Chapter 8 Worker Stress and Negative Employee Attitudes and Behaviors.pptx

Presentation on Industrial Psychology discuss stress and negative emotions and its effect in the workplace.

1. Chapter # 10 Worker Stress Industrial/Organizational Psychology Psychology 301 Department of Psychology (Riggio, 2013)

2. Introduction Stressor an environmental event that is perceived by an individual to be threatening Worker Stress refers to the physiological and/or psychological reactions to events that are perceived to be threatening or taxing Physiological reactions to stress include signs of arousal such as increased heart and respiratory rates, elevated blood pressure, and profuse sweating. The psychological reactions to distress include feeling anxiety, fear, frustration, and despair, as well as appraising or evaluating the stressful event and its impact, thinking about the stressful experience, and mentally preparing to take steps to try to deal with the stress. Stress is a perceptual process. (Riggio, 2013)

3. Organizational Sources of Work Stress: Situational Stress Organizational stress may also be caused by work roles because work organizations are complex social systems in which a worker must interact with many people Stress can arise from either the environment (situational stress) or from an individual’s personal characteristics (dispositional stress). Situational Stressors: Organizational Sources of Stressors Work Task Stressor Work Role Stressor Dispositional Stressors: Individual Sources of Work Stress (Riggio, 2013)

4. Situational: Work Task Stressors Work overload, also known as role overload, which results when the job requires excessive work speed, output, or concentration Work overload can cause stress, but having too little to do—underutilization— can also be stressful (Riggio, 2013)

5. Situational: Work Role Stressors Job ambiguity, which occurs when aspects of a job, such as tasks and requirements, are not clearly outlined. When workers are unsure of their responsibilities and duties. Lack of Control: Workers sensing that they have little control over the work environment and over their own work behavior. Physical Work Conditions: Jobs that must be performed under extreme temperatures, loud and distracting noise, or poor lighting or ventilation can be quite stressful. Dangerous jobs that place workers at risk of loss of health, life, or limb are an additional source of work stress Interpersonal stress stems from difficulties in developing and maintaining relationships with other people in the work setting. (Riggio, 2013)

6. Situational: Work Role Stressors Harassment Organizational Change Work-Family Conflict - results from efforts to balance the often-competing demands of work roles and requirements and those of family and nonworking life. (Riggio, 2013)

7. Dispositional: Individual Sources of Work Stress Type A behavior pattern, or Type A personality, which is characterized by excessive drive and competitiveness, a sense of urgency and impatience, and underlying hostility It has been linked to greater incidence of coronary heart disease Susceptibility/Resistance to Stress Some persons are simply more susceptible to stress, whereas others have stress-resistant, hardy personalities. Self-efficacy is a very important concept that not only relates to one’s ability to cope with stressful situations (i.e., the possession of coping self-efficacy), but it is also an important factor relating to a worker’s ability to perform his or her job (job-related self-efficacy), to lead a work team (leadership self-efficacy), and to deal effectively with relationships at work (relationship self-efficacy). (Riggio, 2013)

8. Measurement of Worker Stress Physiological Measures Involves Measuring signs of physiological arousal and strain that accompany stress. This includes blood pressure monitoring, electrocardiogram (EKG) for monitoring heart rate, or blood tests for monitoring levels of certain hormones, such as the stress-linked hormone, cortisol, and cholesterol in the bloodstream. One problem with using such physiological indicators of stress is the amount of variation that can occur from hour to hour, day to day, or person to person (Riggio, 2013)

9. Measurement of Worker Stress Self-Report Assessments People directly to report on their own perceived stress through various rating scales. Most self-report assessments fall into one of two major categories: reports about organizational conditions or reports about psychological and/or physical states. Reports on organizational conditions typically contain items that ask about facets of the job such as autonomy, feedback, task identity, task significance, skill variety, complexity, dealing with others, ambiguity, and workload (Spector, 1992). For example, questions dealing with workload might include the following (Matteson & Ivancevich , 1987): Number of projects/assignments you have. Amount of time spent in meetings. Amount of time spent at work. Number of phone calls and visitors you have during the day. (Riggio, 2013)

10. Measurement of Worker Stress Measurement of Stressful Life Events This approach to measuring stress assumes that such events can bring on stress-related illness and may impair job performance Measurement of Perceived Person–Environment Fit (Using PPEFS) Person–environment (P–E) fit refers to the match between a worker’s abilities, needs, and values and organizational demands, rewards, and values. According to the P–E fit approach, a mismatch between the worker and the work organization/environment is believed to be a primary cause of worker stress. (Riggio, 2013)

11. Effects of Worker Stress Common stress related illnesses are ulcers, colitis, high blood pressure, heart disease, respiratory illnesses, and migraine headaches. Worsen common colds, flus, and infections, making recovery time longer. These illnesses cost billions of dollars annually in health care costs and in employee absenteeism and turnover High levels of stress are associated with depression, anxiety, and chronic fatigue. Stress may also contribute to alcoholism and drug abuse in workers and may influence accident rates on the job Emotional exhaustion, detachment from coworkers, negative self evaluations, and lowered self-esteem are also associated with worker stress (Riggio, 2013)

12. Is Stress ever Normal? (Riggio, 2013)

13. Job Burnout Employees exposed to such things as following may become victims of burnout Unresolved interpersonal conflicts Lack of clearly defined work tasks and responsibilities Extreme overwork Lack of appropriate rewards Presence of inappropriate punishment The process of withdrawal may include such reactions as increased tardiness and absenteeism and decreased work performance and work quality. Moreover, work-related burnout can spill over to an individual’s family life, as we saw with stress earlier. (Riggio, 2013)

14. Job Burnout Burnout usually occurs in three phases. The first phase is emotional exhaustion caused by excessive demands placed on the worker. The second phase is depersonalization , or the development of a cynical, insensitive attitude toward people (other workers or customers) in the work site. The third phase is marked by feelings of low personal accomplishment . Here the burned-out workers feel a sense of frustration and helplessness . They begin to believe that their work efforts fail to produce the desired results, and they may quit trying (Riggio, 2013)

15. Individual Strategies: Coping with Worker Stress Programs of Exercise Diet Systematic Relaxation Training Mediation Biofeedback Time Management Work Planning Cognitive Coping Strategies (Riggio, 2013)

16. Individual Strategies: Coping with Worker Stress Individuals may also try to cope with stress by removing themselves, temporarily or permanently, from the stressful work situation Research indicates that although vacations do indeed reduce work stress and feelings of burnout, the effects are temporary It is interesting to note that workers might use absence from work—voluntarily taking a day off—as a coping strategy (Riggio, 2013)

17. Organizational Strategies: Coping with Worker Stress Improve the person–job fit Improve employee training and orientation programs Increase employees’ sense of control Eliminate punitive management Remove hazardous or dangerous work conditions Provide a supportive, team-oriented work environment Improve communication (Riggio, 2013)

18. Organizational Strategy: Problem Solving Training Example (Riggio, 2013)

19. Counterproductive work behaviors , which can result from stress, frustration, or feelings of inequity or can be due to personality differences, are destructive behaviors designed to harm employers or fellow employees. An important concern of management is reducing counterproductive work behaviors and dealing with alcohol and drug use in the workplace. One strategy is to offer employee assistance programs to help workers deal with alcohol and drug problems as well as personal issues and workplace stress. (Riggio, 2013)

20. Reference Riggio , Ronald E.. (2013). Introduction to industrial/organizational psychology, 6th ed. (6th). New Jersey (Riggio, 2013)