The Stress Levels among Employees - Essay Example

Module Case 3 CC-30 The data shows that the employees are under a lot of stress. The frequency of these data shows that the stress levels among employees has been increasing steadily in recent years. The company’s move to focus on the number of patients instead of quality services is subjecting employees to a lot of pressure to serve patients compared to previous years in which employees were more inclined to deliver quality services. There is a very big reason for concern about the company’s direction. Employees are an organization’s biggest asset, and they are also human beings. The fact that they are stressed means that they cannot perform as required. Stress comes from various factors, and may affect employees directly or indirectly. In this case, the organization has put its employees under a lot of unnecessary pressure to perform by ignoring their plight (Robbins and Judge 558). This is evident in the number of employees complaining about the conditions in the company and airing their opinions about the best way to deal with the situation. Considering the industry the organization is involved – healthcare – the organization needs to pay more attention to employees’ needs because the industry is very sensitive. Deaths or serious complications could result from poor performances from employees if they are under stress. However, the company has done well to stem these concerns by developing a new approach to dealing with the situation at hand. CC-31 The most common forms of resistance to change I would expect Parkway’s employees to demonstrate are fear and lack of input in the change process. Fear In terms of fear, signs of change may spark feelings of uncertainty with regards to the ability to contribute to the change process and the security of their jobs. Pessimism, anxiety and different personal and professional ambitions are also a major factor in the spread of change-resistant fear. For example, an employee may feel afraid to take part in the change process because it will affect his professional development or inhibit personal growth. Employees may feel that they are capable of working with the organization to make proposed changes. Once employees start feeling that they their jobs are insecure and are threatened by proposed changes, they will withdraw their support to try and make the proposed changes fail (Robbins and Judge 561). However much employees feel afraid of changes, Parkway can mitigate these fears by managing them. Managing fear involves assuring employees of the security of their jobs and approaching them directly. Parkway can also provide employees with clear plans for proposed changes so that they can understand proposed changes and cooperate with the company to make it possible to implement changes. Lack of Input into the Change Besides fear, lack of contribution to the change process is the most common example of resistance to change. This is common not just in organizations but also in interpersonal relationships. For example, if an organization is making changes to an accounting information system that will require few accountants to manage, the skilled accountants in the company will decline to participate in the process to ensure it fails so that they keep their jobs (Robbins and Judge 562). In interpersonal relationships, an individual may refuse to participate in another’s efforts so that failure breeds more time and comfort to him. CC-32 Parkway should train their employees on leadership and indoctrinate them on how to lead not only internally but also externally. Parkway should also develop effective theoretical and practical manuals that instruct employees on how to lead (Robbins and Judge 562). No one is born a leader; leadership can be taught. The company should also develop appraisal programs that review leadership effectiveness from time to time, engaging employees directly and setting leadership standards that require them to demonstrate leadership skills practically. CC-33 The major sources of job stress at Parkway are intense pressure to deliver services to patients at the same level that they used to, despite the fact that the number of patients has increased considerably over the years. Parkway still uses the same facilities it had when the number of patients was lower, despite the fact that the number of employees has increased significantly. Therefore, employees at the company are faced with pressures from two aspects. One is the need to manage more patients and second is the limited facilities Parkway has despite more bed space (Robbins and Judge 563). The research on job stress shows that organizations should do interact closely with their employees to understand them and their problems. In this regard, the organization should adopt the soft HRM (human resource management) that is empathetic to employees and allows them to express their feelings to management. Finally, organizations should develop programs that encourage employees to interact with each other and engage in activities outside the office. This can be done through bonding sessions to encourage airing of opinions about psychological strains and stresses. Parkway should develop incorporate breaks at work that relieve employees of stress. In addition, Parkway should create after-work sessions three days a week to provide a forum for employees to talk about their stresses (Robbins and Judge 563). Finally, the company should create flexible working hours that allow employees to operate according to their personal commitments. For example, mothers with young babies at home can be allowed to report to work later than others and leave earlier, but also work at home if need be. CC-34 Survey to Hand out to Employees Question 1 What have you learned from the current organizational practices at Parkway? Please elaborate using clear examples. Question 2 What aspect of Parkway’s organizational practices would you like changed? What features, devices, etc., would you like added to instructional programs in the company? Elaborate. Question 3 How do you feel about current organizational practices at Parkway? Have they improved or reduced your performance? Are there any changes you would like made? Elaborate. Question 4 How does the situation with organizational practices at Parkway compare with others you have experienced elsewhere? Explain, giving examples if possible. Question 5 In future, would you like to contribute to any changes at Parkway, for example, as an employee or as a manager? Explain The survey should collect data primarily about employees’ opinions about Parkway’s organizational culture and practices and what should be done to improve them (Robbins and Judge 564). I would employ SPSS, graphs and charts to analyze and present. Work Cited Robbins, Stephen P., and Tim Judge. Organizational Behavior. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print. Read More