Post on 22-Jan-2015
description
Stress and Well-Being at Work
What is Stress?
Stress – the unconscious preparation to fight or flee that a person experiences when faced with any demand
Stressor – the person or event that triggers the stress response
Distress – the adverse psychological, physical, behavioral, and organizational consequences that may arise as a result of stressful events
Strain – distress
What is Homeostasis?
Homeostasis – a steady state of bodily functioning and equilibrium
4 Stress Approaches: Homeostatic/Medical Approach
Homeostasis
External environmental demand
+
=
FightFlight
• Individuals differ in their appraisal of events and people
• What is stressful for one person is not for another
• Perception and cognitive appraisal determines what is stressful
4 Stress Approaches: Cognitive Appraisal Approach
4 Stress Approaches: Cognitive Appraisal Approach
Problem-focused copingemphasizes managing the stressor
Emotion-focused copingemphasizes managing your response
• No undue stress Good person-environment fit: a person’s skills and abilities match a clearly defined, consistent set of role expectations
• Stress, strain, and depression occur when role expectations are confusing and/or conflicting, or when the person’s skills and abilities do not meet the demands of the social role
4 Stress Approaches: Person–Environment Fit Approach
4 Stress Approaches: Psychoanalytic Approach
= the difference between ego ideal and
self-image
Self-Image – how a person sees oneself,
both positively & negatively
Ego Ideal – the embodiment of a
person’s perfect self(imaginable)
Sources of Stress at Work
Work Demands Task Demands Role Demands
Change & uncertainty Lack of control Career progress New technologies Work overload/underload
Role conflict: Interrole Intrarole Person–role
Role ambiguity Interpersonal Demands Physical Demands
Abrasive personalities Sexual harassment Leadership styles
Extreme environments Strenuous activities Hazardous substances
Stress Sources at Work
Nonwork Demands Family Demands Personal Demands
Marital expectations Child-rearing/day care
arrangements Parental care
Religious activities Self-improvement
tasks Traumatic events
Stress Benefits and CostsBenefits of Healthy, Normal Stress (Eustress) Performance Health
Increased arousal Bursts of physical strength
Cardiovascular efficiency Enhanced focus in an
emergency
Costs of Distress Individual Organizational
Psychological disorders Medical illnesses Behavioral problems
Participation problems Performance decrements Compensation awards
Positive Stress
• Stress response itself is neutral• Some stressful activities (aerobic
exercise, etc.) can enhance a person’s ability to manage stressful demands or situations
• Stress can provide a needed energy boost
Negative Stress
Negative stress results from– a prolonged activation of the stress
response– mismanagement of the energy induced
by the response– unique personal vulnerabilities
Individual Distress
Work-related psychological disordersWork-related psychological disorders(depression, burnout, (depression, burnout,
psychosomatic disorders)psychosomatic disorders)
Medical illness
(heart disease, strokes,
headaches, backaches)
Behavioral problems
Behavioral problems(substance abuse,
(substance abuse,violence, accidents)
violence, accidents)
Organizational Distress
Participative Problems – a cost associated with absenteeism, tardiness, strikes and work stoppages, and turnover
Performance Decrement – a cost resulting from poor quality or low quantity of production, grievances, and unscheduled machine downtime and repair
Individual differencesDealing with Stress
Achilles’ heel phenomenon – –
a person breaks down at his or her weakest
point
Backaches
HeadachesHeart Disease
Depression
Are There Gender-Related Stressors?
Sexual harassment
Early age fatal health problems
Long term disabling health problems
Violence
Type A Behavior Patterns
Type A Behavior Patterns – a complex of personality and behavior characteristics– sense of time urgency
“hurry sickness”– quest for numbers (of
achievements)– status insecurity– aggression & hostility expressed
in response to frustration & conflict
Personality HardinessPersonality Hardiness – a personality resistant
to distress and characterized by – challenge (versus threat)– commitment (versus alienation)– control (versus powerlessness)
Transformational Coping – a way of managing stressful events by changing them into subjectively less stressful events (versus regressive coping – passive avoidance of events by decreasing interaction with the environment)
Self-RelianceSelf-Reliance – a healthy, secure, interdependent
pattern of behavior related to how people form and maintain supportive attachments with others (social relation ship)
Counterdependence – an unhealthy, insecure pattern of behavior that leads to separation in relationships with other people
Become rigid,denial of need of peopleOverdependence – an unhealthy, insecure pattern of
behavior that leads to preoccupied attempts to achieve security through relationships., cling to other people.
Preventative Stress Management – an organizational philosophy that holds that people & organizations should take joint responsibility for promoting health and preventing distress and strain
Preventative Stress Management
Primary Prevention – designed to reduce, modify, or eliminate the demand or stressor causing stress
Secondary Prevention – designed to alter or modify the individual’s or the organization’s response to a demand or stressor
Tertiary Prevention – designed to heal individual or organizational symptoms of distress and strain (healing , therapy)
Preventative Stress Management
Organizational Stress Prevention
• Focuses on people’s work demands• Focuses on ways to reduce distress
at work• Most organizational prevention is
primary– job redesign– goal setting– role negotiation– social support systems
Individual Preventive Stress Management
Primary Prevention Learned optimism: Alters the person’s internal self-talk and
reduces depression Time management: Improves planning and prioritizes activities Leisure time activities: Balance work and non-work activities
Secondary Prevention Physical exercise: Improves cardiovascular function and muscular
flexibility Relaxation training: Lowers all indicators of the stress response Diet: Lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease and
improves overall physical health
Tertiary Prevention Opening up: Releases internalized traumas and emotional
tensions Professional help: Provides information, emotional support, and
therapeutic guidance
What Can Managers Do?
• Learn how to create healthy stress without distress
• Help employees adjust to new technologies
• Be sensitive to early signs of distress• Be aware of gender, personality, and
behavioral differences• Use principles and methods of preventive
stress management