Work in the 21 st Century
Chapter 10
Stress & Worker Well-Being
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Module 10.1: The Problem of Stress
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Studying workplace stress
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3 important factors:
1.
Work stressors
– Task & role stressors
2.
Moderators of the stress process
– Individual differences & social support
3.
Consequences of stress
– Burnout & heart disease
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Studying Workplace Stress (cont’d)
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Selye – “Father of Stress”
– Defined stress as “the non-specific response of the human body to any demand made on it”
– Eustress (good) vs. distress (bad)
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General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
• Alarm reaction Resistance Exhaustion
• Response to chronic stress
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Studying Workplace Stress (cont’d)
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Recent studies
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In addition to physiological reaction to stress, there is also a cognitive appraisal of situation & of resources available to handle stressors
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2 coping styles
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Problem-focused coping
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Managing or altering the problem causing the stress
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Emotion-focused coping
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Reducing the emotional response to the problem
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Framework for Study of Stress
(Kahn & Byosiere, 1992)
Figure 10.1
Theoretical Framework for the Study of
Stress in Organizations
SOURCE: Kahn & Byosiere (1992)
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What is a Stressor?
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Stressors
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Physical or psychological demands to which an individual responds
Heat, cold, noise
Situational constraints
Emotional labor
Interpersonal conflict
Work schedule
Perceived control
Workload
Role stressors
Work pace, time pressure
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Strains
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Reaction or response to stressors
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Common Stressors in the
Workplace
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Common Stressors at Work
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Physical/Task stressors
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Effect of multiple stressors can be cumulative
– e.g., Noise, demands of a given job
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Psychological Stressors
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Perceived lack of control/predictability
– Individual’s perception of control or predictability determines his/her response to the situation
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Perceptions of control are related to Autonomy, which is the extent to which employees can control how and when they perform the tasks of their job
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Psychological Stressors (cont’d)
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Interpersonal conflict
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Negative interactions w/co-workers, supervisors, clients
– Can occur when resources are scarce, employees have incompatible interests, or employees feel they are not being treated fairly
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Psychological Stressors (cont’d)
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Role stressors: Result from multiple task requirements or roles of employees
• Role ambiguity
– Employees lack clear knowledge of expected behavior
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Role conflict
– Demands from different sources are incompatible
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Role overload
– An employee is expected to fill to many roles at once
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Psychological Stressors (cont’d)
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Work-family conflict
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When workers experience conflict between roles they fulfill at work & roles they fulfill in their personal lives
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Flexible time schedules & child care becoming increasingly important
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Psychological Stressors (cont’d)
• Emotional labor: Regulation of one’s emotions to meet job or organizational demands (2 strategies):
– Surface acting
– Consists of managing or faking one’s expressions or emotions
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Deep acting
– Consists of managing one’s feelings, including emotions required by the job
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Consequences of Stress
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Behavioral Consequences of Stress
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Information processing
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Chronic stress has negative effects on memory, reaction time, accuracy, & task performance
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Performance
• Hypothesis: Performance & stress have an inverted
U relationship (Figure 10.2)
– As arousal increases, performance increases, but only up to a certain point, & then performance begins to decline
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Figure 10.2
SOURCE: Jex (1998).
Stress & Performance:
Inverted U Relationship
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Psychological Consequences of Stress
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Burnout
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Extreme state of psychological strain resulting from prolonged response to chronic job stressors that exceed an individual’s resources to cope with them
• Measured with Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)
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3 components
– Emotional exhaustion
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Depersonalization
– Low personal accomplishment
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Examples of Burnout Items
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Physiological Consequences of Stress
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Stressful situations cause overactivation of sympathetic nervous system (SNS), producing several kinds of stress hormones
– Initially, these changes can improve decision making & physical performance
– Chronic activation of SNS leads to “wear & tear” on coronary arteries & heart
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Work Schedules
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3 different scheduling formats
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Shift work
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Fixed shift
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Rotating shift
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Scheduling variations
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Flextime
– Compressed workweek
– Telecommuting
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Module 10.2: Theories of Stress
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Demand-Control Model
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2 factors prominent in producing job stress
• Job demands
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Workload or intellectual requirements
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Control (decision latitude)
– Autonomy & discretion for using different skills
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Demand-Control Model (cont’d)
Figure 10.3
Demand-Control Model
Source: Adapted from Karasek (1979)
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Demand-Control Model (cont’d)
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Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ)
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Role overload & role conflict (demands)
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Skill utilization & job decision (control)
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Depression, job dissatisfaction, & sleep problems (health consequences)
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Person-Environment Fit Model
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Hypothesis: Fit between person & environment determines amount of stress that person perceives
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Considers external influences like social support from family & work sources
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Person-job fit vs. person-organization fit
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Individual Differences in
Resistance to Stress
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Moderators of stressor-strain relationship
– Locus of control (LOC)
• Belief of individuals that what happens to them is under their control
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Hardiness
• Set of personality characteristics that provide resistance to stress
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Self-esteem
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Positive self-worth that is considered to be an important resource for coping
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Example of Moderator
Figure 10.4
Example of a Moderator of the Stressor-Strain Relationship.
