Stress Control

From Wired Magazine:
The recurring theme... isn't the sheer amount of stress -- it's the total absence of control. Researchers call it the "demand-control" model of stress, in which the damage caused by chronic stress depends not just on the demands of the job but on the extent to which we can control our response to those demands. "The man or woman with all the emails, the city lawyer who works through the night has high demands," Marmot writes. "But if he has a high degree of control over work, it is less stressful and will have less impact on health."
"Under Pressure" by Jonah Lehrer August 2010 pg. 136
This mirrors my own experiences with job satisfaction: those positions (like stocking shelves and loading trucks) with repetitive functions caused stress not because of their difficulty, but because of their lack of it. When in a position that allowed me autonomy and creativity, my satisfaction increased greatly. Both of my current jobs, as a teacher and a library director, have a level of autonomic control that provides adequate satisfaction. I won't say optimum satisfaction because there are still constraints.