Chapter Summary: Chapter 7
The source of stress is either real or perceived. People only need to perceive danger or be in state of paranoia to experience stress. Stress is the feeling of tension that occurs when person perceives that a given situation is about to exceed their ability to cope and so could endanger their well-being. Job stress is then the feeling that one’s capabilities, resources, or needs do not match the demands or requirements of the job. Stress transpires as Acute or Chronic. Acute stress is a short-term stress reaction to an immediate threat. Chronic stress is a long term stress resulting from ongoing situations. Overload of stress can have severe effects.
We have two popular models of workplace stress –the demand control model and the effort–reward imbalance model. In demand-control model focuses on job strain and its role in occurrence of stress. Job strain is dependent on two factors. Firstly, is the workplace demands faced by employees. This are aspects of the work environment that job holder must handle. Secondly, control that a person has in meeting workplace demands. This refers to the extent to which persons are able or perceive themselves as in charge and the amount of control they can exercise in regards to their work. The demand control model puts forward that workplace stress is highest when the job demands are high but people have little control over the situation. The effort–reward imbalance model focuses on two factors. They are the effort required by a worker to carry out a task and the resulting reward after the effort. The rewards are in form wage and esteem. This model underscores the fact the stress is high when the required effort is high but the resulting rewards are low.
Stressors are the environmental conditions that cause people to experience stress. In organizations, there are certain aspects of the work environment that are likely to cause employees to experience stress. This aspects act as stressors. Work-related stress includes work overload and monitoring among others. This overload occurs in terms of too much work –quantitative or complexity of the work –qualitative. Evidence shows that qualitative work overload creates greater depression, less enjoyment of work and greater hostility. Monitoring is another of the stressors brought about by recent technological advancement leading to an outburst of stricter monitoring of employees both in work and non-work environment. Organizations can screen employee’s emails, website activities, tap mobile phone conversations and keep track of their digital footprints. Monitoring causes employees to experience loss of control and increased work demands at the same time making monitoring exceedingly stressful.
Individual consequences of stress are classified as psychological, behavioral, and physiological. Psychological consequences are the mental responses to stress. They include anxiety, depression, low self worthiness, frustration, family problems, sleeplessness, and burnout. Some consequences are more severe that others and their overall effects are dependent on degree or level of the stress. For example in burnout, employees show little or no enthusiasm for their job and are constantly fatigued. Behavioral consequences of stress include excessive smoking, substance abuse, accident proneness, eating disorder and even aggressiveness. Physiological reactions to stress include high blood pressure, muscle tensions, skin diseases, impaired immune systems, back problems and headaches. Evidence shows that a stress is directly related to physical problems or can make existing problems deteriorate which lower productivity in the workplace.
Stress also has negative effects to the organization as well. These consequences are as a result of the effects in individual's stress. They include low morale, dissatisfaction, lower job performance, increased absenteeism, decreased turnover and unhealthy relationships at work. Studies have shown interrelations between stress, job dissatisfaction, turnover, and healthcare costs. Stress-related illnesses translate to millions of dollars in medical insurances and other claims. In addition, behavioral consequences like violence and psychological consequences, such as anxiety, can interfere with work relationship between co-workers resulting to animosity, distrust and communication breakdown –all these which have a direct effect on organization’s output.
One of the ways organizations can cut stress is increasing individuals’ independence and control. Increased control aids in keeping stress in manageable levels as seen in demand-control model. Secondly, equal pay for equal work another way of reducing prevalent of stress as stated in effort-reward imbalance model. Thirdly, maintaining job demands at healthy levels and ensuring the associates have the required skills to handle a job adequately this prevents qualitative and quantitative stress coupled with work overload. Forth, improved associate involvement in the decision-making ensures associates perceive to have control thereby eliminating stress associated with demand-control model. Fifth, improve working condition. Making work condition pleasant, reactions and attitude towards work are bound to positive changes.
