The Impact of Stress on Productivity and Individual Well-Being - Workplace Bullying - Assignment Example

Running head: ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR Workplace Bullying Student’s Name Course Tutor’s Name Date The impact of stress on productivity and individual well-being (700 words) Stress is commonplace in most workplaces. Ideally, the challenges and demands placed on individuals in work-related activities subject them to stress, which can either boost their productivity and enhance their wellbeing or do the exact opposite. As Karren et al. (2006, p. 44) note, there is a difference between good stress, which is also known as eustress and the bad stress, which is known as distress. Eustress occurs when individuals are curious about their work-related roles, satisfied and in love with different aspects of their work life (Karren et al., 2006, p.44). Such positive experiences enable people to register improved productivity and enhanced physical wellbeing. On the other hand, however, distress is the negative form of stress, which occurs when people do not love their job, are dissatisfied, or when they are bored or unenthusiastic to perform a specific job (Karren et al., 2006, p. 44). Distress also occurs from external sources, which include pressure from people in authority (e.g. supervisors or managers), customers, or even shareholders. It could also be as a result of the absence of proper support mechanisms in the workplace, where workers may lack the necessary resources needed to accomplish their job well. It is notable that in literature, the term stress generally is used in reference to distress. Considering Karren et al.’s (2006, p. 44) proposition that there can be good and bad stress, this section will discuss the impact of stress from two perspectives – i.e. from the perspectives of eustress and distress. Hargrove, Nelson and Cooper (2013) offer a refined definition of eustress, indicating that it is the “positive psychological response to a stressor, indicated by the presence of positive psychological states” (p. 61). A person facing eustress ideally focuses on the challenge, is fully attentive to the task at hand, and even has a sense of exhilaration to tackle and probably overcome the challenge (Hargrove et al., 2013, p. 61). On its part, the negative form of stress (distress) is defined differently by various authors. For the sake of this paper however, it will be defined as “the point at which the organism’s (person’s) ability to perform is exceeded by the demands put on it (the person)...” thus leading to psycho-physiological strain, which affects “a person’s coping ability and moderating factors” (Karren et al., 2006, p. 43, emphasis added). Productivity is a term used in reference to the output that an organisation gets from each unit of labour (or worker) (Navqi, Khan, Kant & Khan, 2013, p.527), while individual wellbeing is defined as the subtotal of a person’s physical, mental, and spiritual health (Varelius, 2013, p.13). As would be expected, eustress has positive impacts on productivity and individual wellbeing, while distress has a contrary impact. Hargrove et al. (2013, p. 61) note that eustress leads to enthusiastic workers, whose productivity is evident in the quality of results they attain at work. Additionally, most such workers register good health outcomes, and rarely miss work for sick-offs. Eustress leads to quantitative and qualitative increases in output. According to Kaufman (2005, p. 171) one of the negative impacts of stress in the workplace is fatigue, which if left unattended, can lead to complete burnout. Arguably, a fatigued person underperforms at work, while a burned out person is practically of no use in the work environment. Generally, a person who is negatively affected by stress cannot be optimally productive. The reduced productivity is reflected in the workplace through tardiness, high absenteeism, lack of motivation, high incidents of injuries, missed timelines, low quality work, and dissatisfied consumers (Navqi et al., 2013, p. 527-528). The impacts of negative stressful experiences also lead to poor health outcomes for workers, which include elevated blood pressure caused by high levels of stress hormones in the body, suppressed immune systems that make people more susceptible to infection, low digestion rate, and mental problems that include depression among others (Navqi et al., 2013, p. 525). In conclusion, it is evident that stress can either be positive or negative depending on how different people handle it. As Kaufman (2005, p. 171) insinuates in her article however, organisational managers have the responsibility to create the right environments needed to beat negative stress and avoid the negative consequences associated with it. How to resolve team conflict and improve team performance Conflict in teams is arguably a healthy phenomenon in any team where there is difference of opinion on how to handle different tasks and challenges. Levi (2014, p. 128) argues that the absence of conflict should be perceived as an indication that team members are indeed utilising their multiple perspectives in a manner that can enable them to learn from each other. Additionally, team conflict enables team members to explore different options, encourages brainstorming and the formation of new ideas, and motivates people to learn about and understand