Stress in the Workplace - Report Example

Stress in the Workplace Stress in the workplace can be defined as emotional and physical responses which are harmful and usually occur when the requirements of the job are not matching the worker’s resources, capabilities and needs. Work stress has been a major challenge worldwide to the physical and mental health of the individual and to the health of the organization. If the workers are stressed, they are likely to be poorly motivated, unhealthy, less safe and less productive at work. Stress that is related to work has been seen to cost the economy of every nation substantial amounts in terms of healthcare, loss of productivity and litigation costs (NIOSH, 2004). The experience of stress usually varies from person to person but feelings resulting from stress end up being the same despite the causes of stress. Our levels of coping and tolerating stress are different where there are those who tolerate very high levels of stress and thrive on alertness and stimulation brought out by stress. Others levels of tolerance to stress are very low and thrive in environments that are moving slowly with even paced work and low stimulation (Ganster & Schaubroeck, 1991). The models employed in this work are the Karasek’s demand/control /support model with Siergris’s model of effort reward imbalance. According to Karasek, job strain is a very essential source of stress in the workplace which is governed by the interactions between the decision latitude and the psychological demands. The initial dimension of the worker’s psychological demands relate to the intensity and pace, ability to cope with colleagues and the skills required. Second dimension is based on the repetition versus the degree of creativity and the responsibility and freedom to make decision on what do and when to implement (Karasek, 1979). According to Siergrist’s effort-reward imbalance model, recognition of effort at work is usually reciprocated by a reward that is sufficient which is a section on the worker’s contract. Transmission of rewards is achieved through career opportunities, esteem and job security. Failure to accomplish the effort versus reward reciprocation at workplace may lead to automatic nervous system activation and it also influences diseases. Sergrit’s model relates to poor well- being, self- reported health, depression and adverse effects on health which result from exhaustive copying style of an individual also known as over commitment (Siegrist & Marmot, 2004). About survey The survey involves an interview with a 32 year employee of one of the largest companies in Australia over the stress in the workplace. Nick is the interviewed person holding a position of a national engineering and contract manager in the company. The company which began with over 300 staff has expanded its personnel to over 1000 staff through acquisitions. The purpose of this report is to show how stress in the place of work can affect our productivity and company’s general health. Results As a national engineering and contracts manager, Nick is satisfied with the style of management at the top level and it is very clear about his job expectation. If he has a good day, he feels satisfied and productive and if it is a bad day, he feels unproductive and not satisfied. He rates his position as a very highly stressed one with the most stressful part in his position being meeting the deadlines that are cumulative and driven by customers as well as making the staff under him to carry out their job based on their expectations in a timely way. He describes stress as when he or the workers under him finds it difficult to complete their work at expected time. Nick feels better when working in an environment which is ‘high-stress’ and this increases his productivity. He also says that there is adequate training and support in case of and changes in job position. He describes his relationship with his superiors and subordinates as very good and much like a 'family relationship’ as they work as a team. There is an open door policy in case of an overwhelmed feeling or a dispute where there is key personnel at every level to ‘share’ difficulties or discuss on ways of achieving goals. The balancing between home and work is good but travel sometimes interferes with home life continuity which is later managed by proving breaks to balance it. He feels appreciated and is rewarded when it is deserved and this is proportional to every worker’s position and performance. Discussion The discussion on stress in the workplace can be divided into the following; demands, control, support, role, change, reward and contribution and indicators. Issues in demand include work patterns, workload and work environment. Karasek classifies work environment into four types which are high-strain, active, low-strain and passive jobs. When the control of a job is high and also the psychological demands are high, the predicted behavioural outcomes are usually growth and learning. Most of the energy caused by the challenges in the job is transferred into a direct action. This action leads to solving of the problems with little strain. Hence, learning and growth leads to high productivity while on the other hand, low control and low demand leads to a job setting that is not motivating and loss of previous skills and productivity. From the case study, Nick describes his position in the company as highly stressed. Nick is comfortable in working in a highly-strained environment in a way that it positively impacts his productivity. According to Karasek, employees should be able to cope with their job demands and the systems should also be in place in order to respond to concerns regarding any individual. Nick is experiencing stress in the workplace as he tries to meet the deadlines from the customers that are said to be cumulative and also it is stressing to make sure workers under him do perform their job expectations at the right timeframe (Karasek, 1998). Control involves the level of authority that workers have or how much authority do they have on the way they perform their work. Through this, the workers are able to show their capability to have some input in the manner they work. Workers are encouraged to apply their initiative and skill in doing their work, where possible, they are encouraged to come up with new skills to cope with new challenging and new work, they have some input about when they can take breaks and are consulted over their patterns of work. This eliminates stress in the workplace and promotes productivity. Nick describes that balancing of work and home as good but there is a sign of stress as the continuity of living in home is interrupted with by travels. However, disruption of home life is managed by providing some breaks. He also states that there is adequate training and support in case there is