Workplace stress | AQA A-Level Psychology Revision
- Revision Notes
- Aug 6
- 25 min read
Updated: Aug 14
For 7182 specification, first teach in September 2025
AQA A-Level Psychology | Free Revision Notes
Estimated study time: 60 minutes
These workplace stress A-Level Psychology revision notes explain how the amount of work a person faces and the control they have over completing it may affect their stress response. You will examine excessive or insufficient workload, time pressure, autonomy and the particularly stressful combination of high workload and low control. Workplace stress can produce recurring everyday pressures [Daily hassles] and may contribute to stress-related physical illness [Stress and illness], making it an important applied part of AQA A-Level Psychology.
Learning Objectives 🎯
By the end of this revision page, you should be able to:
Define workplace stress, workload and control.
Explain how excessive or insufficient workload may produce stress.
Explain how low control may increase workplace stress.
Analyse how workload and control can interact.
Apply explanations of workplace stress to unfamiliar occupational situations.
Evaluate explanations and research concerning workplace stress.
Revision Notes 📚
What does the AQA specification require?
Within the Stress option, AQA requires students to study workplace stress, including the effects of:
Workload
Control
These are the two named workplace factors students must understand. The specification places workplace stress alongside life changes and daily hassles as a source of stress.
You should be prepared to:
Explain how workload can become a source of stress.
Explain how the level of control a worker has may affect stress.
Explain why high workload combined with low control may be especially stressful.
Apply these ideas to details in a workplace scenario.
Evaluate the evidence used to investigate workplace stress.
What is workplace stress?
Workplace stress is the psychological and physiological response that may occur when occupational demands place pressure on a worker’s ability to cope.
Possible consequences include:
Anxiety or tension.
Difficulty sleeping.
Reduced job satisfaction.
Physiological arousal.
Reduced wellbeing.
Increased vulnerability to stress-related illness.
The workplace demand is the potential stressor. Stress is the response that may follow.
Workplace stress is not determined solely by a person’s job title. Two employees doing similar work may experience different levels of stress because they differ in:
The amount of work assigned.
The time available.
Their control over the work.
Their interpretation of the demands.
Their coping resources.
Their personality or hardiness.
Workplace demands are not automatically harmful
Having work to complete is not necessarily stressful.
A manageable level of demand may:
Provide purpose.
Encourage attention and effort.
Give the worker a sense of achievement.
Make the working day engaging.
A demand is more likely to become stressful when it exceeds the person’s perceived ability to cope or when they have insufficient influence over how it is managed.
A careful explanation therefore uses language such as:
High workload may produce stress, particularly when the worker has little control over how the work is completed.
Avoid claiming that every busy employee must be stressed.
Workload
What is workload?
Workload is the amount and difficulty of work a person is expected to complete within the time and resources available.
Workload may be affected by:
The number of tasks.
The complexity of the tasks.
The speed at which work must be completed.
Deadlines and targets.
The hours the worker is expected to work.
Whether new demands are added before earlier work is finished.
Workload can create stress if there is a mismatch between the demands and the worker’s capacity to meet them.
Excessive workload
Excessive workload occurs when the amount or difficulty of the work is greater than the worker believes they can manage successfully.
It may involve:
Too many tasks.
Unrealistic targets.
Insufficient time.
Long working hours.
Frequent additional duties.
Work arriving faster than it can be completed.
A lack of opportunities for rest or recovery.
The worker may feel that they must continually increase their effort while still being unable to meet expectations.
How excessive workload produces stress
The proposed process is:
The worker is given demanding tasks or targets.
The demands exceed the time or resources available.
The worker believes that they may not complete the work successfully.
Psychological pressure and physiological arousal increase.
The demands continue or recur.
The worker has insufficient opportunity to recover.
Continuing stress may affect wellbeing and health.
For example:
A warehouse employee must process packages arriving continuously on a conveyor belt. If the packages arrive faster than the employee can sort them, the workload may be experienced as excessive.
The important issue is not only the number of packages. It is the mismatch between:
The speed of the work.
The target the employee must reach.
The resources available.
The employee’s ability to influence the situation.
Time pressure
Time pressure occurs when a worker has insufficient time to complete the work expected of them.
A deadline may be motivating when it is realistic. It may become stressful when:
Several deadlines occur together.
The worker cannot determine the pace of work.
Delays outside the worker’s control reduce the time available.
Targets remain unchanged despite additional tasks.
Failure to meet the deadline has serious consequences.
Time pressure can maintain a sense of urgency throughout the working day.
