This study investigates the association between work stress and the metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors that increase the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The research is based on the Whitehall II study, which followed 10,308 men and women aged 35-55 over an average of 14 years. Work stress was measured using the iso-strain model, and the metabolic syndrome was assessed based on the National Cholesterol Education Program definition. The results show a dose-response relationship between chronic work stress and the metabolic syndrome, with employees experiencing three or more exposures to work stress being more than twice as likely to have the syndrome compared to those without work stress. The study concludes that work stress is an important risk factor for the metabolic syndrome and provides evidence for the biological plausibility of the link between psychosocial stressors and heart disease. The social gradient in the metabolic syndrome is partially explained by chronic exposure to work stress, and the findings are robust to adjustment for confounders and potential mediators.This study investigates the association between work stress and the metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors that increase the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The research is based on the Whitehall II study, which followed 10,308 men and women aged 35-55 over an average of 14 years. Work stress was measured using the iso-strain model, and the metabolic syndrome was assessed based on the National Cholesterol Education Program definition. The results show a dose-response relationship between chronic work stress and the metabolic syndrome, with employees experiencing three or more exposures to work stress being more than twice as likely to have the syndrome compared to those without work stress. The study concludes that work stress is an important risk factor for the metabolic syndrome and provides evidence for the biological plausibility of the link between psychosocial stressors and heart disease. The social gradient in the metabolic syndrome is partially explained by chronic exposure to work stress, and the findings are robust to adjustment for confounders and potential mediators.