© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Chapter 7 Stress and Well-Being at Work Learning...

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Chapter 7Stress and Well-Being at

WorkL

earn

ing

Ou

tco

mes

1 Define stress, distress, and strain.

2 Compare four different approaches to stress.

3 Explain the psychophysiology of the stress response.

4 Identify work and nonwork causes of stress.

5 Describe the consequences of stress.

6 Discuss individual factors that influence a person’s responseto stress and strain.

7 Identify the stages and elements of preventive stressmanagement for individuals and organizations.


Learning Outcome

Define stress, distress, and strain.

1


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


Learning Outcome

Compare four different approaches to stress.

2


Homeostasis

a steady state of bodily functioning and equilibrium

Homeostasis

External environmental demand

+

=

FightFlight

HOMEOSTATIC/MEDICAL 1 O

F 4

AP

PR

OA

CH

ES


• 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

COGNITIVE APPRAISAL

2 O

F 4

AP

PR

OA

CH

ES


Problem-focused copingemphasizes managing the stressor

Emotion-focused copingemphasizes managing your response

COGNITIVE APPRAISAL

• 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

PERSON-ENVIRONMENT FIT3 O

F 4

AP

PR

OA

CH

ES

= 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

PSYCHOANALYTIC 4 O

F 4

AP

PR

OA

CH

ES


Learning Outcome

Explain the psychophysiology of the stress response.

3

The Stress Response

• Blood redirected from the skin and internal organs to brain and large muscles

• Increased alertness: improved vision, hearing, and other sensory responses

• Release of glucose and fatty acids for sustenance

• Depression of immune system, digestion, and similar restorative processes

Release of chemical

messengers, primarily

adrenaline, into the

bloodstream

Sympathetic nervous system

and theendocrine

(hormone) system activated


How often do the following happen to you? Always (3), often (2), sometimes (1), or never (0)? Rate each statement on a scale from 0 to 3, as honestly as you can and without spending too much time on any one statement.

Am I Overstressed?1. I have to make important snap judgments and decisions.2. I am not consulted about what happens on my job or in my classes.3. I feel I am underpaid.4. I feel that no matter how hard I work, the system will mess it up.5. I do not get along with some of my coworkers or fellow students.6. I do not trust my superiors at work or my professors at school.7. The paperwork burden on my job or at school is getting to me.8. I feel people outside the job or the university do not respect what I do.

Record your score as the sum of your responses.

Beyond the Book:Stress Check


How often do the following happen to you? Always (3), often (2), sometimes (1), or never (0)? Rate each statement on a scale from 0 to 3, as honestly as you can and without spending too much time on any one statement.

Am I Angry?1. I feel that people around me make too many irritating mistakes.2. I feel annoyed because I do good work or perform well in school, but no one appreciates it.3. When people make me angry, I tell them off.4. When I am angry, I say things I know will hurt people.5. I lose my temper easily.6. I feel like striking out at someone who angers me.7. When a coworker or fellow student makes a mistake, I tell him or her about it.8. I cannot stand being criticized in public.

Record your score as the sum of your responses, and add it to your score from the previous section.



To find your level of anger and potential for aggressive behavior, add your scores from both quiz parts.40–48: The red flag is waving, and you had better pay attention. You are in the danger zone. You need guidance from a counselor or mental health professional, and you should be getting it now.30–39: The yellow flag is up. Your stress and anger levels are too high, and you

are feeling increasingly hostile. You are still in control, but it would not take much to trigger a violent flare of temper.10–29: Relax, you are in the broad normal range. Like most people, you get angry occasionally, but usually with some justification. Sometimes you take overt action, but you are not likely to be unreasonably or excessively aggressive. 0–9: Congratulations! You are in great shape. Your stress and anger are well

under control, giving you a laid-back personality not prone to violence.



Learning Outcome

Identify work and nonwork causes of stress.

4


[Sources of Stress]

Stress in the work place – comes from either

WORK DEMANDS

ORNONWORK DEMANDS

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

http://helping.apa.org/

Stress Benefits and Costs

Benefits 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


Learning Outcome

Describe the consequences of stress.

