Chapter 7
Stress and Well-Being at Work
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What Is Stress?
[Stress] – the unconscious preparation
to fight or flee that a person
experiences when faced with any
demand
[Stressor ] – the person or event that
triggers the stress response
[Distress (or strain)] – the adverse
psychological, physical, behavioral,
and organizational consequences that
may arise as a result of stressful
events
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4 APPROACHES TO
STRESS
Homeostatic/Medical
Stress occurs when an external demand
upsets an individual’s natural, steady-state
balance.
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COGNITIVE APPRAISAL
• Individuals differ in
their appraisal of
events and people
• What is stressful for
one person is not for
another
• Perception and
cognitive appraisal
determines what is
stressful
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COGNITIVE APPRAISAL
Problem-focused coping
emphasizes managing
the stressor
Emotion-focused coping
emphasizes managing
your response
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PERSON-ENVIRONMENT FIT
• Confusing and conflicting
expectations in a social role create
stress.
• Good person-environment fit occurs
when one’s skills and abilities
match a clearly defined set of role
expectations.
• Stress occurs when expectations
are confusing or when they conflict
with one’s skills.
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PSYCHOANALYTIC
STRESS
Discrepancy between the idealized self
and the real self-image
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The Stress Response
Release of chemical
messengers
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Activation of
sympathetic
nervous and
endocrine
systems
Sources of Stress: Work Demands
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Stress Source: Nonwork Demands
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Positive Stress
• Stress response itself is neutral
• Some stressful activities (aerobic exercise,
etc.) can enhance a person’s ability to
manage stressful demands or situations
• Stress can provide a needed energy boost
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Yerkes-Dodson Law
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Stressor
Stress Response
Eustress
Demand
Distress (strain)
Gender
Type A behavior pattern
Personality Hardiness
Self-reliance (attachment style)
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Individual Distress
Work-related psychological disorders
(depression, burnout,
psychosomatic disorders)
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Organizational Distress
Stress
effects
a company’s
bottom line
Participative Problems – a cost
associated with absenteeism, tardiness,
strikes and work stoppages, and
turnover
Performance Decrement – a cost
resulting from poor quality or low
quantity of production, grievances, and
unscheduled machine downtime and
repair
Compensation Award – an
organizational cost resulting from court
awards for job distress
Individual Differences
Achilles’ heel
phenomenon –
a person breaks down at
his or her weakest point
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Gender Effects
Sexual Harassment
Vulnerabilities
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Type A Behavior Patterns
•
•
•
•
•
•
Competitiveness
Time urgency
Social Status Insecurity
Aggression
Hostility
Quest for achievements
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Personality Hardiness
[Personality Hardiness]
– challenge (versus threat)
– commitment (versus alienation)
– control (versus powerlessness)
[Transformational Coping]
active process of modifying one’s
perception of an event in order to
reduce stress.
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Preventative Stress Management
an organizational philosophy
according to which people and
organizations should take joint
responsibility for promoting
health and preventing distress
and strain
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Learning
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Preventative Stress
Management
Primary Prevention – the stage in preventive
stress management designed to reduce, modify,
or eliminate the demand or stressor
Secondary Prevention – the stage in preventive
stress management designed to alter or modify
the individual’s or the organization’s response to
a demand or stressor
Tertiary Prevention – the stage in preventive
stress management designed to heal individual or
organizational symptoms of distress and strain
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Preventative Stress Maintenance
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Organizational Stress
Prevention
•
•
•
•
Job redesign
Goal setting
Role negotiation
Social support systems
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Job Strain Model
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Social Support at Work and Home
SOURCE: J. C. Quick, J. D. Quick, D. L. Nelson, and J. J. Hurrell, Jr., Preventive Stress Management in Organizations (Washington, D.C.:
American Psychological Association, 1997), 198. Reprinted with permission.
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Individual Preventive
Stress Management
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What Can Managers Do?
• Learn how to create healthy stress
without distress
• Help employees adjust to new
technologies
• Be sensitive to early signs of distress
• Be aware of gender, personality, and
behavioral differences
• Use principles and methods of preventive
stress management
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