stress
- An adaptive response to a situation that is perceived as challenging or threatening to a person’s wellbeing
Yerkes- Dodson Curve.
Stress is not necessarily a bad thing, in fact, it can enhance performance and motivation: Yerkes- Dodson Curve.
Low stress can be indicative of low performance, however, high stress can also equal low performance. it is important that to achieve optimal results stress stays to a moderate level.
stressors
environmental conditions that place physical or emotional demands on a person
Challenge stressors
(stressful aspects of tasks that have potential gains)
- high workload - responsibility - time pressure - difficult tasks - Can be difficult but often something positive will result. - Positive results can lead to organisational commitment and job satisfaction. - Negative results can lead to turnover and withdrawal.
hindrance stressors
- (aspects that interfere with goal achievement)
-workplace politics
-faulty equipment
-“red tape”- Positive hindrance stressors can lead to turnover etc.
Negative can lead to org commitment and satisfaction.
- Positive hindrance stressors can lead to turnover etc.
general adaption syndrome
stages of stress:
alarm- initial reaction
resistance- utilise physical and psychological defences
exhaustion- collapse of defences
demand-control model
- Job demands: extent of workload and time pressure
- Job control: extent of autonomy and discretion
High-strain jobs (high demands, low control) are most stressful
-higher depression
-high exhaustion
-lower job satisfaction
sources of stress at work
Environmental -technological change -physical conditions (noise, heat light) Organisational -harassment -task control -work overload Personal -family problems -economic problems
consequences of stress
Behavioural -productivity -absenteeism -turnover Psychological -depression -anxiety -job burnout Physiological -cardiovascular -gastrointestinal biochemical
common workplace stressors
• Harassment (psychological, sexual)
• Repeated, hostile, unwanted conduct or comments
• Attacks on a person’s dignity, psychology or body
Work overload
• Technology
○ Increased expectations for being contactable (and responding)
○ Aspirations and consumerism
○ Typically more work = more money; more money = more stuff!
○ “Ideal worker” norm
Long hours in office
= “committed worker
- Low Task Control
○ Low control over how work is done
○ Low control over pace of work
○ Low control over time of work
individual differences/moderators
• Internal v. External Locus of Control
○ Internal: personal outcomes are a result of one’s own effort
○ External: personal outcomes are beyond one’ s control
○ When experiencing the same stressors, internal LOC people perceive lower stress
• Big five (OCEAN) personality factors
○ Neuroticism predicts higher self-reported stress and more intense reactions to stressors
- health of person
- minimise its presence. Seeking support from others, reframing the stressor in a more positive light, blaming others for the stressor and denying the stressor’s existence are some other coping mechanisms.
Extroverts also tend to experience lower stress than do introverts.
short term consequences of stress
- Some symptoms of short-term stress • Persistent worrying • Doubting one’s ability • Sleep disturbances • Feeling sick in the stomach • Headache • Moodiness (particularly with friends, and family)
long term consequences
Some consequences of chronic stress
• Behavioural
• Impaired performance
• Counterproductive behaviour
○ Absenteeism, sabotage, dishonesty/theft
• Psychological
• Impaired concentration, memory
• Anxiety, depression
• Job Burnout (Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996)
○ Emotional exhaustion: cannot deal with emotional work demands
□ “I feel emotionally drained in my work”
○ Depersonalisation: failing to engage with others, cynicism
□ “I’m afraid that this job is making me uncaring”
○ Personal accomplishment: feel incompetent and unsuccessful
□ “I have accomplished many worthwhile things in this job [reversed]
consequences of chronic stress
• Physiological • Cardiovascular ○ Increased blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol • Gastrointestinal ○ Digestive problems, ulcers • Biochemical ○ Increased “stress” hormones (e.g., cortisol) • long-term physiological effects • heart disease, weaker immune systems
management of stress
- Primary interventions: reduce the stressor
- Secondary interventions: improve people’s responses to inevitable stress.
- Tertiary interventions: reduce the damaging consequences of stress.
primary interventions
- Work redesign
• Redesign work to remove stressor
• Increase autonomy - Cognitive restructuring (change perceptions of stressors)
• Highlight challenge aspects rather than hindrance aspects
Strategies for breaking tasks down into manageable components
secondary interventions
- General health and wellbeing
• Exercise
• Diet - Emotion-focused coping
• Emotional/Appraisal social support: sympathy and caring for emotional needs and building self-esteem
• Avoiding, minimising, or distancing self from stressor
• Mindfulness, meditation, relaxation (reduces blood pressure, heart rate).
• Problem-focused coping
• Instrumental/Informational social support: direct practical help to manage stressor/problem
• Training in conflict resolution or time-management skills
• Stress inoculation- exposing people to the stress so that they are trained and thus are less anxious next time they deal with it.
1. Education: Understanding your typical reactions to stressors
2. Rehearsing: learning coping skills, e.g. time management, relaxation
3. Application: applying these skills in realistic simulations
tertiary interventions
- Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)
• Personal life counselling
○ Relationships, family, financial issues
• Alcohol, drug abuse, gambling programs
• Support for dealing with harassment, bullying, and discrimination
what can organisations do
4 interrelated elements (Hall et al., 2010):
• Level of senior management support (commitment to stress prevention)
• Priority given to psychological health over productivity goals
• Extent and effectiveness of org. communication
• Scope of org. participation/involvement relating to psychological health and safety.
* Improved personnel selection and job placement * Training * Use of realistic goal setting * Job redesign * Offering employee sabbaticals * Establish corporate wellness programs
what can you do at work?
- Be realistic: set practical goals
- Establish limits for time and effort you want to exert
- Learn to say NO without feeling guilty
- Learn to delegate responsibility where possible
- Learn (and use) time management techniques
- Learn strategies to overcome procrastination
- Establish clear priorities
- Establish a balance between work, home and friends
what can you do outside work
- Increase or maintain physical exercise
- Maintain a healthy diet
- Relaxation training
- Expand (or use) social support networks
resilience
- Employees experience different stress levels because they have different levels of resilience, including self- confidence and optimism.
improving resilience
- Regular exercise and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is an effective stress-management strategy because it controls the consequences of stress.
- Social support occurs when co-workers, supervisors, family members, friends and others provide emotional andfor informational support to buffer an individual’s stress experience. It potentially improves the person’s resilience (particularly optimism and self-confidence) because support makes people feel valued and worthy.
