Introduction
Stress occurs when the reaction of an organization or individual is exposed to environmental stimuli called stressors. Stress can be reflected in our everyday lives as well as under extraordinary pressures. Stress can also be helpful or pleasurable in one’s life. Under certain circumstances, stress may be considered necessary. For example, stress can help a student excel on a test or an athlete perform. These stressors represent challenge for the individual that can often lead to stimulation. The stimulation, as a result, leads to satisfaction for the individual. However, not all reactions to stress can be positive. There can be negative results when it comes to employees and workplace stress. Supervisor stress is an example of this. How a supervisor treats their employees can dictate how much stress that employee exerts. The Health and Safety at Work Act (1995) requires employers to make sure their employers are in a safe environment. This duty is applied to both the physical and psychology well-beings of employees. (Burton, 2012, p. 271). Stress is included under the Health and Safety at Work Act. This paper addresses the aspects of stress in the workplace, the role of supervisor in regards to stress, and methods employers can take in order to reduce stress throughout the work environment.
Stress
When it comes to the job environment, there are four key sources of stress. These stressors are: time stressors, encounter stressors, situational stressors, and anticipatory stressors. Time stressors refer to when the individual is experiencing a work overload and feels a lack of control over their environment. Encounter stressors refer to those stressors that arise due to conflict. Situational stressors occur when there are unfavorable changes in the working conditions. Lastly, anticipatory stressor are stressors that exist out of fear. All of these stressors have an effect when it comes to an individual’s job performance. (Burton, 2012, p. 271).
Stress has proven to have detrimental aspects when it comes to organisational performance. First, absence is linked to occupational stress. Preventing and managing stress has been proven to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of employee performance. There are several other negative consequences when it comes to stress in the workplace. These consequences are: burnout, ill health among workers, lower performance, high turnover, and negative culture. Organisational interventions can help lower the stress throughout a work environment. Employers should ensure job satisfaction, make sure their employees have a good work-life balance, and create employee assistances programmes that help employees manage their stress. Employers should also ensure that their leadership is not exerting stress on the employees (Bono, 2013, p. 271).
Studies have shown that if stress is handled effectively, then it provides an individual with the proper motivation to overcome any obstacles that separate them from their goals. It is believed that some personality types are attracted to high stress jobs. Those who are attracted to high stress jobs generally have high levels when it comes to commitment, challenge, control and resilience. However, for those individuals who do not have the personality type to handle stress, the physiological makeup of the job could become negatively stressful on the individual (Bono, 2013, p. 1601). The following discusses how negative leadership stressors can lead to stress within an employee.
Leadership and Stress
Burton and Hoobler (2012) found that “increased levels of supervisor-reported stress are related to the increased experience of employee-rated abusive supervision” (p. 271). In other words, the study found a link between supervisor stress and the employee’s stress. However, this study found that the link can be loosened if the supervisor engages in moderate levels of physical exercise (p. 271).
“Supervisors, who are usually responsible for carrying out changes during turbulent economic times, are especially at risk of experiencing increased levels of stress at work” (Burton, 2012, p. 271). It is believed that the amount of stress a supervisor exhibits, the more likely the supervisor will cause stress on their employees. One result of stressful supervisors is abusive supervision. Abusive supervision consists of hostile verbal or nonverbal behaviors from the supervisor to the subordinates. Abusive supervision has a host of consequences on subordinates. These negative consequences consist of: negative attitudes, aggressiveness and deviant behavior in the work place (p. 271).
Wu and Yang (2013) found that “supervisor behaviors play a crucial role in employee’s psychological well-being” (p. 190). Supervisors are a prevalent source when it comes to workplace stress. When a supervisor is stressed, they are more likely to exert their stress onto their subordinates. This can create negative consequences on the subordinates. The results of this study suggest that “by classifying supervisor-related stressors, we can provide different training programmes for supervisors who engage in different expressions of supervisor-related stressors” (p. 196). For example, training programmes should be aimed at supervisors’ hostile mistreatment when it comes to their subordinates. These training programs should provide coaching behaviors that “suggest how to provide negative feedback to subordinates without hurting their self-esteem” (p. 196). This is one example of a training program that can be implemented in order to reinforce correct and constructive performance leadership behaviors. As a result, the employees will less likely classify the supervisor’s behavior as abuse and will also lead to a less stressful environment for all employees.
