Discussion on the role of work for the twenty-first century has focused on both benefits and harmful effects of the working environment. The Whitehall II Stress and Health studies have shown the many disbenefits of employment to be unevenly distributed between social groups. Yet we suspected that the quantitative differences identified in these studies may not provide the whole picture, the effects of pathways linking features such as work characteristics and material factors to common mental disorders or to positive aspects of well-being could be expected to be conveyed through the meaning of stressors for example, or mediated through individual perceptions of work. Based on a qualitative research project, this book examines and illustrates ways in which a wide range of stressors, mitigators, and resources are not only socially distributed and experienced but also interpreted and understood by men and women in different civil service grades. Adopting a holistic and sociological approach to the research helps us to understand why some people and not others in given circumstances feel out of control or become anxious or depressed.