This may result in:
Constant monitoring of time.
Difficulty concentrating on one task.
Concern about mistakes.
Reduced opportunities to take breaks.
Continued worry after work has ended.
Work rate and targets
A target can provide a clear goal, but an unrealistic target may become a stressor.
A target is more likely to create pressure when:
It is difficult to achieve.
It is imposed without consultation.
The worker lacks the resources required.
Performance is constantly monitored.
Pay or job security depends on success.
The worker cannot alter the work rate.
If an employee repeatedly fails to meet a target, they may experience:
Anxiety.
Reduced confidence.
Anticipation of negative consequences.
Increased physiological arousal.
Failure to meet a target does not necessarily mean the employee lacks ability. The workload or available resources may be unrealistic.
Long working hours
Long working hours may increase workload because the worker must maintain effort and concentration over an extended period.
Possible effects include:
Reduced sleep.
Less time for recovery.
Difficulty balancing work with other responsibilities.
Fatigue.
Increased likelihood of mistakes.
Continued physiological activation.
The number of hours alone does not determine stress. A worker may find long hours manageable when they:
Chose the schedule.
Can take breaks.
Find the work rewarding.
Have control over how the time is used.
The interaction with control is therefore important.
Workload and physiological arousal
An excessive workload may repeatedly activate the physiological stress response.
This may involve:
Increased heart rate.
Increased blood pressure.
Increased alertness.
Difficulty returning to a resting state.
Continuing activation during the evening or at night.
For example, a worker lying awake listening to their heart pounding may be showing continuing physiological arousal after the working day has ended.
Repeated activation can be connected to the effects of chronic stress on health [Stress and illness].
Workload and sleep
Workload may affect sleep when the worker:
Works for long hours.
Continues thinking about unfinished tasks.
Anticipates the next day’s demands.
Remains physiologically aroused.
Has insufficient time available for sleep.
Poor sleep can then make the next working day more difficult.
This can create a cycle:
High workload → worry and arousal → reduced sleep → fatigue and reduced coping capacity → workload feels harder to manage
A scenario describing sleeplessness can therefore be applied to workload, provided the connection is explained.
Insufficient workload
Stress may also arise when a worker has too little meaningful work or is insufficiently challenged.
Possible experiences include:
Boredom.
Frustration.
Lack of purpose.
Reduced involvement in the job.
Feeling that skills are not being used.
The key point is that workload can become stressful when it is poorly matched to the worker.
However, excessive workload is usually the clearest application when an examination scenario describes:
Long hours.
Too many tasks.
Unrealistic targets.
Work accumulating.
A worker who cannot keep up.
Different workers may experience the same workload differently
Workload is partly an objective feature of the job, but its effects may also depend on perception.
Two employees might receive the same number of tasks, but one may:
Have more experience.
Possess better resources.
Feel confident.
Have more time.
Receive greater support.
Have more control over the order of tasks.
The other worker may therefore experience the workload as more stressful.
This means that the effect of workload cannot always be predicted by counting tasks alone.
Control
What is control?
Control is the extent to which a worker can influence their work and the conditions under which it is completed.
Control may include influence over:
The pace of work.
The order in which tasks are completed.
The method used.
The timing of breaks.
The scheduling of work.
Decisions affecting working conditions.
How problems are resolved.
High control means the employee has greater influence over these features.
Low control means important aspects of the work are decided by other people or by systems the worker cannot change.
Low control as a source of stress
Low control may be stressful because the worker cannot change or escape a demanding situation.
For example, a worker may:
Be unable to slow a conveyor belt.
Have targets set without consultation.
Be unable to choose when to take a break.
Be given additional work by a manager.
Have no influence over how tasks are completed.
Be unable to improve difficult working conditions.
The worker may recognise the problem but feel unable to act upon it.
This can create:
Helplessness.
Uncertainty.
Frustration.
Anxiety.
Continuing physiological arousal.
The psychological importance of control
Control can affect how a demand is interpreted.
A worker may view a difficult task as manageable when they can:
Choose how to approach it.
Adjust the pace.
Seek additional resources.
Reorganise the schedule.
Pause and return to it later.
The same task may feel threatening when none of these options is available.
Control therefore does not necessarily remove the demand. It changes the worker’s ability to respond to it.
High control
High control may reduce stress by allowing the worker to:
Adjust the pace of work.
Prioritise urgent tasks.
Choose appropriate methods.
Take breaks when necessary.
Prepare for demanding periods.