issues that cause conflict better (Levi, 2014, p. 129). By definition, conflict is “a process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect something that the first party cares about” (Robbins, 2009, p. 376). From the foregoing definition, it is evident that conflict occurs when there are disagreements on how to behave, differences in how team members interpret facts, and differences in expectations and goals. In order to effectively resolve team conflict, it is best to understand the conflict process. According to Robbins (2009), conflict happens in five stages namely “potential opposition or incompatibility, cognition and personalisation, intentions, behaviour and outcomes” (p. 377). Potential incompatibility or opposition most likely occurs where communication is ineffective, where organisational structures create room for conflict (e.g. between two departments), and where personal variables are present. Ideally, an organisation should strive to minimise potential incompatibility and opposition, but since the risk of conflict cannot be completely wiped out, the organisation should just do as Levi (2014, p. 133) suggests: prepare for conflict. In the second stage, people make sense of what they differ about, while in the third stage, people become aware of their conflict-handling intentions. Specifically, they decide whether they intend to accommodate, avoid, compromise, collaborate or compete with the other party (Robbins, 2009, p. 388). The fourth stage relates to the behaviours exhibited by both parties, and specifically how one party behaves and how the other party reacts. Finally, the outcomes can increase or decrease group performance. Depending on the outcomes, an organisation can decide whether to discourage conflict altogether (which is possibly unattainable) or encourage some level of conflict. Resolving conflicts for purposes of improving organisational performance requires the organisation to first prepare and plan on how to initiate a negotiation process between the parties involved in conflict. According to Levi (2014, p. 134), organisations should manage conflict with an aim of developing win-win agreements which are not only integrative, but also beneficial to the two sides of a conflict. Thus, the conflict management team should strive to separate the problem at the heart of the conflict from the people involved in the conflict. Through such separation, Levi (2014, p. 136) notes that conflicting parties become aware that it is not about them but the idea. The conflict thus becomes issue-based as opposed to personality-based. At this stage, Levi (2014, p. 136) suggests that it would be wise to encourage parties to take each other’s position and review the conflict from that perspective. Understanding and dealing with emotions exhibited by both parties is also critical in effective conflict management (Behfar et al. 2008, p. 171) The second step in conflict resolution and management relates to focusing on shared interests between the conflicting parties (Levi, 2014, p. 137). On its part, the third step involves developing options that parties can use to resolve the conflict, while the fourth stage involves setting the criteria for finding a solution. According to Levi (2014, p. 136), it is important for an organisation to set fair and objective standards and procedures for conflict resolution. The final step in conflict management involves creating solutions that enhance team cohesiveness. If conflicts cannot be fully resolved, team members must find a way to manage them in a manner that does not affect performance negatively (Levi, 2014, p. 137). Finally, the conflict management team should discuss ways to deal with future conflict. In conclusion, conflict is normal in any organisation since people think differently and have different ideas and approaches to problem-solving. Conflict should be perceived as part of healthy interactions in a team. To effectively contribute to organisational performance however, conflicts should be managed effectively, and especially in a manner that enhances functional outcomes as opposed to dysfunctional outcomes. Workplace bullying and how to inform and protect employees Workplace bullying is defined variously by different authors. For this paper however, Saunders, Huynh and Goodman-Delahunty’s (2007, p. 340) definition of the term will be adopted. The three authors indicate that workplace bullying is “a category of harassing behaviour that employees may be subjected to at any stage of their career, regardless of their membership in a protected class based on gender, ethnicity, age etc” (Saunders et al., 2007, p.340). Notably, workplace bullying is common in many organisations and it not only threatens the wellbeing of employees, but also the wellbeing of entire organisations. Salin (2003, p. 1214) indicates that for workplace bullying to take place, two prerequisites, namely a hostile work environment and perceived power imbalances, must exist. A hostile environment means that the person targeted for bullying does not feel confident enough that the organisation will accommodate their grievances or even attend to them. The perceived power imbalance on the other hand creates the impression that the aggressors regard themselves as being in a relatively higher position of power compared to their targets. Informing employees about workplace bullying arguably