Job stress is systematically created by the characteristics of the jobs themselves, by the workers’ occupation, the organizations in which they work, their placements in different labor markets, and by broader social, economic and institutional structures, processes and events. And disparities in job stress are systematically determined in much the same way as are other disparities in health, income, and mobility opportunities.In taking this approach, the authors draw on the observations and insights from a diverse field of sociological and economic theories and research.