any change of job. This reduces stress and the risks of low productivity as workers have adequate skills for any new or challenging job position (Arnold, Cooper & Robertson, 1998). Support involves sponsorship, encouragement and resources that are provided by the company, colleagues and the line of management. Through support, workers receive adequate support and information from their superiors or colleagues. This is achieved by procedures and policies supporting the workers, workers knowing the support available and the ways of accessing it and receiving a feedback that is regular and constructive. From the case, there is a policy for addressing stress in the job. Nick states that in case of overwhelming feeling or dispute, the company have developed an ‘open door policy’ for sharing the workers difficulties and discussing on the favourable way of operation and achievement of goals. In addition, he states that his superiors and subordinates support each other by working as a team. This addresses any stress arising from the work and boosts the productivity in the entire company (Ganster, Fusilier & Mayes, 1986). The role refers to how the workers understand what their responsibilities and roles in their jobs. This is achieved by making sure that the requirement which the company places on the workers are clear and the workers raise their concerns on conflicts or uncertainties they experience in their responsibilities. From case, the stress resulting from workers roles and responsibilities is addressed as Nick says that it is very clear and he knows exactly what is expected in his job (Dollard, Maureen & Jacques, 1999). Change addresses how the organisations manage and communicate the changes. In order to prevent stress in the place of work, the organisation should frequently engage the workers in case of any change in the organisation. This is achieved by making sure that the organisation involves workers through consultation and providing opportunities for the worker to make an influence on the proposals and training them in case of any change. This has been achieved in the case as Nick confirms that he is comfortable with the training offered in case of any change (Karasek, 1979). According to Siegrist, reward and contribution is well expressed when the workers indicate that they are paid fairly and are also satisfied with benefits that are non-monetary. This is achieved as organisations conduct a regular review of salaries and benefits of the employees and systems are put in place to make sure that there is recognition of the worker’s contribution. This is depicted in the case as Nick expresses a feeling of appreciation and in his job position and is being rewarded when it is deserved. The structures on salaries are on the grounds of success sharing between workers and the company and also there is pre-structuring of bonus payments on top of the salary that is negotiated according to responsibility and the role of an individual and payment is done monthly. Systems for workers recognition are put in place as evidenced in the case where Nick has been an integral part in planning how to reward personnel and how the company is run (Siegrist & Marmot, 2004). Indicators show that pressures at work do not affect their health and it is achieved through monitoring the productivity of workers. From the case, Nick feels that high stress environment does not impact him negatively which shows that his productivity is not reduced but boosted (Godin & Kittel, 2004). This company have incorporated its workers in all levels of decision making in such a way that the stress related to workplace is addressed at early stages, prevented and minimised from higher to lower levels within the company. These measures have led to improvement in performance and increase in the productivity throughout the company. However, some of the limitations involved in this study are basing results of the interview on the view of a single individual in a company of more than 1000 workers. The level of the interviewee in the management is also a factor to consider as being at the top level; he is capable of manipulation of the information in favour of the top management rather than lower level workers. Higher levels of stress may be more severe at lower positions in the workplace as compared to higher levels hence further research should be done on lower positions in the company. Conclusion Nick has been involved in a high-stress job which also requires a high control of the job and high psychological demands. This has led to learning and growth which are conducive to good performance and high productivity. From the case, the company has been addressing and minimising any issue that could lead to stress in every position. This has been made possible through development of open door policy, appreciating and rewarding workers, making clear the roles and responsibilities of the workers. The outcome is depicted as the company becomes more successful through acquisitions that have increased the staff to over 1000 .This has led to increase in the productivity and health of workers and the entire company. References Arnold, J., Cooper, C., & Robertson, I. (1998). Work Psychology: Understanding Human Behaviour in the Workplace. 3rd e d., Prentice Hall: London. Dollard, Maureen F. & Jacques C. (1999) Psychological research, practice, and production: The occupational stress problem. International Journal of Stress Management. (6)4, pp. 241-253. Ganster, D., Fusilier M. & Mayes B. (1986) Role of social support in the experience of stress at work, Journal of Applied Psychology, (71)1, pp.102 -10. Ganster, D. & Schaubroeck, J. (1991) Work stress and employee health. Journal of Management, 17 (2), 235-71. Godin, I. & Kittel, F. (2004) Differential economic stability and psychosocial stress at work: associations with psychosomatic complaints and absenteeism, Social Science and Medicine, 58(8), 1543–1553. Harrington, J. M. (2001). Health effects of shift work and extended hours of work. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 58(1), 68-72. Karasek (1979). Job Demands, Job Decision Latitude, and Mental Strain: Implications for Job Redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 285-308. Karasek (1998). Demand/control model: A social, emotional, and physiological approach to stress risk and active behaviour development. Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety. 4th ed. Geneva. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). (2004). Overtime and Extended Work Shifts: Recent Findings on Illnesses, Injuries and Health Behaviors. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. April. Publication no. 143, p.49. Siegrist, J. & Marmot, M. (2004) Health inequalities and the psychosocial environment: two scientific challenges. Social Science and Medicine, 58(8), 1463–1473. Read More

