Management of Stress and Well-Being at the Workplace - Coursework Example

Management of Stress and Well-Being at Work place Name Professor Class University City Date of submission 1. Introduction Stress is basically defined as the physical and psychological state that individuals experience when their resources are not enough to meet the pressures and demands of the work environment. On the other hand, well-being refers to the state of being healthy, comfortable and happy all together. The aim of this particular research paper is to acknowledge the fact that organizations have a big role to play towards effective control and management of stress at the work place. Similarly, it also acknowledges that management of stress and well-being depends on other factors that are directly associated with the life of staff away from work. The major point of debate, in this case, streams from the fact that the welfare of staff is becoming an increasingly necessary and relevant consideration in the modern work place. In an attempt to explain how staff and organization can work together to effectively manage stress, the paper outlines various theoretical models of stress that supports the major point of argument in this assignment. In addition, these theories are used to explain various events, issues and situations that are likely to cause stress within the work place. The paper strongly refutes Arnold and Randall’s claim by strongly defending the opinion that other factors related to individuals are equally important towards the management of stress and well-being at work. 2. Theories of Stress and Well-being at Work Place These theories help to explain the various ways in which stress is developed within the work place and how it affects the well-being of staff. However, special attention is paid to the theories and models that are more influential towards causing a significant level of stress. Therefore, the factors that are instrumental towards the development of stress can be identified through these theories. These factors can either be related to organizational structure and environment or an individual’s attributes. 2.1 Person-Environment Fit According to this theory, it is observed that when the personal characteristics of individuals interact with their environment of work, it is possible to determine consequent behaviour, strain, and health (Cooper, 2008, 110). This implies that the match between the work environment and a person is very instrumental towards influencing their health. Consequently, it is important for the organization to match the employee’s skills, attitudes, resources and abilities with their job demands in order to maintain a healthy condition. In addition to this, organizations should ensure that the work environment is able to meet the knowledge, needs and potential skills of the employees. Notably, lack of fit in the two domains can result to serious problems and should there be a wide gap between the environment and the person, the level of strain goes high as abilities are exceeded by demands and supply exceeded by need (Cranwell-Ward and Alyssa, 2007,58). This strain can relate to lower productivity, health related issues, and other work problems. 2.2 Job Characteristic Model This model lays emphasis on important attributes of the job such as identity of task, variety of skills, feedback and significance of task. Ideally, such attributes are associated with critical psychological states of experienced responsibility and meaningfulness and knowledge of results. According to this theory, positive or negative characteristics of work can result in mental states which lead to corresponding behavioural and cognitive outcomes such as satisfaction, motivation, and absenteeism (Cooper, 2008, 115). 2.3 The Michigan Model This theory pays special attention to peoples own subjective analysis of environmental stress factors such as conflict, role ambiguity, job security, lack of active inclusion and challenge and workload. The demographics, personality variables and social supports are then used to moderate these perceptions in order to reach to a healthy outcome (Cooper, 2008, 119). Notably, the central stressors, in this case, are the role issues such as role ambiguity, role conflict, and role expectations. 2.4 Demand Control Support Model This particular theory focuses on the two psychological characteristics of job which are job control and job demand and stands as the most influential of all within the work place. Demand control support model majorly known as decision latitude is made of skill discretion and decision authority. In addition, it lay emphasis on the structural features of the interaction between an individual and the environment. Therefore, those individuals that are subjected to low levels of job control, as well as high levels of demand, are more likely to experience higher levels of fatigue, depressions, and mortality (Cooper, 2008, 124). However, individuals with high or even moderate job demands tend to experience the lowest levels of illness considering they also have high levels of job control. It implies that an interaction of low control and high demands would results to high strain while high control resulting to the buffering of the negative effects of demand on outcomes (Cranwell-Ward and Alyssa, 2007,60). 2.5 Transactional theory This theory is more cognitive and majors on the dynamic relationship that occurs between the work environment and individuals interms of emotional and mental processes. This acknowledge the possible impact of individual differences in appraisal, coping and personality and laying emphasis on the role of subjective perceptions of the environment (Cooper, 2008, 128). One of the major concepts under this theory is reciprocity where suitable rewards are used to compensate effort at work, and any misfit between these leads to stressful experiences. Rewards, in this case, refers to esteem, money, security and carrier opportunities whereas efforts are either intrinsic or extrinsic in nature. Intrinsic efforts come from an individual’s personal motivations such as over commitment and need for control and extrinsic efforts such as workload relate to the status of the labour market and how easy it is to find an alternative employment (Jex, 2015, 40) 3. Management of Stress 3.1 Organizational stress management The interventions of the organization are key towards the management and prevention of stress at the work place because it is organizations that tends to be the root cause of stress (Doolittle, 2006, 133). An organization should limit its efforts towards an approach that helps employees who are already experiencing stress by dealing with the causes of stress. Organizational interventions range from psychological such control over work, social support, participation and structural such as work schedules, staffing levels and physical environment. Successful interventions that can be employed by an organization to effectively manage stress. In order to improve communication and increase participation in problem solving and decision making, organizations rely on training as a more effective organizational approach (Heidenreich and Isidor, 2009, 205). Individuals that are taught skills to participate in activities of solving problems and actively taking part in decision making and those of mobilising support at work tend to give a more supportive feedback of better work team functioning, feeling able to cope and better climate. Staffs that undergo such training are reported to be experiencing reduced strain and depression (Heidenreich and Isidor, 2009, 205). Staff that are faced with the tendency organizational change have shown decreased levels of stress hormones after undergoing training and gaining skills of how to control their work and participate in stress management. In addition, staff that are taken through verbal and non-verbal empathy and communication kills tend to demonstrate reduced sick leave and staff resignations (Lehrer, Robert, and Wesley, 2009,155) Decreased complaints of muscle pains and improved feelings of well-being are majorly seen among organization that arranges for their staff to undergo aerobic exercise rather than allowing them to remain physically inactive. However, this form of organizational approach is dependent on the organization’s culture. Therefore, for a successful intervention towards effective management of stress, it essential to have a culture of understanding and openness rather than criticism and blame (Lehrer, Robert, and Wesley, 2009,158). In order to build a positive culture, role models from the top of the organization are urgently required as well as the development and implementation of clear policies of stress. Similarly, systems set aside for earlier identification of problems and developing strategies to address them are a critical requirement for the organization. Therefore, relevant health and safety committees and trade unions should take the frontline in the negotiation of proposed policy and its implementation. The organization should create a good work culture with absolutely clear purposes and vision in which the employees are aware of their individual inputs (Megson, 2014, 18). This way, the employees will feel valued and supported thereby generating and maintaining an atmosphere of confidence. A positive work culture can be created by ensuring that a clear business communicated throughout the organization and that conflict issues are addressed appropriately while acknowledging differences in point of view and confidentiality (Megson, 2014, 22). They should also provide opportunity for personal development and training while at the same time encouraging teamwork through relevant exercises, training, recognition and rewards. Notably, it is also important for the organization to ensure that contractual conditions and pay actually reflect the responsibilities of individual’s role and the value their role stands for in the organization (Megson, 2014, 31). This implies that staff working overtime should be fairly compensated either by being given some time off or by overtime payments since working for long hours with no rewards easily results to stress. 3.2 Individual stress management As earlier mentioned, stressed can be managed at both the individual and organizational level and thus interventions that are geared towards the reduction of risk associated with strain in the work place depends on organizational and individual approach. However, individuals tend to be less associated with situations or conditions that cause stress at the work place unlike the organizational structure and culture. The development of people’s skills and development of confidence to rectify their condition is the primary goal of individual approach (Heidenreich and Isidor, 2009, 220). Individual approach includes a one on one psychology services such as occupational, clinical and counselling and training services. The ultimate aim of this services should be to make a difference on individual resources and skills and aid them in changing their condition. The training and services helps the individuals to manage stress by making signs associated with stress known to them and effectively using such skill to put an end to the pattern of behaviour during the build-up of stress. They also use the skill to make a clear analysis of the situations that cause stress and develop a strategy to control the stress factors. Individuals are also able to gain techniques of active coping such as communication skills, assertiveness, time management and effective management. In addition, individuals can use simple changes to help them avoid the risk of stress and help them develop the ideas of reducing stress when it occurs. Foremost, they should create a better working environment for themselves by being able to personalize their working space with photographs of friends and family to help them feel supported and connected with home (Parker, 2007, 144). They can also put up fresh plants and flowers to help brighten their work environment and decrease the harsh effect of office light and computer screens. Similarly, they can create meaningful quotes inform of amusing posters and inspirational posters to help induce the feelings of support and positivity through difficult times. Second, they should be flexible such that they are able to see things differently and not being stuck in the same thought patterns (Parker, 2007, 148). Flexibility helps individuals to have unlimited options and feelings of choice and freedom so that they are able to find solutions to the challenges they are facing. Third, individuals should be keen to seek help from the relevant services and processes that deal with cases of unfairness in the work place instead of suffering in silence (Parker, 2007, 153). Fourth, they should consider going for lunch breaks and taking rest to get relieved from the working pressure during lunch hour so as to effectively get rid of the stress hormones such as adrenaline (Parker, 2007, 156)). Finally, it is important for individuals to stay connected to their friends by ensuring that they maintain a positive friendship growth outside their work environment (Parker, 2007, 160). This helps them to stay in the real world by ensuring an emotional recharge and keeping successes and problems in perspective. 4. Conclusion In a nutshell, it is important to note that the research paper strongly disputes the fact that stress can only managed at the organizational factor. This is particularly true because through the various models of stress and well-being at work place, it is clear that there are other factors related to an individual that greatly contributed towards the effective management of stress at work place. However, it is also important to conclude that it is the organization that holds the ultimate key to effectively manage stress at the work place through proper organization of its culture, structures and policies at large. Individual approaches alone can help manage stress when the organizational structures and culture fall out of place. Bibliography Cooper, Cary L. Theories of Organizational Stress, 6th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Cranwell-Ward, Jane, and Alyssa Abbey. "Causes of Stress within Organizations." Organizational Stress 12, no. 7 (October 2007), 51-62. doi:10.1057/9780230522800_6. Doolittle, Peggy. Stress management. [United States]: Sound Learning Solutions, 2006. Heidenreich, Pascal, and Isidor Prüter. Handbook of Stress: Causes, Effects and Control. New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2009. Jex, Steve M. "Theories of Stress." Stress Management in the Construction Industry 6, no. 2 (March 2015), 37-51. doi: 10.1002/9781118456361.ch2. Lehrer, Paul M., Robert L. Woolfolk, and Wesley E. Sime. Principles and Practice of Stress Management. New York: Guilford, 2009. Megson, T.H.G. "Solutions to Problems." Structural and Stress Analysis 10, no. 5 (2014), e11-e37. doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-099936-4.00037-1. Parker, Henry. Stress Management. Chandni Chowk, Delhi: Global Media, 2007. Read More