Stress in the Workplace
Organizational Behavior
Submitted to Jane Anderson
Submitted by Dakota Manson
February 06, 2015
Introduction
Today, organizations are faced with issues that provide opportunities for growth or
compromise their existence. Of such, stress has been reported as one of the main concerns for
employees and employers alike. Stress has crippled many organizations and can be credited to
such things as heightened worldwide competition, technological improvements, increased verbal
and nonverbal miscommunication between organizational stakeholders, and a growing number
of diverse employees within the workplace. Stress, which unfolds and manifests in degrees, can
be labeled either positive or negative. Whether stress is perceived as good or bad, immediate and
far reaching consequences will surface. Negative stress, commonly referred to as Distress, takes
a toll on the human body if not dealt with properly. However, organizations can take a proactive
standpoint to counter employee stress by incorporating some preventative actions or coping
strategies into their policies and procedures that can turn the opportunities of stress into a
competitive advantages. Preventative actions include, but are not limited to, daily meditation
seminars for employees, employee training, whistle blower protection, and a balanced work-life
culture. Each coping strategy comes with its own benefits that have been researched and support
my thesis.
Stress Process
Stress, as defined in our Organizational Behavior book, is an adaptive response to a
situation that is perceived as challenging or threatening to a person’s well-being, is referred to as
the fight-or-flight response. When faced with a stressful situation, humans progress through a
sequence of responses or stages: Alarm reaction, Resistance, and Exhaustion (Hans Selye). This
response is an innate characteristic of human beings which has evolved over many centuries.
Initially, the stress object is perceived and evaluated by a stressed individual immediately and
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unconsciously. Then it is internalized through that individual’s emotional markers. The
environment shapes these emotional markers, via our personal perceptions that are based on our
experiences, cultural values, and belief systems. This is why stressors and there intensities vary
from person to person. Once the stressor has been evaluated, the individual will contemplate a
plan for action which will either be fight off the stressor or flee, which is again based on personal
experience, beliefs, attitudes, personality, and self-concept. This is why certain personality types
are more vulnerable to the effects of chronic stress then others.
Types of Stress - Eustress
Stress varies on a spectrum that ranges from positive to negative. Eustress is the positive
stress we experience that motivates us to achieve our goals. This stress is based on emotions that
activate a drive or need to correct an imbalance, bringing our bodies back to homeostasis. It is
short term and experienced daily. For example, a student could be motivated to accomplish their
goals of graduating with a degree to fulfill their need of security; when they graduate, they will
likely improve their career prospects which could result in higher income. Within the
organizational setting, this stress is favorable and seen as a competitive advantage. It nurtures a
workforce that is collectively motivated, eager, and geared toward accomplishing organizational
goals. It can also have a positive effect on relationships prudent to organizational success that
include those between employees, management, customers, suppliers, and shareholders. This
connection between employee job satisfaction and company success has been researched heavily.
In a study it was concluded that "satisfied employees play a critical role in organization success
and that job satisfaction is strongly correlated with relationships with coworkers" (Lorber, M., &
Savič, B. S. 2012. Pg 263). As such, job satisfaction is a necessity that nurtures open
communication, profit, and organizational synergy and efficiency.
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Types of Stress - Distress
The negative aspect of stress, known as chronic stress or distress, can have crippling
consequences for organizations. Distress is the prolonged exposure to stressors which results in
abnormal bodily functioning, which is why it is often referred to as “the silent killer” by many
physicians. This stress affects its victim physiologically, psychologically, and behaviorally in
multiple ways. Such stress has been linked to many life threatening conditions, such as cancer,
high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes, and addictions as noted by many physicians. In an
organizational setting, this stress increases employee absenteeism, turnover, and inefficiency. In
addition, it may be responsible for increased litigation costs, training costs, and a demotivated
workforce. Reasoning behind this crippling effect of Distress is it works in much the same as the
domino effect. When one person experiences this stress, they bring others down with them, until
the organization as a whole is affected. Its triggers include psychological harassment, sexual
harassment, work overload, and low task control. These triggers where mentioned briefly in our
organizational behavior textbook. However, it did not discuss some important challenges facing
the Canadian workforce today.