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Type A Behavior Pattern (TABP)
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Moderator of stressor-strain relationship
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Individuals displaying TABP characterized by ambitiousness, impatience, easily aroused hostility, & time urgency
– Type A’s seem to thrive on “life in the fast lane”
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Type A Behavior Pattern (TABP)
• Compared to Type Bs, Type As more punctual, work at faster rates, & higher achievers in college & in professional careers
– However, global TABP does not predict outcomes as well as specific TABP subcomponents
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Hostility is primary TABP subcomponent associated with increased risk of heart disease & other longterm, harmful health outcomes
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TABP Subcomponents
• Achievement strivings (AS)
– Tendency to be active & work hard in achieving one’s goals
– Positively correlated with academic performance, sales performance, & job satisfaction
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Impatience/Irritability (II)
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Intolerance, frustration that results from being slowed down
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Associated with health problems like insomnia, headaches, poor digestion, & respiratory difficulties
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TABP Subcomponent
Time urgency
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Refers to feeling of being pressured by inadequate time
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Dimensions include eating behavior, nervous energy, list making, scheduling, speech patterns, & deadline control
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Module 10.3:
Reducing & Managing Stress
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Occupational health psychology (OHP)
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Application of psychology to improving the quality of work life, and to protecting and promoting the safety, health, and well-being of workers
– Handbook of Occupational Health Psychology
• Comprehensive source for OHP issues (i.e., work-family balance, work design, and stress management interventions)
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Occupational health psychologists often divide approaches into 3 major categories
• Primary, secondary, and tertiary
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Primary Prevention Strategies
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Primary prevention strategies
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Concerned with modifying or eliminating stressors in work environment
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Most proactive & preventative approaches to stress management
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Examples:
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Work & job design
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Cognitive restructuring
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Secondary Prevention Strategies
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Involve modifying responses to inevitable demands or stressors
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Role is often one of damage control
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Strategies that require no special training include lifestyle choices such as physical fitness, healthy eating, & weight control
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Can be proactive or reactive
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Secondary Prevention Strategies
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Stress management training
– Useful for helping employees deal with workplace stressors that are difficult to change
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Cognitive-behavioral skills training
• Stress inoculation
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Relaxation & biofeedback techniques
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Progressive muscle relaxation & deep breathing
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Social support: Instrumental, emotional, informational, & appraisal support
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Tertiary Prevention Strategies
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Focused on healing negative effects of stressors
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Employee assistance programs (EAPs)
– Counseling provided by an organization to deal with workplace stress, alcohol/drug difficulties, & problems stemming from outside the job
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A Framework for Stress
Management Interventions
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Summary of Stress Intervention
Strategies
• Combining various stress management interventions is more effective than using any single approach
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Successful stress management interventions must accurately identify stressors causing strain & actively determine ways to reduce those stressors
• Primary stress intervention strategies generally preferred over other interventions
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Future Work Trends & Challenges to
Stress & Stress Management
• Workforce is becoming more culturally & ethnically diverse
– Important for I-O psychologists to determine whether factors that predict health problems in White males are same as in other populations
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Influences in the new millennium predicted to be stressful
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Technological change, global competition, downsizing, elder & child care, & increased teamwork
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Module 10.4: Violence at Work
Violent actions carried out by a non-employee against an employee
Vs.
Violence perpetrated by employees & directed toward fellow employees
•
Many hypotheses for why workplace has become more violent since the early 1990s
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Incidents or Behaviors Associated with the 3 Levels of Violence
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Experiential Sequence of
Violence Perpetrators
Figure 10.5
Routine Experiential
Sequence of Violence
Perpetrators
Source: Based on Kinney
(1995).
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“Typical” Violent Worker
• Most cases of workplace violence involve some feeling of being treated unfairly, & perpetrator has some real or imaginary grievance against organization or a person in the organization
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Characteristics of a violent worker
– May include: Abuses alcohol, has a history of violence, has difficult accepting authority, is a white male 25-30 years of age
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Theories of Workplace Violence
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Frustration-aggression hypothesis
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Argues that frustration leads to aggression
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Ultimately found to be too broad
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Not all frustrated individuals act aggressively & not all aggressive acts are a result of frustration
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Modern view: Frustration leads to stress reaction
& individual expends energy to relieve this stress
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High self-esteem is associated with violence
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Employee Behavior as a Result of
Frustration & Employee Control
Figure 10.6
Constructive and Destructive Employee
Behavior as a Result of Frustration and
Employee Control
SOURCE: Spector (2000)
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Theories of Workplace Violence
(cont’d)
• “Justice” hypothesis
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Proposes that some violent acts can be understood as reactions by an employee against perceived injustice
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Relevance to the 3 types of justice
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Layoffs & firings
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Performance appraisals
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Actions to Prevent Workplace
Violence
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Special Type of Violence: Bullying
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Bullying -
Harassing, offending, socially excluding, or assigning humiliating tasks to subordinate repeatedly & over long period of time
– 4 steps in escalation
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A critical incident
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Bullying & stigmatizing
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Organizational intervention
• Expulsion of the victim
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Employees need avenues for communicating concerns about the fairness of organizational decisions that affect them
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Managers need to be sensitive to signs of potential trouble in form of individual worker behaviors
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