MODULE-5

OCCUPATIONAL STRESS

Meaningof Stress

Stress is defined as an adaptive response, mediated by individual

differences and psychological processes, that is a consequence of any
external (environmental) action, situation or event that places excessive
psychological or physical demands upon a person.
In context to occupation, stress is an adaptive response to an external
situation that results in physical, psychological, and behavioural deviations
for organizational participants.
Stress can be both positive and negative.
Positive stress is called eustress, Eg; When an employee is offered a job
promotion at another location.
Negative stress is called distress. Eg; When a loved one is seriously ill.
euste
dishes
ponemance
The Definition of Stress and the relation to Burnout sbey

Burnout is characterized by emotional exhaustion and diminished personal

accomplishment. When the ability to cope with stress begins to let us down,
then we may be on the road to burnout.
It is important to point out what stress is not:
1. Stress is not simply anxiety. Anxiety operates solely in the emotional
and psychological sphere, whereas stress operates there and also in
the physiological sphere. Thus, stress may be accompanied by
anxiety, but the two should not be equated.
2. Stress is not simply nervous tension. Like anxiety, nervous tension
may result from stress, but the two are not the same. Unconscious

phgtalegeal
a. Stss a nes vous tengi arse .
 stross

people have exhibited stress, and some people may keep it "bottled
up" and not reveal it through nervous tension.
3. Stress is not necessarily something damaging, bad, or to be avoided.
Eustress is not damaging or bad and is something people should
seek out rather than avoid. The key, of course, is how the person
handies stress. Stress is inevitable; distress may be prevented or can
be effectively controlled.

Backaground of stress
Hans Selye, the recognized father of stress
damage is anonspecific response to all discovered that tissue
unpleasant stimuli. He called this
phenomenon the general adaptation syndrome (GAS).
The GAS has three stages:
1) Stage of alarnm
2) Stage of resistance
3) Stage of exhaustion
BPÎ, beast ate.,ete. 3ody
Stage of alarm
In the alarm stage, an outside stressor
mobilizes the internal
system of the body. Humans exhibit a "fight or flight" response. A stressof
number
physiological and chemical reactions take place such as increased pituitary
and adrenaline secretions, increased respiration, heart rate
and blood
pressure, and a heightening of the senses. If the stressor continues, then
the GAS moves into the resistance stage.

Stage of resistance
In this stage, the body tries to adapt to the new situation. The hormonal
changes which occured in the previous stage are still apparent, including
increased glucose levels in the blood and higher blood pressure, but stress
hormone levels begin to return to normal state.
 homeashasis

Coltanee
eshantor

Resicknce

Tme

Stage of exhaustion
In the final stage of GAS, the body no longer has the energy to cope
signs of exhaustion
with continued stress in the long term. It begins to show
siqna: bmaut,
lahave, deprevjon, amdehy thes toeene
and depletion of energy.
weaken mmne sygdem
Causes of stress
organization,
The causes of stress come from both outside and inside the
employees
from the groups that employees are influenced by and from
themselves.

Extra-organzaional stressors

Orgavalonalsressors

GrOUp stessos
R

nvidüalssresso

JOB
STRESS

Categoros of stressors aflecting occupatlonal strass

Extra-organizational stressors
Job stress is not limited just to things that happen inside the
organization, during work hours. Extra-organizational stressors include
things such as societaltechnological change, the family, relocation,
.economic and financial conditions, race and class, and residential or
community conditions. Some stress researchers define these personal life
stressors as unresolved envirpnmental demands requiring adaptive
behaviours in the form of social readjustments. These life changes can also
directly influence job performance. Research has found that women
experience more psychological distress than men, but men are more prone
tosevere physical illness.

Organizational stressors
Although the organization is made up of groups and individuals,
there are also more macro-level dimensions, unique to the organization,
that contain potential
stressors.
ADMINISTRATIVE
POLICIES AND
ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE AND
ORGANIZATIONAL WORKING
PROCESSES CONDITONS
STRATEGIES
DovISizing
DESIGN iant conttos
Cenranzation Only workarea
Conpetiive and dowmmad Nose. heat
pressures fomállzaion Communican or cok
Merit pay Line staf BAPolued ai.
pans Conlics Stong
Roating:NocK Specialization
Role anbiguity
penomance
shts
Saucat
eedback
CentaDed
Unsate,
GarngerOS
ooppotuinity Condiiors
orapromoio nakng
RestcN POo
acko gilng
Untusigg
Cure
paricpa Rhyscal
indecson mena
Puntve stain
ystems hercal
otradiaton

JOBSTRESS
Macro-level organizational stressors

Group stressors
The group can also be a potential source of stress. These group
stressors can be categorized into three areas:
 1. Lack of group cohesiveness: If an employee is denied the opportunity
for this cohesiveness because of the task design, because the
supervisor does things to prohibit it or limit it, or because the other
members of the group shut the person out, the resulting lack of
cohesiveness can be very stress-producing.
2. Lack of social support: Employees are greatly affected by the support
of one or more members of a cohesive group. By sharing their
problems and joys with others, they are much better off. If this type of
social support is lacking for an individual, the situation can be very
stressful.
3. Intraindividual, interpersonal and intergroup conflict: Conflict is
normally associated with incompatible or hostile acts between
intra-individual dimensions such as personal goals or motivational
needs or values, between individuals within a group, and between
groups.