Nick is the interviewed person holding a position of a national engineering and contract manager in the company. The company which began with over 300 staff has expanded its personnel to over 1000 staff through acquisitions. The purpose of this report is to show how stress in the place of work can affect our productivity and company’s general health. Results As a national engineering and contracts manager, Nick is satisfied with the style of management at the top level and it is very clear about his job expectation.

If he has a good day, he feels satisfied and productive and if it is a bad day, he feels unproductive and not satisfied. He rates his position as a very highly stressed one with the most stressful part in his position being meeting the deadlines that are cumulative and driven by customers as well as making the staff under him to carry out their job based on their expectations in a timely way. He describes stress as when he or the workers under him finds it difficult to complete their work at expected time.

Nick feels better when working in an environment which is ‘high-stress’ and this increases his productivity. He also says that there is adequate training and support in case of and changes in job position. He describes his relationship with his superiors and subordinates as very good and much like a 'family relationship’ as they work as a team. There is an open door policy in case of an overwhelmed feeling or a dispute where there is key personnel at every level to ‘share’ difficulties or discuss on ways of achieving goals.

The balancing between home and work is good but travel sometimes interferes with home life continuity which is later managed by proving breaks to balance it. He feels appreciated and is rewarded when it is deserved and this is proportional to every worker’s position and performance. Discussion The discussion on stress in the workplace can be divided into the following; demands, control, support, role, change, reward and contribution and indicators. Issues in demand include work patterns, workload and work environment.

Karasek classifies work environment into four types which are high-strain, active, low-strain and passive jobs. When the control of a job is high and also the psychological demands are high, the predicted behavioural outcomes are usually growth and learning. Most of the energy caused by the challenges in the job is transferred into a direct action. This action leads to solving of the problems with little strain. Hence, learning and growth leads to high productivity while on the other hand, low control and low demand leads to a job setting that is not motivating and loss of previous skills and productivity.

From the case study, Nick describes his position in the company as highly stressed. Nick is comfortable in working in a highly-strained environment in a way that it positively impacts his productivity. According to Karasek, employees should be able to cope with their job demands and the systems should also be in place in order to respond to concerns regarding any individual. Nick is experiencing stress in the workplace as he tries to meet the deadlines from the customers that are said to be cumulative and also it is stressing to make sure workers under him do perform their job expectations at the right timeframe (Karasek, 1998).

Control involves the level of authority that workers have or how much authority do they have on the way they perform their work. Through this, the workers are able to show their capability to have some input in the manner they work. Workers are encouraged to apply their initiative and skill in doing their work, where possible, they are encouraged to come up with new skills to cope with new challenging and new work, they have some input about when they can take breaks and are consulted over their patterns of work.

This eliminates stress in the workplace and promotes productivity. Nick describes that balancing of work and home as good but there is a sign of stress as the continuity of living in home is interrupted with by travels.

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