Participate in decisions.
This can increase predictability and reduce the feeling that demands are being imposed without any opportunity to respond.
High control does not guarantee the absence of stress. A person may still face:
Excessive demands.
Difficult decisions.
Responsibility for serious outcomes.
Uncertainty.
However, control may make demanding work more manageable.
Actual and perceived control
Actual control concerns the influence a worker genuinely has.
Perceived control concerns how much influence the worker believes they have.
These do not always match.
For example:
A manager may allow flexible working, but the employee may believe using it will be criticised.
A worker may have little formal authority but feel confident that they can solve problems.
An organisation may ask for feedback, but employees may believe their views will be ignored.
Both actual and perceived control may affect stress.
A person who believes they can influence events may experience less stress even when their formal control is limited.
Control and predictability
Control can increase predictability.
If a worker can organise their own schedule, they may know:
When demanding tasks will occur.
When breaks are possible.
Which tasks should be prioritised.
How much time is available.
Predictability may allow the worker to prepare.
Low control can make demands feel unpredictable because tasks, targets or conditions may change without the worker’s involvement.
Control over workload
Control is particularly relevant when applied directly to workload.
A worker may have control over:
How much work they accept.
The speed at which they work.
Which task they complete first.
Whether a deadline can be changed.
Whether they can request assistance.
When they can stop or take a break.
Low control means that a worker may face excessive demands without being able to reduce or reorganise them.
This combination is particularly important in explanations of workplace stress.
The Interaction Between Workload and Control
High workload and low control
The combination of high workload and low control is likely to be particularly stressful.
The worker:
Faces substantial demands.
May struggle to meet expectations.
Cannot alter the pace or method.
Cannot reduce the workload.
May be unable to take appropriate breaks.
Has limited influence over decisions.
The proposed process is:
High demands + little influence over those demands → reduced ability to cope → increased workplace stress
For example:
A worker must meet a demanding daily target, but the speed of the work is fixed by machinery. The workload is high, and the worker has little control over the pace.
AQA assessment material identifies high workload combined with low control as a highly stressful workplace situation.
High workload and high control
A high workload may be less stressful when the worker has substantial control.
The worker may be able to:
Reorder tasks.
Adjust the pace.
Request resources.
Choose when to take breaks.
Decide how the work will be completed.
The work remains demanding, but control may help the person manage the demand.
This does not mean high control completely cancels excessive workload. An impossible amount of work may remain stressful regardless of autonomy.
Why control may buffer workload
To buffer an effect means to reduce or weaken it.
Control may buffer the effects of workload because it gives the worker options.
For example:
The worker notices that tasks are accumulating.
They reorganise their schedule.
They delay a less urgent task.
They request support.
They adjust their working method.
The demands become more manageable.
A worker with low control may notice the same problem but be unable to make any of these changes.
Workload and control combinations
Workload | Control | Possible experience |
High | Low | Strong risk of stress because demands are high and the worker cannot alter them |
High | High | Demanding, but control may help the worker manage the pressure |
Lower or manageable | Low | The work may still produce frustration if the worker has little autonomy |
Lower or manageable | High | The worker may have greater freedom to organise manageable demands |
The table describes possible outcomes, not fixed rules. Individual differences and wider circumstances may change the worker’s response.
Attempts to gain control
Workers may try to increase control by:
Requesting a meeting.
Asking for changes to targets.
Seeking influence over schedules.
Discussing working conditions.
Requesting greater involvement in decisions.
In an examination scenario, workers attempting to organise a meeting may indicate that they currently have limited control and are trying to increase it.
The attempt itself does not prove that conditions will improve. The important application is that the workers are seeking influence over their environment.
Applying Workplace Stress to a Scenario
Consider this example:
Saira works in a distribution centre. Packages arrive continuously, and she cannot alter the speed of the machinery. Her manager recently increased her target and gives her additional tasks near the end of each shift. Saira has missed the target several times and now lies awake worrying about the following day.
A developed application would explain:
Packages arriving continuously indicate a demanding workload.
The increased target may be excessive because Saira is repeatedly unable to meet it.
Additional tasks increase the amount of work she must complete.
She has low control because she cannot alter the speed of the machinery.
The combination of high workload and low control is likely to increase workplace stress.
Her sleeplessness may indicate that worry and physiological arousal are continuing after work.
Application formula
Use the following structure:
Scenario detail → workplace factor → explanation of stress
For example:
Saira cannot alter the speed of the machinery, which indicates low control. She cannot reduce or reorganise the demands even when the workload becomes excessive, so the situation is likely to be more stressful.
