress levels but without stress people lack focus and they do not experience the same fulfilment from their working day."

The psychologists examined the survey of 3,000 people and found job satisfaction depended on three factors - stimulation, stress and time (SST).

The individual will experience absolute job satisfaction if the three are balanced but too much or too little of any one factor can result in frustration.

Some 50 per cent have an unbalanced SST due to stress, while people working in the education sector have the least spare time, therefore the highest levels of stress and the most unbalanced SST. At the other end of the scale, solicitors were found to have the best SST balance.

Time was the key factor to influence the balance, creating stress and eroding job enjoyment. Only 14 per cent of women claimed to regularly have spare time compared with 26 per cent of men, who said they often found themselves at a loose end.

Ms Malhotra said: "Although we are all different, people generally work best when they have a stimulating task at hand, a demanding role that challenges them and a realistic time scale."

Friday August 22, 2003