Distress Triggers – Psychological Harassment
Psychological harassment, as defined in our Organizational behavior text, is the repeated
and hostile or unwanted conduct, verbal comments, actions, or gestures that affect an employee’s
dignity or psychological or physical integrity and that result in a harmful work environment for
the employee. The harassments can take the form of bullying by way of gender differences,
stereotyping, racism, or bullying for bullying sake. With that being said, there is a substantial
amount of research that indicates a high correlation between job dissatisfaction and affiliation
with one or more of the four recognized groups within Canada: persons with disabilities, women,
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visible minorities, and Aboriginal persons. This stress affects the victim’s self-concept, job
satisfaction, family life, and self-esteem. In addition to the victim, work teams, organizations,
communities and the economy are negatively impacted. Gender inequality, which is best
described as unequal pay for the same amount of work, has emerged as a big problem for single
mother families, and the economy as a whole by way of widening the gap between the rich and
poor. Single mothers, who support their children on their own, are having to work twice as hard
and as a result, are having to leave their children in another’s care to make ends meet. In
addition, women are often faced with the glass ceiling effect or the sticky floor effect. The glass
ceiling effect refers to women’s inability to climb the corporate/managerial ladder due to
stereotypes based on gender (De Alwis, A. C. 2013). The sticky floor effect is defined as
women’s inability to advance in their careers, again because of stereotypes. These women
affected stay in frontline positions with little or no promotions. Although there is research
indicating these effects are due to gender stereotypes, one must ask themselves about gender
differences, generally speaking. Women tend to be driven by pleasing those around them so they
may feel too uncomfortable asking for promotions or increases in pay. However, these effects do
exist and contribute to suppress women from being perceived as equals.
Distress Triggers - Discrimination
Discrimination, which is the unjust treatment towards others who are different from you,
can surface in many different ways that can attack an individual’s self-concept and self-worth. It
takes its toll on its victims physiologically, psychologically, and behaviorally. In addition, it
negatively effects organizations and economies. One can experience discrimination based on
age, gender, cultural background, ethnicity, family dynamics, or a quality about themselves that
sets them apart from the discriminator such as a disability. A common misconception of what
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constitutes discrimination is that it is upfront, obvious, and confrontational. However, this is not
always the case. Discrimination can be direct and obvious or indirect and subtle. For example, a
manager not promoting a well deserving employee for reasons pertaining to their ethnic
background constitutes discrimination under Employment law. Discrimination effects
organizations by way of lost opportunity costs, and productivity and litigation costs.
Management fails to utilize diverse opinions due to a flawed decision making process and, either
consciously or unconsciously, an incorrect implicit favorite. Oftentimes, when faced with a
decision, a discriminatory individual will hold a halo effect with people similar to them, even
though there is substantial evidence indicating the individual being discriminated against is a
better option.
Distress Triggers – Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment also contributes to work place stress and manifests in multiple ways:
employee turnover, increased litigation costs, decreased employee morale, and decreased profits.
Oftentimes this harassment includes harassment involving both sexes: men and women,
however, more prominently women. It is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that
detrimentally affects the work environment or leads to adverse job-related consequences for its
victims as defined in our Organizational behavior text. It affects the victims self-esteem, selfconcept, and contributes to chronic stress is not dealt with.
Distress Triggers – Work Overload
With globalization and technological advancements, people are working longer hours and
required to work more efficiently to stay competitive in today’s markets. However, this has taken
an adverse effect on employee productivity, and their decision making processes. Employees are
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stressed out due to work overload and running themselves into job burnout. This can increase
employee absenteeism, lower productivity, or even lead to suicide. In fact, students went through
job burnout years ago when they began committing suicide oftentimes during February, which is
why we now have reading week.
Distress Triggers – Low Task Control
Low-task control takes place when employees lack sufficient resources to perform a job
or goal. The stress of not knowing where to start takes over and further contributes to stress when
deadlines are missed. This inadequacy takes a toll of the employee’s self-esteem and self-worth
which negatively alters their attitude, which can then turn into learned helplessness. This takes
place when an individual is so convinced their circumstances cannot be changed, they give up
and learn to tolerate them, even though a way out seems so obvious to people looking in. With
the high demands we are faced with, we need adequate resources to complete the job efficiently
and effectively. With that being said, there are preventative measures and coping strategies
management can implement into their workplace practices to counter stress.