Developing application
A basic application might state:
Saira has a high workload.
A developed application would state:
Saira is given additional tasks near the end of her shift, increasing the amount of work she must complete within a limited time. This may make the workload exceed her perceived ability to cope, producing workplace stress.
The developed version:
Uses the scenario.
Identifies the psychological concept.
Explains the connection.
Links it to stress.
Distinguishing workload from control
The same scenario may contain both factors.
Scenario detail | Most relevant concept |
Too many tasks | High workload |
Unrealistic target | High workload |
Long working hours | High workload |
A manager repeatedly adding duties | Increased workload and potentially low control |
Machinery fixes the speed of work | Low control |
Worker cannot choose their breaks | Low control |
Employees are excluded from decisions | Low control |
Workers request a meeting about conditions | Attempt to increase control |
Do not label every negative workplace feature as workload. Ask whether the detail concerns the amount of work or the worker’s influence over it.
Workplace stress and daily hassles
Workplace demands may also operate as repeated everyday stressors [Daily hassles].
For example:
Equipment repeatedly failing.
Minor interruptions.
Regular delays.
Frequent additional tasks.
A workload explanation focuses on the amount and demands of the work.
A daily-hassles explanation focuses on the accumulation of recurring minor difficulties.
Both may apply to the same workplace, but they explain stress in different ways.
Workplace stress and life changes
Starting a new job is a major change requiring readjustment [Life changes].
Once the person has started the job, their stress may also be affected by:
The workload.
Their control over the work.
Recurring daily hassles.
For example:
Beginning work at a new company is a life change. Being repeatedly given impossible deadlines within that job concerns workload and control.
Evaluating Explanations of Workplace Stress
Supporting workplace evidence
Research into real workplaces has found associations between demanding work, limited control and stress-related outcomes.
This supports the central predictions that:
Excessive workload may be associated with stress.
Low control may be associated with stress.
The combination of high workload and low control may be especially harmful.
The value of this evidence depends on how well workload, control and stress have been measured.
Strength: research investigates genuine workplaces
Much workplace research takes place in real occupational settings.
This provides high ecological validity because:
Employees experience genuine demands.
Targets and workload have real consequences.
Control is part of an existing organisation.
Stress occurs over meaningful periods.
Findings may therefore be more representative of actual workplace stress than results from a brief artificial task.
However, real workplaces are difficult to control scientifically.
Limitation: much evidence is correlational
Researchers usually cannot randomly assign workers to years of high workload and low control.
They often measure existing:
Workload.
Perceived control.
Stress levels.
Health outcomes.
An association does not prove that workload or control caused the stress.
Possible explanations include:
Excessive workload increases stress.
Highly stressed workers perceive the workload as more excessive.
Another variable affects both workload and stress.
Stress and workplace experiences influence each other over time.
This means causal conclusions should be cautious.
Reverse causality
Reverse causality occurs when the proposed effect may influence the presumed cause.
For example:
A worker who is already anxious may judge ordinary demands as overwhelming and report lower control.
The worker’s stress may therefore influence their reports of the workplace.
This does not show that workload and control are unimportant. It means that the direction of the relationship is difficult to establish.
Extraneous variables in field research
Real workplaces contain many factors that researchers cannot fully control.
Employees may differ in:
Experience.
Training.
Health.
Coping ability.
Personality.
Hardiness.
Responsibilities outside work.
These factors could influence stress alongside workload and control.
If they are not controlled, researchers cannot be certain that the named workplace factor produced the outcome.
Objective and subjective workload
Workload can be measured objectively using information such as:
Number of tasks.
Hours worked.
Deadlines.
Targets.
It can also be measured subjectively by asking workers how demanding they find the job.
Objective measures may appear more scientific, but they may overlook personal experience.
Subjective measures recognise that the same workload can affect workers differently, but they may be influenced by mood or existing stress.
A combination of both types of measurement may provide a fuller picture.
Measuring control
Control may also be difficult to measure.
Researchers could examine:
Formal decision-making authority.
Flexible working arrangements.
Control over breaks or pace.
The worker’s personal rating of autonomy.
However, actual and perceived control may differ.
A worker may formally have control but believe that using it will be punished. Another worker may have little formal authority but still feel capable of managing their tasks.
This makes control more complicated than a simple high-or-low category.
Self-report limitations
Workplace research often uses questionnaires to measure workload, control or stress.
Self-report measures may be affected by:
Social desirability.
