Thanks to economic turmoil abroad, gyrating U.S. markets and stepped-up corporate retrenchment, a new wave of job angst is creeping into many offices around the country. "I haven't glimpsed panic, but more pessimism and malaise," says Dan Conti, director of First Chicago NBD Corp.'s employee-assistance program.

First Chicago is about to merge with Banc One Corp. and employees already are worried about their futures even though no layoffs have been announced, said Conti, a psychologist. He calls the economic uncertainties,"one more piece of personal stress. We're building a stress portfolio."
—Ellen Joan Pollock, "Getting Ahead: It's Getting STRESSFUL!!! on the Job," The Wall Street Journal, October 20, 1998