Preventative Action – Meditation
Meditation is the practice of stillness where one focuses their attention on their posture,
breathe, a mantra, or the physical sensations of their bodies, which leads them into a peaceful
state. There are many different types of meditations with different methods for obtaining inner
peace and relaxation. Through meditation, one becomes awareness of their emotions, thoughts,
feeling, and environment in that present moment. This helps one learn to understand and regulate
their emotions. There are numerous benefits of practicing daily mediation that include relaxation,
increased emotional intelligence, stress reduction, and improved sleeping patterns (Chu, L. 2010
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pg 177). Research has shown it helps improve concentration, information retention, decision
making, inner peace, and relationships with others by way of increasing the grey matter on ones
brain in only eight weeks (Holzel .et. al ph 59, 2008) In addition, it helps decrease chronic stress,
aids people with Attention Deficit Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, and helps
one cope with Anxiety. To reap the benefits of meditation, organizations can offer daily
meditation seminars to encourage employees to relax, which may help improve productivity
levels and job satisfaction.
Preventative Action – Training
Many organizations are now offering diversity training to counter the drawbacks that
come with employing a diverse workforce and globalization. With stiff competition,
organizations need to reach consumers from all ethnic backgrounds through creativity and
insight into their culture. To do this, organizations look to hire individuals from cultures
worldwide. With this benefit comes communication, both verbal and nonverbal, flaws. To
prepare their workforce, they must offer diversity training which demonstrates cultural
sensitively, provides awareness of cultural taboos, and opens communication lines between
employees and management. Honest evaluation of personal beliefs towards other cultures should
be required to complete this training. In addition, employees should be encouraged to work in
teams with multicultural team members to correct any held stereotypes. Along with this training,
employees should be made aware of the consequences, both personal and organizational wide, of
holding negative stereotypes. Policies, which include disciplinary actions for discrimination and
harassment and whistle blower protection, should be reviewed and given to each employee.
Whistle blower protection allows an employee to pass on concerns to management about any
issues that would ideally need to be corrected, while also insuring job security. For example, an
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innocent bystander witnesses his manager sexually harassing his coworker. The bystander can go
above his manager and complain, resulting in disciplinary action for his manager. His manager
would not be able to fire him or act in such a way that would cause job dissatisfaction for the
whistle blower. In addition, the policies will need to be enforced consistently.
Preventative Action – Work-Life Balance Culture
To ensure job satisfaction, employers should adopt a service style leadership, which
means, you're objective is to make work comfortable for your employees. Leaders actively listen
to employees concerns and allow employees to build work around their life. This can be done
through telecommuting, onsite day care facilities, employee benefits, and flexible working hours.
In addition, leaders should encourage all employees, even frontline staff, to voice their concerns
and have input in company decisions and objectives. This would include flattening the
organizational hierarchy by having top managers interacting with all staff. This leadership style
will increase employee’s affective commitment to the organization, give employees feelings of
ownership within the organization, increase productively, efficiency, creativity, and profits. It
will decrease employee turnover, and training costs.
Conclusion
There are many precautions that have been put in place, both legally and through public
policy, to protect our god given human rights. Legal statutes include The Charter of Human
Rights and Freedoms, the Employment Act, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, and
the Alberta’s Human Rights Act. In addition, the Canadian Criminal Code and Common Law
protect and serve Canadians. Through Employment law, precedence has been set that ensures
organizations uphold employee rights and freedoms. This shows employers have an obligation,
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through vicarious liability, to enforce their employees are working in safe conditions, free from
harassment and harm. Organizations can benefit by ensuring employees manage their stress
levels by providing options for stress reduction that employees can utilize. Workplace wellness
activities can provide outlets for stress and increase employee affective commitment and
satisfaction. By reducing distress, and increase Eustress, employees feel protected and respected
within the organizational setting. Happy employees have better opportunities for being
empowered and progressive in the workplace.
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Reference Page
De Alwis, A. C. (2013). Effects of Glass Ceiling on Women Career Development in Private
Sector Organizations - Case of Sri Lanka. Journal Of Competitiveness, 5(2), 3-19.
doi:10.7441/joc.2013.02.01
Chu, L. (2010). The benefits of meditation vis-à-vis emotional intelligence, perceived stress and
negative mental health. Stress & Health: Journal Of The International Society For The
Investigation Of Stress, 26(2), 169-180. doi:10.1002/smi.1289
. Hölzel, B. K., Ott, U., Gard, T., Hempel, H., Weygandt, M., Morgen, K., & Vaitl, D. (2008).
Investigation of mindfulness meditation practitioners with voxel-based morphometry. Social
Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience, 3(1), 55-61. doi:10.1093/scan/nsm038
Lorber, M., & Savič, B. S. (2012). Job satisfaction of nurses and identifying factors of job
satisfaction in Slovenian Hospitals. Croatian Medical Journal, 53(3), 263-270.
doi:10.3325/cmj.2012.53.263
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