A study examined the causes and intensity of stress in the modern secretary. Questionnaires completed by nearly 4,000 members of Professional Secretaries International throughout the country were split into a 2,000-respondent cluster from urban areas and a 2,000-respondent "nonurban" cluster that included both secretaries from and not from cities. The urban secretaries expressed only slightly greater stress than those from the nonurban cluster. Among younger secretaries, however, urban employees indicated much greater levels of stress. Those job duties that caused the greatest stress were answering the phone, redoing work executives do too hastily or erroneously, coordinating and supervising, and doing research. Lack of advancement opportunities, lack of input into decisions, lack of communication from supervisors, and insufficient pay were the job characteristics that caused the most stress. Stress associated with office machines, while generally low, increased among respondents with the rising level of technological sophistication. Two-thirds of those surveyed felt that stress has affected their health. (This report concludes with a section of representative secretary complaints and suggestions for alleviating them.) (MN)