involves letting them know the difference between bullying and other normal workplace difficulties that include conflict, tension and contentious issues. According to the Equity Diversity Unite and Lozano (2014, p. 2), bullying is devoid of respect and dignity to the other party and can endanger the health and safety of the targeted party. Normal workplace difficulties in the workplace however never escalate to the point of disrespecting the other party or risking their wellbeing (at least not intentionally) (Equity Diversity Unit & Lozano, 2014, p.2). One way of protecting employees against workplace bullying is informing them on the behaviours to look out for. According to Equity Diversity Unit and Lozano (2014, p. 2), employers need to be on the lookout for complaints or criticisms that cannot be justified, work arrangements that always inconvenience some people while others in the workplace are allocated more convenient schedules; tasks that are too low or high one’s competence levels; allocation of unreasonable deadlines or work targets; the absence of assistance either in resources or in the form of supervision to an extent that one’s work output is affected; exclusion from activities or information that other workers have access to; behaviours, comments or jokes that are intentionally meant to belittle someone; offensive language; and conduct that is meant to intimidate or antagonise a person. Although unreasonable behaviour can occur in the workplace from time to time, Equity Diversity Unit and Lozano (2014, p.1) note that such incidents are not considered workplace bullying, unless they are repetitive. Therefore, to protect employees, an organisation should inform them what to do if they suspect that they are indeed targeted by workplace bullies. Equity Diversity Unit and Lozano (2014, p. 2) recommends that organisations should inform employees of where to seek advice. Since it is not usually possible to remain objective when one suspects they are being targeted by bullies, one should seek opinion from another person. The human resource department can be a good place for employees to seek advice. Notably, every organisation should have a policy that guides how people conduct themselves in the workplace. A code of conduct is, for example, a good document to include anti-bullying clauses that should guide employees. Other proactive ways that an organisation can use to inform and protect employees against workplace bullies include conducting awareness sessions, printing and pinning anti-bullying information on notice boards in the organisation, or including educative information about workplace bullying in company newsletters (Equity Diversity Unit & Lozano, 2014, p. 4). The organisation should then investigate the allegations from the alleged targeted person and have a process to discipline the perpetrators of bullying. In conclusion, it is clear that workplace bullying can risk the wellbeing of targeted individuals, hence compromising their performance at work. Additionally, it is clear that there is a difference between bullying and normal conflict and misunderstandings in the workplace. The role of the organisation seems to be one of creating knowledge and awareness about bullying, the reporting procedures, and also disciplining the perpetrators of workplace bullying. Combined, all the foregoing actions by the organisation would possibly protect employees from potential bullies. References Behfar, K.J., Peterson, R.S., Mannix, E.A., & Trochim, M.K. (2008). The critical role of conflict resolution in teams: A close look at the links between conflict type, conflict management strategies, and team outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(1), 170-188. Equity and Diversity Unit, & Lozano, T. (2014). Unpacking workplace bullying – toolkit for managers. Macquarie University, 1-20. Retrieved May 23, 2015, from https://mq.edu.au/pubstatic/public/download.jsp?id=156530 Hargrove, M.B., Nelson, D.L., & Cooper, C.L. (2013). Generating eustress by challenging employees: helping people savour their work. Organisational Dynamics, 42, 61-69. Karren, K.J., Hafen, B.Q., Smith, N.L. & Frandsen, K.J. (2006). The impact of stress on health. In, Mind body health. (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Pearson Education. Kaufman, B. (2005). Beating stress and preventing burnout. Handbook of Business Strategy, 171-175. Levi, D. (2014). Group dynamics for teams. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Navqi, S., Khan, M., Kant, A., & Khan, S.N. (2013). Job stress and employees’ productivity: Case of Azad Kashmir public health sector. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 5(3), 525-542. Robbins, S.P. (2009). Organisational behaviour in Southern Africa (2nd ed.). Pretoria: Pearson South Africa. Salin, D. (2003). Ways of explaining workplace bullying: A review of enabling, motivating and precipitating structures and processes in the work environment. Human Relations, 56, 1213-1232. Saunders, P., Huynh, A., & Goodman-Delahunty, J. (2007). Defining workplace bullying behaviour professional lay definitions of workplace bullying. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 30, 340-354. Varelius, J. (2013). Objective explanations of individual wellbeing. In Fave, A. D. (Ed.), The exploration of happiness – present and future perspectives (pp 15-30). New York: Springer Read More