The Nature, Causes, and Effects of Stress at Work - Literature review Example

Introduction Before going into the details of nature, causes and effects of stress at work, let’s get a better understanding of what stress actually is. Nordqvist (2009) defines stress in simplest terms as “anything that poses a challenge or a threat to our well-being”. Stress is a result of physical and emotional nervousness and anxiety that a person suffers due to pressures from people living in his surrounding or events happening in his life. We say that we are stressed out when we feel that things are becoming too much uncontrollable, we become overworked with finding solutions and start wondering if we can at all deal with the strain imposed upon us. According to Richard Lazarus (1999), psychological stress was in fact first adopted from the comparisons made in physics and engineering as Robert Hooke discussed how an external force creates strain when it is applied on a structure. Over time, this particular use of stress was applied to models of psychological stress in which the stressor becomes the external force while the stress response becomes the reaction of one’s body to the stressor. As proposed by Lazarus and Folkman (1984), psychological stress is a relationship that exists between an individual and his environment that is considered as a threatening force to his well-being. A complex interaction exists among the events that are happening in the environment, how an individual perceives such events, and the means that he has to deal with in determining the level of stress that he is experiencing. Individual differences influence response to various environmental stressors. Stress at work is the stress experienced during one’s job or at the workplace. The stress that a person experiences otherwise gets added to the stress that waits for him at the workplace. Segal et al (2008) assert that “while some stress is a normal part of life, excessive stress interferes with your productivity and reduces your physical and emotional health, so it’s important to find ways to keep it under control”. 2. Nature of Stress at Work In today’s world where workers have to cope with difficult economic situations, they essentially have to go through stress both emotionally and physically. Lazarus (1999) has broken down the concept of psychological stress into three types which are also evident in any working place or environment. The first is the “harm/loss” wherein the person deals with certain effects of loss or harm which has already occurred, second is “threat” with which the person expects loss or harm which has not happened yet but can possibly occur in the future, and the third is “challenge” which normally occurs when the individual feels that he can still be successful in accomplishing task with much effort and determination, though he may be experiencing difficulties with it. During financial crisis and with much pressure going on, stress adds up which then results in decreased productivity and poor output. Workers undergo negative reactions and all these reflect in their relationship with the management and co-workers. It now becomes important for the workers to learn how to deal with stressful situations to escape fear, tension and uncertainty. This stress management ability decides whether a worker is going to prove himself as success or failure. Stress is, mostly, very much related to how a person deals with the situation. According to Rotter (1966), even though it all depends on the situation, a greater deal of stress occurs when an individual feels less control. If such is the case, this may lead to helplessness, though when he begins coping with stress, an evaluation process continually occurs as the person decides how effective his coping strategies are and if his coping resources have eventually changed. In relation to stress and the evaluation and coping model that was presented by Lazarus & Folkman (1984), Berry (2006) has stated that stress is at its highest level when there is a lack of control over situations which are associated with cultural changes and behaviors such as conflict among a group or pressure to conform. Acceptance into any group or community is the least stressful while keeping someone from power or attention is most probably the most stressful. Adjusting into a group as well as separation strategies holds an average level of stress. Generally, psychological stress primarily increases when in contact with other groups; however it still declines over time when one has already adjusted. According to the research carried out by Professor Cox (cited in Stranks 2005: 4), stress was found to be very much associated with two major characteristics regarding jobs and workplaces that play a big role in producing tension and stress among workers and these include the working environment of the individual as well as the nature of his profession. Smith et al (cited in Stranks 2005: 5) in their report have “estimated that there are 5 million workers suffering from high levels of stress at work”. Each life phase, whether inside or outside the working environment, involves stressors which are particular events and situations that are psychologically and physically demanding. Research has associated stressors to psychological problems such as depression and anxiety as well as increased vulnerability to physical illnesses. Stressors do not always bring about worse conditions or increased risks of illness. They often negatively affect health more when they are highly upsetting or considered as uncontrollable. From previous studies, three types of stressors have been distinguished. First would be the disastrous events which are more often associated with nature in general, second are major life changes regardless of whether they are positive or negative, and third are minor hassles which are experienced in a daily basis. 