COMMERCE 2BA3 ORGANIZATIONAL

BEHAVIOUR

Class 9

Conflict and Stress

Dr. Christa Wilkin

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Brain Teasers

Right = Right Job I'm Job

MANBOARD

R | E | A | D | I | N | G

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Last Class

People do not always make rational decisions

Different types of power can lead to higher commitment

Some people may behave for political gains and may behave unethically

THIS CLASS Conflict and stress

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Agenda

Types of conflict Managing conflict Causes of stress Outcomes of stress How our personality affects stress

levels Coping with stress

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CH 13: CONFLICT AND STRESS

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What is Conflict?

Interpersonal conflict is a process that occurs when one person, group, or organizational subunit frustrates the goal attainment of another.

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Types of Conflict

Relationship conflict (the who) Interpersonal tensions among individuals that have

to do with their relationship per se, not the task at hand

E.g., personality clashes Task conflict (the what)

Disagreements about the nature of work to be done E.g., this is the answer

Process conflict (the how) Disagreements about how work should be organized

and accomplished E.g., I want to do this part

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Question

Should we avoid conflict at all costs?

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Approaches to Managing Conflict

There are five styles for dealing with conflict.

None of the five styles is inherently superior.

Each style might have its place given the situation in which the conflict episode occurs.

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Avoiding

A conflict management style characterized by low assertiveness of one’s own interests and low cooperation with the other party.

It might be a sensible response when: The issue is trivial. Information is lacking. People need to cool down. The opponent is very powerful and hostile.

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Accommodating

A conflict management style in which one cooperates with the other party, while not asserting one’s own interests.

It can be an effective strategy when: You are wrong. The issue is more important to the other

party. You want to build good will.

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Competing

A conflict management style that maximizes assertiveness and minimizes cooperation.

It can be effective when: You have a lot of power. You are sure of your facts. The situation is truly win-lose. You will not have to interact with the other

party in the future.

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Compromise

A conflict management style that combines intermediate levels of assertiveness and cooperation.

It is a sensible reaction to conflict stemming from scarce resources and it is a good fall-back position if other strategies fail.

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Collaborating

A conflict management style that maximizes both assertiveness and cooperation.

It is an attempt to secure an integrative agreement that fully satisfies the interests of both parties (a win-win resolution).

It works best when the conflict is not intense and when each party has information that is useful to the other.

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How to Manage Conflict

Too much is bad, too little is also bad, some is ok

Emphasize common goals e.g., project, organization

Reduce differentiation The more team members think they have

common experiences or backgrounds, more motivated to resolve conflict

Create common experiences (e.g., socialize)

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How to Manage Conflict

Improve communication and understanding Caveat: People from different cultures may

vary in their preference of direct communication

Clarify rules and procedures (ambiguous) Show ultimate frisbee video

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QUESTIONS?

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Individual Exercise

How do you cope with stress? Let’s find out. For each of the 20 statements, indicate the

extent to which each statement describes you. Once you have completed all 20 questions, follow the scoring instructions provided. First, you must add up the numbers you circled for the four questions that make up each of the five scales. Second, you then add the scores from all five scales to give you an overall total score that can range from 20 to 100.

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Stress

An adaptive response to a situation that is perceived as challenging or threatening

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The Myth of Stress

Video clip

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What causes stress? (Stressors)

Stress?

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Organizational Stressors

Work overload Too much work (paid, overtime, unpaid overtime)

Role conflict When fulfilling the requirements of one role interferes

with the fulfillment of another role requirement Inter-role: two different roles conflict Intra-role: conflicting instructions on what to do (one

role) Person-role: expectations conflict with values

Role ambiguity Uncertainty about job duties, performance expectations,

level or source of authority, etc.

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Quiz Question

Derek’s supervisor asks him to work late into the evening on a report that is due next week but he is supposed to pick up the kids from daycare. We can be sure that Derek:

A) is experiencing burnout.B) is experiencing role ambiguity.C) is a Type A personality.D) is experiencing intra-role conflict.E) is experiencing inter-role conflict.