Rodwell (2014) found that abusive supervision is directly linked to the turnover rate among nurses. Nurses, who are a high-risk occupational group, are more likely to quit if their supervisor addresses them negatively or verbal abuses them in the work place. It is believed that due to the stressful nature of a nurse’s job, the employees are less willing to inhibit stress from a supervisor. In other words, nurses less willing they are to work for an individual who they perceive as an abusive supervisor. Given the demand for the occupations, nurses have the ability to leave an employer for any reason, especially abusive supervision. Thus, abusive supervision has led to a high turnover rate throughout the nursing profession (Rodwell, 2014, p. 357).
Duty of Care
Employer have a duty of care when it comes to the health and safety of their employees. The Health and Safety at Work Act (1995) covers both the physical and psychological wellbeing’s of their employees. Stress is include under the Health and Safety Work Act. “According to the World Health Organization, workplace stress is the number one health problem in the world” (Strauss, 2014). An employer has a duty of care when it comes to the stress the job may inflict on their employees; stress from leadership is included under duty of care (Burton, 2012, p. 271).
In order to limit the negative psychological effects of stress on an employee, employer should create an environment that does not include stressors. They should also initiate actions that resist the negative effects that can result of stress. Lastly, employer should also implement on the spot remedies in order to reduce the effects that work stress may have one an employee. By implementing these three strategies, employers should be able to properly manage the amount of stress their employees exhibit in the workplace.
Exercises
Several employers have reduced the level of stress their employees have exerted by implementing exercise into their daily business routine. These employers give their employees the ability to take breaks form their workload in order to exercise. One of the most successful exercise that has been implemented into businesses is yoga and mindfulness classes. Mindfulness classes are used to decrease stress by letting an individual focus on their breathing while releasing their stress. Both yoga and mindfulness classes have been beneficial when implemented in the workplace. Companies who have implemented yoga and mindfulness classes into their employees work schedule has seen remarkable results when it comes to reducing the level of stress within their employees. They have also seen an increase in work performance and a decrease in employee absences.
Conclusion
Several studies have shown the negative impacts that stress can have in the workplace. Studies have also shown that supervision has a direct impact when it comes to the level of stress employee’s exhibit. Employers have a duty of care when it comes to the psychological wellbeing of the employees. Stress is covered under this duty of care. Several employers have seen benefits with implementing exercise into their employee’s day routine, especially yoga. Both yoga and mindfulness exercises give an individual a break from the stressful work environment and allows them to release that stress during a thirty-to-sixty minute work break. Employers who have implemented yoga into their employee’s work schedule have seen a decrease in employee stress, a decrease in employee absences, while also experiencing an increase in employee work performance.
References
Bono et al., (2013). Building Positive Resources: Effects of Positive Events and Positive Reflection on Work Stress and Health. Academy of Management Journal. 56 (6), pp. 1601-1627
Burton et al., (2012). Supervisor Workplace Stress and Abusive Supervision: The Buffering Effect of Exercise. Journal of Business Psychology. 27(3), pp. 271-279.
Rodwell et all., (2014). Abusive Supervision and Links to Nurse Intentions to Quit. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 46(5), 357-365.
Strauss, A. (2014). The Business of Breathing. Crain’s New York Business, 30(10).
Wheeler et al, (2013). The interactive effects of abusive supervision and entitlement on emotional exhaustion and co-worker abuse. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 86, 477-496.
Wu et al., (2013). Abusive Supervisors and Workload Demands from Supervisors: Exploring Two Types of Supervisor-related Stressors and their Association with Strain. Journal of International Society for the Investigation of Stress, 29(3), 190-198.