2.1. Positive Stress vs. Negative Stress Many researchers agree that stress is subjective and that people do not have similar responses to the same situations. Instead, stress often depends on how individuals evaluate the events that happen within their environment (MacLennan and Maier, 1983). When an individual believes that a challenge will overwhelm him or overpower his abilities and resources, he will consequently experience stress. A little stress is beneficial as it keeps one going and forces him to maintain his good performance. This is called positive stress. It adds to a person’s wellbeing and health as it leads him to manage things properly. Positive stress is found in such environments where the value is the work done is recognized which compels a worker to improve his performance. On the other hand, stress becomes an emotional rollercoaster when the workers are constantly worrying about their performances. In cases where the workers are constantly treated harshly and unfairly, these individuals undergo negative stress more commonly known as distress. The situation ends up in lack of concentration which results in lower production output. Koss (2008) is his article affirms that when the “demands and challenges become excessive and the employees ability to handle them or the satisfaction of the employee with the compensation of his effort for the job do not match, thats when stress becomes excessive”. 3. Causes of Stress at Work Workplace stress is caused by a wide variety of reasons, also called stressors. Though, it is impossible to have a final list because new reasons for stress may arrive at any time, some of the main stressors are described below: 3.1. Lack of Control Collie (2004) asserts that “workplace stress is at its greatest when employees have no say regarding things that affect them”. When the administration or the management does not involve the employees in important decisions, choices and judgments, the employees feel left out creating stress between the two sides. In the findings of Jackson (1983) in their study of general involvement in decision making, it has been reported that role stress was a positive predictor of tension and emotional stress, though it did not affect job satisfaction or the rate of turnover. Being involved in decision making did not have an impact on communication patterns, therefore, not affecting role stress. Psychological and emotional stress, however, was found to be positively related with job satisfaction. 3.2. No, Little or Delayed Rewards and Salaries This is one of the main stressors. When workers are not given bonuses, vacations, compensations, and similar other rewards while they are provided with delayed payments and salaries, they feel that they are being taken for granted and that they are unable to cope with their financial need which results to stress. However, in the study of Berkel (2009), findings have shown that there is still an unclear relationship that exists between reward dependence and stress and that it was more prevalent that there were no relations found between reward dependence and stress or reward dependence and anxiety. 3.3. Work Load Employees complain about undergoing stress when the amount of work given to them is either too large or too small. When the responsibilities are not being distributed properly among the workers, this causes stress. Findings from the studies of Parkes (1995) and Parkes et al (1986) regarding companies in the transport industry, it showed that a decrease in workload resulted in a decrease in anxiety levels as well as an increase in job satisfaction. Through these results, it was suggested that there should be a decrease in workload and was consequently implemented. However, a follow-up study after five years was conducted and it was found out that an overall reduction in anxiety level was not observed and that an increase in anxiety level was obtained regardless of the workload reduction. Furthermore there were also regional differences in which those in urban areas benefitted more from the decrease in workload compared to those in rural areas 3.4. Lack of communication Stress is produced when the workers feel unable to properly communicate with each other and with their employers. They cannot get the employers understand their ideas, views and complaints which leads them to undergo stress. 3.5. Organizational Culture According to Cartwright and Cooper (1997), a big stressor at workplace is the culture, policies, procedures and operations of the organization. Culture can generally affect the stress and the coping process in a number of ways. The cultural background molds the types of stressors which an individual is likely to experience. Culture may also affect the evaluation of the level of stress in a given situation. Furthermore, culture limits and affects one’s options for coping strategies that he or she can use in a given event. Nonetheless, culture also provides various means by which a person can deal with stress. The demands and resources of one’s culture affect both the demands of the situation as well as the resources of the individual, both of which will affect the evaluation of the stress. Additionally, cultural values and beliefs influence a person’s individual values and beliefs, but also the reactions of others in the given situation. Coping with stress does not only have psychological and physical outcomes; it also includes social and cultural outcomes (Aldwin & Stokols, 1988). Workers are very much affected by this culture that the organization may have adopted. 3.6. Job Insecurity If the organization’s structure undergoes continuous changes, the employees feel job insecurity. If there are continuous reorganizations and transformations, such changes become key stressors for the workers, as organizations try to stay in the competition to endure in market. These reformations prove to be a stressor on everyone whether he is a CEO or a small worker. 