Chapter 7 Stress & Well-Being at Work

Nelson&

Quick

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

4 Stress Approaches: Homeostatic/Medical Approach

Homeostasis - a steady state of bodily functioning

and equilibrium

External environmental demand

FlightFight

• Individuals differ in their appraisal of events & people

• What is stressful for one person is not for another • Perception and cognitive appraisal determines

what is stressful

4 Stress Approaches: Cognitive Appraisal Approach

Problem-focused copingemphasizes managing the

stressor

Emotion-focused copingemphasizes managing

your response

• No undue stress Good person-environment fit: a person’s skills & abilities math a clearly defined, consistent set of role expectations.

• Stress, strain, depression occur when role expectations are confusing and/or conflicting, or when the person’s skills & abilities do not meet the demands of the social role

4 Stress Approaches: Person-Environment Fit Approach

4 Stress Approaches: Psychoanalytic Approach

Ego-

Ideal

Self-image - how a person sees oneself, both positively & negatively

Ego Ideal - the embodiments of a person’s perfect

self

= the differenceSelf-image

The Stress Response

•Blood redirected from the skin & internal organs to brain and large muscles•Increased alertness: improved vision hearing, & other sensory responses•Release of glucose & fatty acids for sustenance•Depression of immune system, digestion, & similar restorative processes

Release of chemical

messengers, primarily

adrenaline, into the

bloodstream

Sympathetic nervous system

& theendocrine

(hormone) system activated

Stress Sources at Work

Work DemandsTask Demands Role Demands

Change & uncertaintyLack of controlCareer progressNew technologiesWork overload/underload

Role conflict: Interrole Intrarole Person-roleRole ambiguity

Interpersonal Demands Physical DemandsAbrasive personalitiesSexual harassmentLeadership styles

Extreme environmentsStrenuous activitiesHazardous substances

Stress Sources at Work

NonWork DemandsFamily Demands Personal Demands

Marital expectationsChild-rearing/day carearrangementsParental care

Religious activitiesSelf-improvementtasksTraumatic events

Stress Benefits and Costs

Benefits of Healthy, Normal Stress (Eustress)Performance Health

Increased arousalBursts of physical strength

Cardiovascular efficiencyEnhanced focus in anemergency

Costs of DistressIndividual Organizational

Psychological disordersMedical illnessesBehavioral problems

Participation problemsPerformance decrementsCompensation awards

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Performance arousalPerformance arousalHigh

Low

Low(distress)

Optimum(eustress)

High(distress)

Stress levelStress level

Boredom fromunderstimulation

Optimumstress load

Conditions perceived

as stressful

Distress fromoverstimulation

Positive Stress/Negative 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• Negative stress results from

– a prolonged activation of the stress response– mismanagement of the energy induced by the response– unique personal vulnerabilities

Individual Stress

Work related psychological disorders(depression, burnout,

psychosomatic disorders)

Med

ical il

lness

Med

ical il

lness

(heart

disease,

stro

ke,

(heart

disease,

stro

ke,

headach

es, back

aches)

headach

es, back

aches)

Behavioral problems

(substance abuse,

violence, accidents)

Organizational Stress

Participative problems - a cost associated with absenteeism, tardiness, strikes & work stoppages, & turnover

Performance decrement - a cost resulting from poor quality or low quantity of production, grievances, & unscheduled machine downtime & repair

Compensation award - an organizational cost resulting from court awards for job distress

Dealing with Stress

Achilles’ heel Achilles’ heel phenomenonphenomenon - - a

person breaks down at his or her weakest point

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 & 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-Reliance

Self-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.

Preventative stress management - an organi-zational philosophy that holds that people & organizations should take joint responsibility for promoting health and preventing distress & strain

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 organizations’ response to a demand or stressor

– Tertiary prevention - designed to heal individual or organizational symptoms of distress & strain

Preventative Stress Management

Preventative Stress Maintenance

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

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

Stress responses• Individual• Organizational

Health risk factors

Asymptomaticdisease

Symptomaticdisease

Primary preventionstressor directed

Secondary preventionresponse directed

Tertiary preventionsymptom directed

Source: J. D. Quick, R. S. Horn, and J. C. Quick, “Health Consequences of Stress,” Journal of Organizational Behavior Management 8, no. 2, figure 1 (Fall 1986): 21. Reprinted with permission of Haworth Press, Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904. Copyright 1986.

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)

Work loadLow High

Self-determination

Low

Hig

h

Passivejob

Activejob

High-stra

in job

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.

Social Support at Work & Home

Individual

OrganizationalSupervisorColleagues

SubordinatesClients

FamilySpouseChildrenParentsIn-laws

ChurchMinister/Rabbi

FriendsSupport groups

ClubsBusiness associations

Social clubsAthletic groups

ProfessionalPhysicians

PsychologistsCounselors

Lawyers

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.

Individual Preventive Stress Management

Primary PreventionLearned optimism: Alters the person’s internal self-talk & reduces

depressionTime management: Improves planning & priortizes activitiesLeisure time activities: Balance work & nonwork activities

Secondary PreventionPhysical exercise: Improves cardiovascular function & muscular

flexibilityRelaxation training: Lowers all indicators of the stress responseDiet: Lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease &

improves overall physical healthTertiary Prevention

Opening up: Releases internalized traumas & emotionaltensions

Professional help: Provides information, emotional support, &therapeutic guidance