Stress
An adaptive response to a situation that
is perceived as challenging or
threatening
What causes stress?
(Stressors)
Stress
Organizational Stressors
3
Work overload
Role conflict
Too much work (paid, overtime, unpaid overtime)
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.
Quiz Question
4
Dereks 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.
Organizational Stressors
5
Psychological Environment Stressors
Organizational injustice, interpersonal conflict
Psychological contract
Job insecurity
Organizational change
Physical Environment Stressors
Excessive noise
Poor lighting
Safety hazards
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
Outcomes of Stress?
7
Stress
Outcomes of Stress
8
Psychological reactions
Physiological reactions
Behavioural reactions
High blood pressure, sweatiness, heart
palpitations, dizziness, more cortisone, etc.
Attempts to cope (e.g., shopping, exercise)
Videos of Office Stress
Burnout
9
Emotional exhaustion
Cynicism / depersonalization
Lack of energy, difficulty emoting
Compassion fatigue: no longer able to empathize
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
10
Organizational
Outcomes
Too much stress can lead to:
Job dissatisfaction
Occupational injuries and illnesses
Decision-making, cognitive abilities, task
performance
Absenteeism, turnover
Question
11
Are certain types of people more
stressed out than others?
Personality
12
Personality can affect both the extent to
which potential stressors are perceived
as stressful and the types of stress
reactions that occur.
Personality
Stressors
Stress
Outcomes
Locus of Control
13
Peoples 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
Type A Behaviour
Pattern
14
A personality pattern that includes
aggressiveness, ambitiousness,
competitiveness, hostility, impatience, and a
sense of time urgency.
Type A: cant relax, constantly busy,
impatient
Type B: easy-going, patient, relaxed
Question: Which personality type are you?
Are you one or the other?
15
Negative and Positive
Affectivity
Negative: The propensity to view the
world, including oneself and other people,
in a light
Positive: View world in a + light
E.g., pessimistic, moody
E.g., happy go lucky, always smiling,
optimistic
People high in NA report more stressors in
the work environment and feel more
subjective stress
16
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
Job Redesign
17
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.
Social Support
18
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 workrelated stress.
19
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.
Stress Management
Programs
20
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.
Work-Life Balance
Programs
21
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.
Wellness Programs
Research
22
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.
Group Exercise
23
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
Summary
24
There are different styles to managing
conflict but no style is inherently
superior (contextual)
Stress isnt necessarily a bad thing but
it depends on how we cope with it