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Organizational Stressors

Psychological Environment Stressors Organizational injustice, interpersonal conflict Psychological contract Job insecurity Organizational change

Physical Environment Stressors Excessive noise Poor lighting Safety hazards

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Work – Non-work Stressors

Time conflict Time required for non-work activities

interferes with work E.g., family responsibilities (e.g., caring for sick

parents), volunteer work etc. Strain conflict

Stress from one domain spills into other Relationships, finances, new responsibilities, etc. Attitudes can be transmitted to other people

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Outcomes of Stress?

Stress ?

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Outcomes of Stress

Psychological reactions Physiological reactions

High blood pressure, sweatiness, heart palpitations, dizziness, more cortisone, etc.

Behavioural reactions Attempts to cope (e.g., shopping, exercise)

Videos of Office Stress

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Burnout

Emotional exhaustion Lack of energy, difficulty emoting Compassion fatigue: no longer able to

empathize Cynicism / depersonalization

Indifferent attitude to work Treating individuals as objects / callousness Strict adherence to rules and regulations

Reduced professional accomplishment Lower self-efficacy No longer see value of extra effort

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Organizational Outcomes

Too much stress can lead to: Job dissatisfaction Occupational injuries and illnesses Decision-making, cognitive abilities, task

performance Absenteeism, turnover

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Question

Are certain types of people more stressed out than others?

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Personality

Personality can affect both the extent to which potential stressors are perceived as stressful and the types of stress reactions that occur.

Stress OutcomesStressors

Personality

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Locus of Control

People’s beliefs about the factors that control their behaviour

Externals are more likely to feel anxious in the face of potential stressors E.g., The world is against me

Internals are more likely to confront stressors directly E.g., I can get through this

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Type A Behaviour Pattern

A personality pattern that includes aggressiveness, ambitiousness, competitiveness, hostility, impatience, and a sense of time urgency.

Type A: can’t relax, constantly busy, impatient

Type B: easy-going, patient, relaxed

Question: Which personality type are you? Are you one or the other?

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Negative and Positive Affectivity Negative: The propensity to view the

world, including oneself and other people, in a – light E.g., pessimistic, moody

Positive: View world in a + light E.g., happy go lucky, always smiling,

optimistic People high in NA report more stressors in

the work environment and feel more subjective stress

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Reducing or Coping with Stress

Some of the things that organizations can do to reduce workplace stress and assist employees in coping with stress include: Job redesign Social support Family-friendly human resource policies Stress management programs Work-life balance programs

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Job Redesign

Organizations can redesign jobs to reduce their stressful characteristics.

Most formal job redesign efforts involve enriching operative-level jobs to make them more stimulating and challenging.

There is growing evidence that providing more autonomy in how service is delivered can alleviate stress and burnout.

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Social Support

Social support refers to having close ties with other people.

A social network acts as a buffer against stress.

The buffering aspects of social support are most potent when they are directly connected to the source of stress.

Coworkers and superiors are the best sources of support for dealing with work-related stress.

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“Family Friendly” Human Resource Policies “Family friendly” human resource policies

include some combination of formalized social support, material support, and increased flexibility to adapt to employee needs.

A common form of material support is corporate daycare centres.

Flexibility is also important and includes flex-time, telecommuting, job sharing, and family leave policies.

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Stress Management Programs

Programs designed to help employees “manage” work-related stress.

Stress management programs involve techniques such as meditation, training in time management, and biofeedback training.

They can be useful in reducing physiological arousal, sleep disturbances, and self-reported tension and anxiety.

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Work-Life Balance Programs

Work-life balance programs encourage employees to participate in activities to improve their mental and physical health.

Work-life balance programs include fitness facilities and memberships, employee assistance programs, and health food programs.

Work-life programs are believed to lower health-care costs due in part to stress reduction.

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Wellness Programs Research

My study on wellness programs Findings suggest that after one year

health promo initiatives decrease return on assets (ROA), while work-life balance initiatives increase ROA. However, both effects become non-significant after three years.

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Group Exercise

Form groups of 5 to 6 people. Share your results within your group from your stress test. Talk about potential stressors and outcomes of your stress. Talk about effective ways to deal with stress.

Pick a spokesperson to summarize your results

I will randomly call on a few groups to present

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Summary

There are different styles to managing conflict but no style is inherently superior (contextual)

Stress isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it depends on how we cope with it

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For Next Class

Read Chapter 14 on organizational structure

Hand in group assignment at the beginning of class

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