10-09-2013, 12:03 PM
Stress in the Workplace
Stress in the Workplace[.ppt (Size: 348 KB / Downloads: 15)
46% of workers find job to be extremely stressful
Cost of stress related disorders is estimated to be $150 billion a year
Stress related disorders comprise 14% of workers’ compensation cases
Stress – What is it?
Stress – physiological and psychological responses to events in the environment
Eustress: good stress
Distress: bad stress
Physiological Effects
Alarm: preparation of body for fight or flight
Resistance: maintain state of elevated preparation
Exhaustion: when demands exceed body’s capabilities
Stress – More Background
Where does stress come from?
Major life events?
Daily hassles: frequency, intensity, duration
Job satisfaction and stress – those who enjoy work suffer less impact from stressful events
Type A Personality
Hostility component of Type A personality is linked to heart disease
Type A individuals, in essence, create more stress for themselves
Type B individuals rarely have heart attacks before the age of 70
More Individual Differences
Job Complexity – increased complexity leads to heart disease in Type A individuals. But, complexity also is linked to job satisfaction!!
Locus of Control – internal locus of control is linked to reduced impact of stress
Negative Affectivity – linked to neuroticism from the Big 5. A tendency to focus on the negative aspects of life. Linked to high levels of stress
Work-Family Conflicts
Greater role conflict for women – primary responsibility for family life falls on woman
Family with 3 kids, average work week for females is 90 hours, for males it is 70 hours
Bad work days tend to carry over into family life – tendency is stronger for women.
Sadly, positive states do not carry over
Causes of Stress in the Workplace
Work overload
Quantitative: too much to do in too short a time
Qualitative: work that is too difficult
Quantitative has increased in recent years due to downsizing
Work underload – work that is too simple or insufficient to fill one’s time
Both of these impact stress and health, appears that a moderate amount of stress is optimal
Workaholism
“Addiction” to work because of anxiety and insecurity or because of a genuine liking for the job
Healthy, work enthusiasts – usually have jobs with autonomy and variety, appropriate skills for job, and supportive families
Unhealthy, workaholics – Compulsive, driven to perform job tasks. Often negatively impact co-workers