Fear that an employer will see the responses.
Inaccurate recall.
Current mood.
Different interpretations of rating scales.
For example, an employee may underreport stress because they fear appearing unable to cope.
These issues can reduce the validity of the results.
This connects with questionnaire-based stress measurement [Measuring stress through self-report].
Objective physiological measures
Researchers may also measure:
Heart rate.
Blood pressure.
Stress hormones.
Other indicators of physiological arousal.
These measures do not rely entirely on the worker describing their own stress.
However, physiological arousal can have several causes. A raised heart rate might result from:
Physical activity.
Caffeine.
Illness.
Excitement.
Workplace stress.
An objective measure is therefore not automatically a valid measure of workplace stress.
Individual differences
The effects of workload and control are unlikely to be identical for every employee.
Responses may depend on:
Personality.
Hardiness.
Coping skills.
Previous experience.
Confidence.
Perceived control.
A worker who interprets a demanding task as a challenge may respond differently from someone who views it as a threat.
These differences are developed through work-related responses associated with personality [Personality types and stress] and commitment, challenge and control [Hardiness].
Hardiness and control
Control is also a component of hardiness.
A hardy person tends to believe that they can influence what happens in their life.
This personal sense of control is not the same as objective control provided by an employer.
Workplace control concerns the influence offered by the job.
Hardiness control concerns the individual’s belief that they can affect events.
The two may interact. An employee with a strong sense of personal control may cope more effectively, but a workplace offering no meaningful autonomy may still produce stress.
Workload may be interpreted as a challenge
A demanding workload does not always produce the same response.
One worker may interpret it as:
An opportunity to achieve.
A worthwhile challenge.
Evidence that their role is important.
Another may interpret it as:
A threat.
An impossible demand.
Evidence that failure is likely.
This supports the view that workload affects stress through an interaction between the environment and the individual.
Strength: workload and control can be considered together
A strength of the explanation is that it does not need to treat workload and control as separate, isolated factors.
It can explain why:
A demanding job may be manageable when the worker has autonomy.
A moderate workload may still be frustrating when every action is controlled.
High workload and low control may be particularly stressful.
Considering the interaction provides a more complete explanation than stating only that “too much work causes stress”.
Limitation: workplace stress may be more complex
Workload and control are important, but they may not explain every example of workplace stress.
A person may experience stress even when:
Their workload is manageable.
They have reasonable autonomy.
This suggests that a complete account may need to consider the worker’s broader circumstances and individual characteristics.
For an AQA answer, keep the main description focused on the two specification factors. Other influences are most useful when evaluating whether workload and control provide a complete explanation.
Practical applications
The explanation has practical value because workload and control may be changed.
An employer could:
Set realistic targets.
Review whether the volume of work is manageable.
Avoid repeatedly adding tasks without adjusting deadlines.
Give employees greater choice over methods.
Allow appropriate control over pace and breaks.
Involve employees in relevant decisions.
Greater control may:
Improve employee wellbeing.
Reduce stress.
Improve satisfaction.
Reduce stress-related absence.
Practical applications support the usefulness of the explanation because it identifies workplace factors that organisations can address.
Changing the worker or changing the workplace
Some methods of managing stress focus on changing how the individual copes.
For example, developing psychological coping skills [Stress inoculation therapy] aims to help the person respond more effectively to stressors.
However, if the main cause is an impossible workload or very low control, focusing only on the worker may leave the original problem unchanged.
A balanced approach may involve:
Supporting the individual.
Reducing unreasonable demands.
Increasing appropriate workplace control.
Ethical implications
Workplace explanations can help avoid blaming employees for being stressed.
If an employee is struggling, the explanation encourages consideration of:
The amount of work assigned.
Whether the target is realistic.
Whether the employee has influence over the job.
However, self-report findings should be handled carefully because employees may be concerned about confidentiality or workplace consequences.
Overall evaluation
Workload and control offer a useful explanation of workplace stress because they identify clear occupational demands and show how those demands may interact. Excessive work is likely to be particularly stressful when the employee has little ability to alter its pace, timing or method.
Research in genuine workplaces has practical relevance, but it is often correlational and affected by uncontrolled variables. Workload and control may also be experienced differently depending on personality, hardiness and perceived control. They are therefore important risk factors rather than complete or inevitable causes of stress.
Planning an extended response
For a question asking you to discuss workplace stress, organise your answer around knowledge, application and evaluation.
Knowledge and understanding
Explain:
Workload as the amount and difficulty of work expected.