3.7 Lack of social relationships Stranks (2005: 19) states that a main job stressor is lack of or improper social or personal relationships at the workplace. Insufficient contact with the co-workers, sexual harassment especially for female employees, and racial harassment, causes hypertension and stress. 3.8 Bias Biased attitude also creates stress among workers. If the management does favoritism with some employees and treats the rest unfairly, then stress strengthens its roots among those workers who do not get favors from the higher authorities. 4. Effects of Stress at Work Workplace stress seriously affects both the worker and the organization he is employed in. 4.1. Effects on the Worker Ganster and Schaubroek (cited in Fox, Dwyer & Ganster 1993) found out in their research that “prolonged exposure to certain job demands can lead to a variety of pathological outcomes, including mental and physical disorders, absenteeism, and reduced productivity”. An employee who is undergoing stress may show some warning signs that stress might have inflicted upon him and are called stress symptoms. When an individual allows stressors to grow and worsen, such elements can become more stressful which then results in the person experiencing an increased level of anxiety and depression. A negative cycle can consequently develop in which depressed individuals may have a larger possibility of evaluating their ability to handle stressors as very low and become more distrustful about future outcomes (Abramson, Seligman & Teasdale 1978). Such emotional and behavioral reactions include anger, depression, de-motivation and absent-mindedness, sleep disorder (insomnia), job discontentment, lack of attentiveness and interest in job, lower level of job commitment, and conflicts in relationships both at work and at home. The stressors that exist between the employer and the employees cause adverse mental and emotional effects upon the individual. Job performance is destroyed resulting in poor production due to the fact that workers obtain better performance when satisfied with their working environment, can take control over their work and enjoy healthy relationships with peers. 4.2. Effects on the Organization Leka, Griffiths and Cox (2003: 9) assert that “if key staff or a large number of workers are affected, work stress may challenge the healthiness and performance of their organization”. Increased job stress among workers creates hindrance in the progress and productivity of the whole organization thus posing danger to its survival in the competitive market. Therefore, it becomes essential for the management team to identify the stressor issue as fast as possible and apply the stress management strategy to reduce or eliminate workplace stress. They should have the responsibility of creating a healthy environment in their workplace where all workers may work with confidence, commitment and mental health. Communication gap should be filled in by incorporating stress counseling sessions with the workers so as to get a better understanding of their individual problems (Cooper & Sue 1994). Additionally, psychosocial interventions are being implemented by organizations to focus on psychosocial factors in their work settings. The main goal of such interventions is to reduce the stress by changing the perception of their employees on the work environment, resulting into further improvements in attitudes, behaviors, motivation, performance and overall well-being (Whyte, 1991). An example of which is the PAR method that allows employees to work out their own goals and understand the needs and interests of their fellow workers in the organization. Guzzo, Jette & Katzell (1985) report positive effects of employee involvement and participation in using the PAR intervention method as well as related psychological interventions regarding productivity. It must be remembered, though, that even when psychosocial interventions are applicable for any event within any organization, such interventions are focused on the psychosocial factors of the environment which may require the team to re-design their work features. Conclusion To sum up, workplace stress is an important issue that needs much consideration both at the part of the organization and the workers. Although some stress is necessary to keep one going, still increased stress can create adversely harmful effects on the physical and emotional health of a worker. Psychologists have described that certain factors at an individual level including coping skills, social support as well as nature and character greatly affect one’s level of stress; however, other researchers assert that the organization of societies and cultures can also have a significant impact on the nature and types of stressors that we face in our everyday lives, affecting not just physical health but the mental and emotional state as well (Aldwin, Sutton, Chiara & Spiro 1996). All individuals have different responses toward stress and it is this behavior that decides the level of stress that an individual has to go through. Stress is caused by various stressors and may cause both long-term and short-term effects, generally affecting the workers’ motivation and the performance of the entire organization. Employers, in turn, need to identify the key problems related to the workforce and need to consider the civil as well as criminal insinuations of workplace stress. Because of such needs to improve the physical and psychological state of the overall working environment, the implementation of psychosocial interventions has received a great deal of attention due to its primary aim of reducing stress and enhancing perceptions on the work environment. The worker is also required to learn how to cope with stressful situations with which his mental and physical health as well as social relationships should not be compromised. Identifying the stressor and then having it managed is a responsibility both for the worker and the employer. 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