General public definition
- Occupational stress injury, or organizational stress injury, is currently not listed as a diagnosis in the DSM-5-TR or ICD-11.
- Occupational stress injury and organizational stress injury are derived from operational stress injury to convey the idea of stress occurring in organizations or work situations outside of a military operational environment.
- These are new and emerging definitions that are as yet neither well defined nor clear and they may change.
- These terms may be mistakenly used interchangeably with operational stress injury (OSI); always be precise when referring to all these terms.
- Only use the acronym “OSI” when you are referring to operational stress injury.
Academic definition
- Occupational stress injury, or organizational stress injury, is currently not listed as a diagnosis in the DSM-5-TR or ICD-11.
- These are evolving concepts. One view is that occupational stressors can be sorted into operational stressors and organizational stressors; however, the terms are emerging, and the definitions remain unclear and may change.
- Staff shortages, lack of training on new equipment, lack of appropriate resources, inconsistent leadership styles, and a perceived lack of coworkers’ and leaders’ support are examples of organizational stressors.
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