Excessive workload.
Time pressure and unrealistic targets.
Low control over pace, timing, methods or decisions.
The interaction between workload and control.
Why high workload and low control may be particularly stressful.
Possible psychological and physiological effects.
Application
For each workplace detail:
Identify whether it concerns workload or control.
Quote or paraphrase the scenario.
Explain how the factor may create pressure.
Link it to a stress response or symptom.
Evaluation
Develop points such as:
Supporting evidence from genuine workplaces.
Ecological validity.
Correlational research.
Reverse causality.
Extraneous variables.
Objective and subjective measurements.
Actual and perceived control.
Individual differences.
Practical applications.
The interaction between employee characteristics and workplace conditions.
The 2023 examination report noted that many students correctly identified high workload and low control but struggled to develop the descriptive explanation further. Effective answers should explain the mechanisms rather than relying only on those two labels.
Key Words 🔑
Key word | Student-friendly definition | How it may be used in an exam |
Workplace stress | A psychological and physiological response to demands encountered at work | Use it as the overall topic being explained |
Stressor | An event, condition or demand capable of producing stress | Identify the occupational demand in a scenario |
Workload | The amount and difficulty of work expected within the available time and resources | Apply it to tasks, targets, deadlines and long hours |
Excessive workload | Work that exceeds the employee’s perceived capacity, time or resources | Explain why unrealistic demands may produce stress |
Time pressure | Pressure created by having limited time to complete work | Apply it to deadlines or work arriving too quickly |
Target | A level of performance an employee is expected to achieve | Analyse whether an expectation may be unrealistic |
Control | The extent to which a worker can influence their work or working conditions | Apply it to pace, methods, breaks and decisions |
Low control | Limited influence over how or when work is completed | Explain why a worker may feel unable to manage demands |
High control | Greater influence over the organisation and completion of work | Explain how autonomy may help make demands manageable |
Actual control | The influence a worker genuinely has | Distinguish formal workplace arrangements from beliefs |
Perceived control | The amount of influence a worker believes they possess | Explain individual differences in workplace stress |
Autonomy | The ability to act and make decisions independently | Use as part of an explanation of workplace control |
Physiological arousal | Increased bodily activity associated with the stress response | Apply it to heart pounding, tension or raised blood pressure |
Chronic stress | Stress that continues or repeatedly occurs over a prolonged period | Link continuing workplace demands with possible illness |
Correlation | A measured association between variables | Evaluate evidence relating workplace conditions to stress |
Reverse causality | The possibility that the proposed effect influences the supposed cause | Explain how stress could affect ratings of workload |
Extraneous variable | An uncontrolled factor that may affect the findings | Evaluate research conducted in real workplaces |
Individual differences | Ways in which people differ in characteristics or responses | Explain why the same workplace does not affect everyone equally |
Hardiness | Characteristics that may help a person cope with stress | Evaluate how commitment, challenge and control may affect responses |
Hints from the Examiner Reports 💡
Examiner hint: Do not stop after writing “high workload and low control”. The 2023 examiner report found that many students knew this basic relationship but were unsure how to develop it. Explain what makes the workload excessive and what decisions the worker cannot influence.
Examiner hint: Use each useful detail in an application scenario. Targets, pace of work, long hours, sleeplessness, noise and attempts to meet management may each provide a separate application opportunity.
Examiner hint: Distinguish workload from control. A demanding target concerns workload, while being unable to alter the speed of work concerns control.
Examiner hint: Application requires explanation. Writing “Carrie has low control” is not enough. Explain that the pace is determined externally, leaving her unable to reduce or reorganise the demand.
Examiner hint: Research evidence should support the core explanation rather than replace it. The examiner report noted that students often gained knowledge marks through evidence but gave an underdeveloped account of workload and control themselves.
Examiner hint: Use specialist terminology accurately and keep the response focused. The highest-level mark scheme requires detailed knowledge, effective application and thorough discussion rather than disconnected descriptions.
Examiner hint: Make evaluation relevant to workplace stress. A generic claim that “correlation does not show causation” should be developed by explaining how stressed workers might report demands differently or how uncontrolled workplace variables may affect the relationship.
Common Mistakes ⚠️
Mistake: Defining workload as simply having a job.
Why this is incorrect:Workload concerns the amount and difficulty of work expected within the time and resources available.
How to improve:Refer to tasks, targets, deadlines, pace or working hours.
Mistake: Assuming that every high workload causes stress.
Why this is incorrect:The effect may depend on control, experience, resources, personality and interpretation.