Individual stressors
Situational dimensions and individual dispositions affect stress
outcomes. For example, role conflict, ambiguity, and individual dispositions
Such as Type A personality patterns, personal control, learned
helplessness, self-efficacy and psychological hårdness may all affect the
level of stress someone experiences.

& Role Conflict and Ambiguity

Individual employees have multiple roles (family, work,
professional, recreational, church, club, community and so on), and
these often make conflicting demands and create conflicting
expectations. After an extensive search of the empirical research it
was concluded that "work schedule, work orientation, marriage,
children and spouse employment paterns may all produce pressures
to participate extensively in the work role or the family role". Stress
results when the time demands for the work role are incompatible
with the time pressures of the family role or vice versa.
 Role ambiguity results from inadequate information or knowledge
to do a job. This ambiguity may be due to
inadequate training, poor
communication, or the deliberate withholding or distortion of
information by a coworker or supervisor. In any event, the result of
role conflict and ambiguity is stress for the
individual.
Individual dispositions
Type A characteristics: In the late 1960s
Friedman and Rosenman
popularized the use of Type A and opposing Type B personalities in the
study of stress. Tnese types were
portrayed as relatively stable
characteristics, and their studies found the Tvpe
with experienced stress and Aprofile correlated highly
dangerous physical
Friedman and Rosenman define the TypeconsequenceS.
A personality as an
action-emotion complex that can be observed in any person who is
aggressively involved in a chronic, incessant struggle to achieve more and
more in less and less time, and if
required to do so; against the opposing
efforts of other thíngs or other persons". Type A
employees (managers,
salespersons,staff specialists, secretaries, or rank-and-file operating
employees) experience considerable stress. They are the ones who:
1. Work long, hard hours under constant
deadline pressures and
conditions for overload.
2. Often take work home at night or on weekends and are
unable to
relax.
3. Constantly compete with themselves, setting high standards of
productivity that they seem driven to maintain.
4. Tend to become frustrated by the work situation, to be irritated with
the work efforts of others, and to be misunderstood by supervisors.

The Effects Of Occupational Stress

Stress is not automatically bad for individual employees or their

organizational performance. In fact, it is generally recognized that low
 may lead
levels of stress can even enhance job performance. This
be concluded
employees to new and better ways of doing their jobs. It can
that:
strongly affected by stress.
1. The performance of many tasks is in fact
stress rises to high
2. Performance usually drops off sharply when
levels.

Physical problems due to stress

" High blood pressure
" High levels of cholesterol
Heart diseases
Ulcers
" Arthritis

Psychological problems due to stress

" Anger
Anxiety
Depression
Nervousness
Irritability
Tension
" Boredom
" Aggression
" Hostility
Complaints
" Lowered self esteem
" Inability to concentrate and make decisions
" Job dissatisfacion

Behavioural problems due to stress

"Undereating or overeating
" Sleeplessness
Increased smoking and drinking
 " Drug abuse
" Absenteeism and turnover

Coping Strategies for Stress

There are two major approaches to dealing with job stress. They are
individual strategies and group strategies.

1. Individual strategies
Individual strategies tend to be more reactive in nature. That is,
they tend to be ways of coping with stress that has already occured. Some
specific techniques that individuals can use to eliminate or more effectively
manage inevitable, prolonged stress are the following:
OExercise: activities like walking, jogging, swimming, riding
bicycles,playing tennis,etc. in order to exercise can combat stress. It
can help people cope with stress as a result of its side effects such as
relaxation and enhanced self-esteem.
ORelaxation: The purpose of using specific relaxation techniques such
as biofeedback or meditation is to eliminate the immediately stressful
situation or manage a prolonged stressful situation more effectively.
There are research evidences that much meditation can have a
desirable physical and mental impact on people.
O Behavioural self-control: By deliberately managing the consequences
of their own behaviour, people can achieve self-control. Besides
managing their own behaviour to reduce stress, people can also
become more aware of their limits and of "red flags" that signal
trouble ahead. They can avoid people or situations that they know will
put them under stress. In other words, this strategy involves
individuals' controlling the situation instead of letting the situation
control them.
 O Cognitive therapy: Techniques such as Ellis' rational emotive model
and Meichenbaum's cognitive behaviour modification have been
successfully used to reduce test anxiety and have been used as an
individual strategy for reducing job stress. Cognitive therapies include
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Rational Emotive
Behavioural Therapy (REBT).
O Networking: lt has been found out that people need and will benefit
from social support. Applied as a strategy to reduce job stress, this
would entail forming close associations with trusted empathetic
cOWorkers and colleagues who are good listeners and confidence
builders.
2. Organizational Coping Strategies
Organizational coping strategies are designed by management to
eliminate or control organizational-level stressors in order to prevent or
reduce job stress for individualemployees. These include the following:
O Create a supportive organizational climate: A coping strategy would
help to make the structure more decentralized and organic, with
participative decision making and upward communication flows.
These structural and process changes would create a more
supportive climate for employees, give them more control over their
jobs, and would prevent or reduce their job stress.
O Enrich the design of tasks: Enriching jobs either by improving job
content factors (such as responsibility, recognition and opportunities
for achievement, advancement and growth), or by improving core job
characteristics (such as skill variety, task identity, task significance,
autonomy and feedback) may lead to motivational states or
experienced meaningfulness, responsibility and knowledge of results.
Overall, careful managing of task design may be an effective way to
cope with stress.
OReduce conflict and clarify organizational roles: Each job should have
clear expectations and the necessary information and support so that
the jobholder is not left with conflicting demands or an ambiguous
understanding of what he or she is to do.
 OWellness programs: Plan and .develop career paths and provide
counselling.

