Occupational Stress

Overview

• Definition, contexts, and importance of occupational stress

• Disease and occupational stress• Occupational stressors• The workaholic• Burnout• Interventions

What Is Occupational Stress?• Pertains to sources of stress at work• Involves individual characteristics• Related to the employee’s role within the organization

Occupational Stress Model

Contexts of occupational Contexts of occupational stress stress

1. Sociocultural

2. Organizational

3. Work setting

4. Interpersonal

5. Psychological

6. Biological

7. Physical/ Environmental

Why Is Occupational Stress of Concern?• Leads to increased sick days, drug or alcohol

abuse, and early death• Can promote high turnover rates of employees• Liability (i.e., workers’ compensation, disability,

or litigation)

Did You Know?• Absences attributed to stress tripled between 1995 and

2004• 62% of the time when workers called in “sick,” they were

not really “sick”• Most heart attacks occur on Mondays

Gender and Occupational Stress• Stressors that particularly affect women include:

• Career blocks• Sexual harassment• Male-dominated climate• Performance pressure• Gender stereotyping• Isolation• Lack of role models

Occupational Stress and Disease• Physiological effects

• Elevated serum cholesterol• Elevated blood pressure• Increased left ventricular mass• Increased catecholamines• High plasma fibrinogen concentrations

Occupational Stressand Disease (cont.)• Disease states

• Coronary artery disease• Obesity• Psychosomatic symptoms• Diabetes• Hypertension• Peptic ulcers

• Lack of control over amount of work and work-related processes appears to be a major factor in whether stress will affect an employee’s health

Occupational Stressand Disease (cont.)

• Psychological effects• Low self-esteem• Increased job tension• Low job satisfaction

Occupational Stressors • Low control (low skill

discretion, low participation in decision making)

• Imbalance between efforts expended and rewards received from work (so-called effort-reward imbalance)

• Emotional demands (including work-home conflict, relocation demands, lack of patients/peers/community understanding of work role, unrealistic client expectations, professional isolation due to institutional racism, emotional labor, traumatic work experience and violence from clients)

Occupational Stressors • Work demands

(particularly work load or pressure and insufficient time to complete scheduled work tasks)

• Low support (e.g., unsupportive supervisor)

• Role issues (e.g., role ambiguity, role conflict, conflict between personal goals and organizational goals), and

• Interpersonal conflict (e.g., bullying).

The Workaholic• Immersing oneself excessively in work at the expense of

nonwork activities• Identifying oneself more with the role of a worker rather

than as an individual• Are you a person who happens to be a student, or are

you a student who happens to be a person?

The Workaholic (cont.)• Two factors for classifying workaholics

(Naughton, 1987)• Career commitment (CC)• Obsession-compulsion (OC)

• Naughton believed there were three types of workaholics:

1. Job-involved workaholics (high CC, low OC)2. Compulsive workaholics (high CC, high OC)3. Non workaholics (low CC, low OC)

The Workaholic (cont.)

• Scott et al. (1997) classified workaholics as:• Compulsive-dependent• Perfectionist

• Spence & Robbins (1992) proposed a workaholic triad:• Work involvement, drive, and work enjoyment

Ways to Combat Workaholism• Focus on the work you most like doing, work

that you wouldn’t mind “doing for free”• Use your time; don’t let it use you• Build friendships at work• Schedule open time into your work life• Learn to say no sometimes• Create an environment you enjoy working in• Look for the positives in your job

Burnout• Adverse stress reaction to work with

psychological, psychophysiological, and behavioral components

• Symptoms include:• Diminished sense of humor• Skipping rest and meals• Increased overtime/no vacation• Increased physical complaints• Social withdrawal• Changed job performance• Self-medication• Internal changes

Five Stages of Burnout• Stage 1: The honeymoon• Stage 2: Fuel shortage• Stage 3: Chronic symptoms• Stage 4: Crisis• Stage 5: Hitting the wall

How to Combat Burnout1. Identify the value and meaning of your job2. List all activities you like and rank them in order of

importance3. Create a support group4. Start a physical self-care program5. Start a psychological self-care program6. Do something silly every day

Outcomes of occupational stressPsychological outcomes•emotional exhaustion•psychological distress•anxiety,•depression•mood disturbance•lowered morale•job dissatisfaction•depersonalization (feeling personally detached from the job)•personal accomplishment•reduced quality of working life•reduced life satisfaction

Outcomes……………………..Physiological outcomes•physical health symptoms•fatigue•low back pain•protracted neuroendocrine (cortisol)•reaction (stress hormone)•cardiovascular disease

Behavioral outcomes•absenteeism

Job Stress Risk Management Model

Identify the problems using focused group discussions or

questionnaires

Assess the risks at the workplace

Control of the risk

Risk assessment • The number of people exposed to the risk• The different types of people who are exposed and their

special needs, e.g. new workers, women, young workers

• How they are exposed to the risk• How often they are exposed• How long they are exposed for• The combination of hazards they are exposed to (e.g.

musculoskeletal strain as well as job demand)• How serious the harm could be• What the law says about risk control• The work processes involved, e.g. customer service

Interventions• Life-situation interventions• Perception interventions• Emotional arousal interventions• Physiological arousal interventions

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