How to improve:Use cautious language and explain why the workload exceeds the worker’s perceived ability to cope.
Mistake: Saying that control means supervising other employees.
Why this is incorrect:In this topic, control means having influence over one’s own work and working conditions.
How to improve:Refer to control over pace, methods, scheduling, breaks or decisions.
Mistake: Treating workload and control as the same concept.
Why this is incorrect:Workload concerns the demands placed on the employee. Control concerns the employee’s ability to influence those demands.
How to improve:Identify each factor separately before explaining their interaction.
Mistake: Stating that low control means the worker has no free will.
Why this is incorrect:Low workplace control refers to limited occupational influence, not a complete absence of personal choice.
How to improve:Identify the specific work feature the person cannot change.
Mistake: Saying that high control completely removes the effects of high workload.
Why this is incorrect:Control may make demands more manageable, but an impossible workload can remain stressful.
How to improve:State that control may reduce or buffer the effect rather than eliminate it.
Mistake: Describing physical symptoms without linking them to workplace stress.
Why this is incorrect:Heart pounding or sleeplessness alone does not explain the source of stress.
How to improve:Connect the symptom to continuing workload, low control and physiological arousal.
Mistake: Diagnosing a cardiovascular disorder from a pounding heart.
Why this is incorrect:A temporary increase in heart rate may be part of a normal stress response.
How to improve:Use cautious language and distinguish physiological arousal from a diagnosed illness.
Mistake: Repeating a scenario instead of applying knowledge.
Why this is incorrect:Writing that a worker has many tasks merely restates the information.
How to improve:Explain why the demands may exceed coping resources and produce stress.
Mistake: Claiming that workplace correlations prove causation.
Why this is incorrect:Stress may influence how workload and control are reported, while other variables may affect both.
How to improve:Discuss reverse causality and uncontrolled differences between workers.
Mistake: Evaluating only the questionnaire used in a study.
Why this is incorrect:The question may ask whether workload and control convincingly explain workplace stress.
How to improve:Connect the measurement limitation to the validity of the explanation.
Mistake: Writing only about other workplace factors.
Why this is incorrect:The AQA specification specifically names workload and control.
How to improve:Make these the centre of the answer and use other influences only to evaluate completeness.
Exam-Style Questions ✍️
Question 1
Which workplace situation is most likely to produce high stress according to explanations based on workload and control?
A. Low workload and high controlB. High workload and high controlC. High workload and low controlD. Manageable workload and high control
[1 mark]
Question 2
Define control in the context of workplace stress.
[2 marks]
Question 3
Explain how excessive workload may produce workplace stress.
[4 marks]
Question 4
Explain why control may reduce the stressful effects of a demanding workload.
[4 marks]
Question 5
Ben works in a processing centre. Items arrive continuously, and he cannot change the speed of the equipment. His manager has increased his daily target and frequently gives him additional tasks. Ben has started sleeping poorly and worries that he will not complete the work.
Use your knowledge of workload and control to explain Ben’s workplace stress.
[6 marks]
Question 6
A researcher records mean stress scores for four groups of employees. Higher scores indicate greater reported stress.
Workplace condition | Mean stress score |
High workload and low control | 38 |
High workload and high control | 26 |
Manageable workload and low control | 28 |
Manageable workload and high control | 18 |
Explain what the results suggest about workload and control. Identify one conclusion that cannot be drawn.
[4 marks]
Question 7
Explain one methodological limitation of research into workplace stress.
[4 marks]
Question 8
Evaluate explanations of workplace stress based on workload and control.
[8 marks]
Question 9
Nadia works in a large customer-service centre. Calls arrive automatically, and she is not permitted to pause the system or choose the order in which tasks are completed. Her manager recently increased the number of calls she must handle and frequently asks her to work late. Nadia often lies awake thinking about unfinished work and has begun experiencing a pounding heart. Employees have requested a meeting so that they can influence targets and working conditions.
Discuss workplace stress. Refer to Nadia and the other employees in your answer.
[16 marks]
Answers and Mark Scheme
Question 1
Answer: C
High workload combined with low control is likely to be particularly stressful because the worker faces substantial demands but has little ability to alter them.
[1 mark]
Question 2
Award up to two marks:
Control is the extent to which a worker can influence their work or working conditions.
This may include control over pace, timing, methods, breaks or decisions.
[2 marks]
Question 3
Award up to four marks:
Excessive workload involves demands that exceed the time, resources or coping capacity available.