5


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

Yerkes-Dodson LawPerformance arousal

High

LowLow

(distress)Optimum(eustress)

High(distress)

Stress levelStress level

Boredom fromunderstimulation

Optimumstress load

Conditions perceived

as stressful

Distress fromoverstimulation


Negative Stress

Negative stress results from– a prolonged activation of the stress

response– mismanagement of the energy induced

by the response– unique personal vulnerabilities


Columnist Jared Sandberg often addresses the absurdities resulting from employer-friend inter-role conflict in his Wall Street Journal column “Cubicle Culture”.

Informal or “friendly” behavior from bosses (e.g. sharing strange hobbies, or friend requests on social-networking websites) can result in uncertain, unusual, and potentially stressful social dynamics at work.

What do you do when your boss strikes up a casual conversation about information from your Facebook profile?

Beyond the Book:Friends with the Boss

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)

Copyright ©2006 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved


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

Compensation Award – an organizational cost resulting from court awards for job distress


Learning Outcome

Discuss individual factors that influence a person’s response to stress and strain.

6


Individual Differences

Achilles’ heel phenomenon – –

a person breaks down at his or her weakest

point

BackachesHeadachesHeart Disease

Depression

in the Stress–Strain Relationship


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 Hardiness

[Personality 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

Counterdependence – an unhealthy, insecure pattern of behavior that leads to separation in relationships with other people

Overdependence – an unhealthy, insecure pattern of behavior that leads to preoccupied attempts to achieve security through relationships.


Learning Outcome

Identify the stages and elements of preventive stress management for individuals and organizations.

7


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

Preventative Stress Management

DistressIndividual problems• Behavioral •Medical• PsychologicalOrganizational costs• Direct • Indirect

Symptomaticdisease

Symptomaticdisease

Tertiary preventionsymptom directed

Preventative Stress Maintenance

Stress responses• Individual• Organizational

Stress responses• Individual• Organizational

Asymptomaticdisease

Asymptomaticdisease

Secondary preventionresponse directed

Organizational stressors• Task demands• Role demands• Physical demands• Interpersonal demands

Organizational stressors• Task demands• Role demands• Physical demands• Interpersonal demands

Health risk factorsHealth risk factors

Primary preventionstressor directed

SOURCE: Based on J. D. Quick, J. C. Quick, and D.L. Nelson. “The Theory of Preventive Stress Management in Organizations,” in C. L. Cooper, ed. Theories of Organizational Stress (Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. 1998), 246-268.

Organizational Context Preventive Medicine Context


Recent studies suggest that employees with greater political skill are able to moderate physical and mental effects of stress from role conflict.

Does the use of political skill enable workers to reconcile conflicting roles and eliminate discrepancies in expectations?

Beyond the Book:Political Skill and Role-Conflict


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

Job Strain Model

Unresolved strain

(ill health)

WorkloadLow High

Self-determination

Lo

wH

igh

Activejob

SOURCE: B. Gardell, “Efficiency and Health Hazards in Mechanized Work,” in J. C. Quick, R.S. Bhagat, J. E. Dalton, and J. D. Quick, eds., Work Stress: Health Care Systems in the Workplace. Copyright © 1987. Reproduced with permission of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., Westport, CT.

High-s

train

job

Low-stra

in jo

b

Passivejob

Social Support at Work and Home

Individual

OrganizationalSupervisorColleagues

SubordinatesClients

FamilySpouse ChildrenParents In-laws

ChurchMinister/Rabbi

FriendsSupport groups

ClubsBusiness associations

Social clubsAthletic groups

ProfessionalPhysicians

PsychologistsCounselors

Lawyers

SOURCE: From J. C. Quick J. D. Quick, D. L. Nelson and J. J. Hurrell, Jr., in Preventive Stress Management in Organizations, 1997, p. 198. Copyright© 1997 by The American Psychological Association. Reprinted with permission.

Copyright ©2006 by South-Western,

a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved

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

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Chapter 7 Stress and Well-Being at Work Learning...

Documents

Transcript of © 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Chapter 7 Stress and Well-Being at Work Learning...