Workplace Stressors
Identified workplace stressors include personal problems, particularly elevated financial needs of the worker, family problems that deny the worker peaceful, personal time and workplace conditions, especially increased workplace demands. Job stress arises from workplace situations where job demands exceed the capabilities of the workers, the needs of the employees and the resources available to handle the job including tools, equipments, employees’ competence and skills (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 2008). Consider, for instance, a workplace for a retail associate working for a base pay plus commission. Workplace stress would arise from a situation where the associate’s needs far much surpass the base pay such that the retail associate is forced to work extra hard, beyond his working capacity, to increase commission to cater for his needs. Workplace stress will be particularly high if the retail associate does not have the necessary resources, including the necessary competence, to handle the increased task.
Stress will also result from increased job demands even if the retail associate is satisfied with the base pay, such that the retail associate is forced to work beyond his capability. This is especially the case when the organization sets up unrealistic deadlines that put the workers under strenuous conditions as they strive to meet the deadlines. This may arise from poor management and leadership that do not consider workers’ wellbeing when planning jobs, and it is particularly weighty if the organization does not provide the necessary resources required to complete the job effectively.
Solutions to the Identified Workplace Stressors
Solutions to the workplace stressors include providing adequate base pay, providing the worker with the necessary resources, encouraging employees to avoid overworking themselves and avoiding overworking employees during peak times. When deciding the base pay, an organization should provide an adequate base pay that meets the most and basic needs of employees to prevent them from overworking in search for increased commission.
The organization should encourage employees to avoid overworking themselves by providing education on the risks of overworking on their health. Accordingly, an organization should avoid putting its employees under work pressure especially during peak times. Instead, it should train them to develop and work under well-prepared and reasonable work plans that have realizable goals. During times of high job demand in the workplace, the organization management and leadership should design jobs properly to avoid stressful working conditions. This may include increasing the number of retail associates and/or scheduling jobs so that urgent jobs are done first so that all the jobs are extended over a long period.
References
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). 14 January, 2008. NIOSH
Working with Stress Part 1 of 2. Accessed 30 September 2012 from
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0YyxwALGaw>