A Model of Stress
Potential sources Consequencos
Individual differences
Perceplion
Enviomentol focton Job cxpcricnce Pliystological symptons
Hoodachos
Economic uncerainty Social support
" Foitical uncerainty Bolici in bcus Hgh blocd pressure
Heart diseasA
ofconira s
Technokacol tncetoiny
Selfeficacy
Organzaional fockors Hosliy
Jost demands Pyhcbglco ynom
Röle demands
alerpetsONml denonds Experienced aress Depresion
Oganzaiondl sUc uTe
Organciooa. leadarship
Osgonizatioo ostoge
tonayiorol ynplom
Eccosnicproems AbSenleelsn
 Ibdovidual Stsessos Chaptey
Orpozational Stssso
Conta oARI 3 The Dynamics of
Organizational Behavior ccuportional

on Iettle
experience
oil! increase in blood pssufe.42 A recent study in a hospital seting also found that
that if a high-stres job included latitude to control the situation, there was no
employee perceptionsof the amount of control they experience at work relate to
stress which in turn affets physiological outcomes such as blood pressure as well as
be psychological outcomes such as job satisfaction,43
The feeling of loss of control goes back to some of the classic research on
oil bove learned helplessness conducted by Seligman.4 In conducting experiments on dogs
who could not escape shock, he found that they eventually accepted it and did not
tuation
they
even try to escape. Later, when the dogs could learn to escape easily, they did not-
they had learned to be helpless. Other studies found that people, too, can learn to be
helplesst5 which helps explain why some employees just seem to have given up and
seem to accept stressors in their work environment, even when a change for the

tat bey better is possible.

Most recently, Seligman and his colleagues have concentrated on people's
t.L job, explanations for their lack of control. Specifically, they suggest that people are most
Peelapt to experience helplessness when they perceive the causes of the lack of control:
1. Tobe related to something about their own personal characteristics (as opposed to
ouo 2.
outside, environmentai forces).
As stable and enduring (rather than just temporarv).
cmglores 3. To be global and universal (cutting across manv situations, rather than in just one
sphere of lite),*s

SPezsonal
Contol
lessros: thelr Further studv and research on the sense of control in general and learned helpiessness
!n particular wi!! provide much ins1ght into stress and how to cope with it.

cbilit, Over Self-Eificacv. Ancther important disposit:on that has recentlv emerged to heip
tlelp 1f ndzsnres in ihe rorpla: it s p l - e t t : 2 e p : cduc
Chapter 5 on seli theories of personalitv.) There is increasing evidence that people's
seif-perception of their capacity to be etfective and bring about change may be an
stres.
ond important disposition in the ability to withstand stress.*7 For exanple, Bancura has
found that those with high self-efficacy have a relatively low level of physioiogical
keavned
thei arousal (for example, they have less adrenaline in the bloodstream),t8 Yet, those
under stress tend to have high physiological arousal. Thus, those with high self
envirorgeot
efficacy tend to remain calmer when faced with a stressful situation. As Rathus points
boutfoo our: "Overarousal can impair our ability to solve complex stress-related problems br
elevating our motivation well beyond optimal levels and by distracting us from tasks
at hand. So, people with higher self-efficacy expectations have biological as well as
and dispoittorn psychological reasons for remaining camer."49
Psychological Hardiness. Everyone has observed individual differences of people
feeliogs faced with stressors. Some people seem to go to pieces at the slightest provocation,
ok while others seem unflappable in the face of extremely stressful situations. Those able
to cope successtully with extreme stressors seem to have a "hardiness" disposition.
Kobasa and her colleagues studied executives under considerable stress who
were both hardy and nonhardy. She found that the hardy executives had a lower rate
troporvtart
Peoples tbe
of stress-related illness and were characterized as having commitment (they become
very involved in what they were doing); challenge (they believed that change rather
than stability was normal); and control (they felt they could influence the events
[Link] them),50 She suggests that the predisposition of psychological hardiness helps
ver those with it to resist stress by providing buffers between themselves and stressors.