The worker may believe that they cannot complete the tasks or meet the target.
This may produce worry and physiological arousal.
If the demands continue, the worker may have insufficient opportunity to recover, resulting in continuing stress.
[4 marks]
Question 4
Award up to four marks:
Control gives the worker influence over how the work is managed.
The worker may be able to adjust the pace or order of tasks.
They may be able to take breaks, request support or change their method.
These options can make a high workload feel more predictable and manageable, reducing its stressful effect.
[4 marks]
Question 5
Award one mark for each clear application, up to six marks:
Items arriving continuously indicate a demanding workload.
The increased daily target adds to Ben’s workload.
Additional tasks further increase the amount of work expected.
Ben has low control because he cannot change the speed of the equipment.
High workload combined with low control is likely to increase stress.
Poor sleep and worry suggest that the effects continue after the working day.
Credit other accurate and developed applications.
[6 marks]
Question 6
Award up to four marks:
The highest mean stress score occurs when workload is high and control is low.
High control is associated with lower stress in both workload conditions.
A high workload is associated with higher stress, but its effect appears smaller when control is high.
The researcher cannot conclude that workload or control caused the differences because the results may be correlational or affected by other differences between the employees.
Answers should interpret the pattern rather than only repeat the figures.
[4 marks]
Question 7
Award marks as follows:
One mark for identifying a relevant methodological limitation.
Up to three further marks for developing its effect.
Possible answer:
Workplace research is often correlational because employees cannot ethically be assigned to prolonged harmful conditions. An association between low control and stress does not prove that low control caused the stress. Employees who are already stressed may perceive their control as lower, or another workplace factor may affect both variables.
Other relevant limitations include:
Uncontrolled differences between real workplaces.
Self-report bias.
Difficulty measuring perceived control.
Physiological arousal having causes other than stress.
Individual differences between employees.
[4 marks]
Question 8
Indicative content may include:
Knowledge and understanding
Workload is the amount and difficulty of work expected.
Excessive workload may involve too many tasks, long hours, unrealistic targets or insufficient time.
Control is the worker’s influence over pace, methods, scheduling and decisions.
Low control may create helplessness or make demands difficult to manage.
High workload and low control may be particularly stressful.
Control may buffer some effects of a demanding workload.
Evaluation
Evidence from real workplaces supports associations with stress.
Field research has ecological validity.
Research is frequently correlational.
Stress may affect perceptions of workload or control.
Real workplaces contain uncontrolled variables.
Objective workload may differ from perceived workload.
Actual and perceived control may differ.
Self-report measures may be biased.
Personality and hardiness may affect responses.
The interaction between workload and control provides a broader explanation than either factor alone.
Practical applications include realistic targets and greater employee involvement.
Workload and control may not explain every form of workplace stress.
For the highest marks, evaluation should be developed and related directly to how convincingly workload and control explain stress.
[8 marks]
Question 9
Indicative content may include:
Knowledge and understanding
Workplace stress may result when occupational demands exceed coping resources.
Excessive workload can involve high targets, long hours and too many tasks.
Low control means that the worker has little influence over pace, methods or decisions.
High workload combined with low control may be especially stressful.
Continuing demands may produce psychological and physiological arousal.
Greater control may help workers manage demanding conditions.
Application to Nadia and the employees
Automatically arriving calls create a continuing workload.
Nadia cannot pause the system, indicating low control over pace.
She cannot choose the order of tasks, providing further evidence of low control.
The increased target raises her workload.
Working late increases the duration of the demand and reduces recovery time.
Thinking about unfinished work and sleeping poorly indicate continuing stress.
Her pounding heart may indicate physiological arousal.
The employees’ request for a meeting is an attempt to gain control over targets and conditions.
Greater involvement in decisions could make the demands more manageable.
Evaluation
Nadia’s experience demonstrates the value of considering workload and control together.
Evidence from genuine workplaces has ecological validity.
Associations between working conditions and stress do not establish causation.
Nadia’s stress may influence how she perceives the workload and control.
Other uncontrolled differences may affect employee stress.
Self-report ratings may be affected by fear of employer reactions.
Objective and perceived workload may differ.
Actual and perceived control may not be identical.
Personality and hardiness could influence how Nadia responds.
Giving employees meaningful control may have practical benefits.
Increasing control might not fully compensate for an impossible workload.
Workplace changes and individual coping support may both be required.
A high-level response will explain workload and control accurately, apply several separate details from the scenario and develop evaluation rather than listing brief limitations.
[16 marks]
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