1. Chapter 7
Workplace Stress

2. Knowledge Objectives
Define stress and distinguish among different types of stress.
Understand how the human body reacts to stress, especially the signs of suffering from too much stress.
Describe the demand-control model of workplace stress and discuss the most common workplace stressors.
Recognize how people experience and manage stress.

3. Knowledge Objectives
Explain the individual and organizational consequences of stress.
Discuss methods that associates and organizations can use to manage stress.
Understand the impact of effective stress prevention and management on organizational performance.

4. Workplace Stress Defined
A feeling of tension that occurs when a person assesses that a given situation is about to exceed his or her ability to cope and consequently will endanger his or her well-being.
Job stress
The feeling that one’s capabilities, resources, or needs do not match the demands of the job.

5. Important Considerations: Stress
The level of stress experienced depends on individual reactions to a situation
The source of stress, or stressor, can be either real or imagined.

6. Source and Persistence of Stress
Source of Stress Definition
Emotional stress Stress that results when people consider situations difficult or impossible to deal with.
Physiological stress The body’s reaction to certain physical stressors.
Persistence of Stress Definition
Acute stress A short-term stress reaction to an immediate threat.
Chronic stress A long-term stress reaction resulting from ongoing situations

7. Stress Model Stress response Stressor Body’s energy supply
Restores balance
Creates imbalance
Body’s energy supply

8. Stress-Related Conditions
Some Stress-Related Conditions
Exhibit 7-1
Conditions that can result from acute stress
Feelings of uneasiness and worry
Feelings of sadness
Loss of appetite
Alertness and excitement
Increase in energy
Short-term suppression of the immune system
Increased metabolism and burning of body fat
Adapted from Exhibit 7-1: Some Stress-Related Conditions

9. Stress-Related Conditions
Exhibit 7-1
Some Stress-Related Conditions
Conditions that can result from chronic stress
Anxiety and panic attacks
Depression
Long-term disturbances in eating (anorexia or overeating)
Irritability
Lowered resistance to infection and disease
Diabetes
High blood pressure
Loss of sex drive
Adapted from Exhibit 7-1: Some Stress-Related Conditions

10. Stress Levels Eustress Dystress Positive stress
Meeting challenges and difficulties
Expectation of achievement
Energizing and motivating
Dystress
Negative stress
Physiological and psychological problems
Feel irritable
Sleeping difficulties
No joy out of life
Appetite is disturbed
Relationship problems

11. Demand-Control Model of Workplace Stress
Low Strain
Active
(EUSTRESS)
Job Control
High
Low
Passive
High Strain
(DYSTRESS/STRESS)
Job Demands
High
Low
Adapted from Exhibit 7-2: The Demand-Control Model of Workplace Stress

12. Yes! The “most stressful” life event is:
Yes! The “least stressful” life event is:
Life Event Stressors
Which of the following “Life Events” is the top-ranked stress event (most stressful)?
Which is the least stressful event?
Fired from job or laid off
Change in financial state
Jail term
Death of a spouse or life partner
Pregnancy
Sex difficulties
Change in church activities
Minor violations of the law
Change in recreation
Taking on a small mortgage or debt
Change in living conditions
Trouble with your boss
Change in residence
Personal injury or illness
Major business readjustment
Child leaving home

13. Organizational and Work-Related Stressors
Environmental conditions that cause individuals to experience stress
Occupation
Work overload
Role conflict
Role ambiguity
Resource inadequacy
Working conditions
Management style
Monitoring
Job insecurity

14. The Art of Compassionate Management
Read your own and others’ emotional cues and understand the impact such cues have on others
Keep people connected
Empathize with those who are in pain
Act to alleviate the suffering of others
Mobilize people to deal with their pain
Create an environment where compassionate behavior toward others is encouraged and rewarded

15. Individual Influences on Experiencing Stress
Type A vs. Type B Personality
Type A
Competitiveness
Aggressiveness
Impatience
Increase their own volume of work overload
Self-esteem
People with high self-esteem
Experience greater well-being
More resistant to the effects of stressors
More likely to engage in active coping behaviors when stressed

16. Individual Influences on Experiencing Stress
Hardiness
Persons high in hardiness tend to
Have strong internal commitment to their activities
Have an internal locus of control
Seek challenge in everyday life
Experience less sever negative stress reactions
Gender
Women are generally
Lower-paid
More likely to experience discrimination, stereotyping and work-family conflict
More likely to work in stressful service industries
Experience more work-related stress than men

17. Individual Consequences of Stress
Psychological
Physiological
Anxiety
Depression
Low self-esteem
Sleeplessness
Frustration
Family problems
Burnout
High blood pressure
Muscle tension
Headaches
Ulcers skin diseases
Impaired immune systems
Musculoskeletal disorders
Heart disease
Cancer
Behavioral
Excessive smoking
Substance abuse
Accident proneness
Appetite disorders
Violence

18. Organizational Consequences of Stress
Managerial Costs of Job Stress
Exhibit 7-3
Job stress has been estimated to cost American industry $150 billion per year due to:
Absenteeism
Diminished productivity
Compensation claims
Health insurance
Direct medical expenses
To put this figure into perspective, consider the following:
This is 15 times the cost of all strikes combined
The U.S. gross domestic product (the market value of the nation’s goods and services) was approximately $10,794 billion in 2003
Total U.S. corporate profits after taxes was $452.9 billion in 2002
500 million workdays are lost each year due to illness and disability
93 million workdays are lost due to associates’ back problems
23 million workdays are lost due to associates’ cardiovascular problems
Adapted from Exhibit 7-3: Managerial Costs of Job Stress

19. Individual Stress Management
What You Can Do to Manage Stress
Exhibit 7-4
Exercise regularly. Twenty to 30 minutes of exercise per day benefits you physically and mentally.
Practice healthy habits. Get enough sleep. Eat a healthy diet. Avoid tobacco, caffeine, alcohol, and other drugs.
Be realistic. Understand your limits and be willing to say “no!”
Use systematic relaxation. Meditate. Engage in breathing exercises. Sit quietly and think of only pleasant things. Ten to 20 minutes of reflection can raise your resistance to chronic stress.
Develop and use planning skills. Planning can help you avoid stressors and figure out ways to cope with those you do encounter.
Simplify your life. Delegate. Get organized. Drop unnecessary and unpleasant activities.
Take one thing at a time. Avoid unnecessary overload. Don’t take work problems home. Don’t take home problems to work.
Adapted from Exhibit 7-4: What You Can Do to Manage Stress

20. Individual Stress Management
Exhibit 7-4
What You Can Do to Manage Stress
Avoid unnecessary competition. No one is always the best. Give in occasionally.
Recognize and accept personal limits. Drop the urge to be “superman” or “superwoman.” No one is perfect.
Develop social support networks. Research consistently shows that social support helps mitigate the effects of stress. Don’t try to cope alone.
Focus on enjoying what you do. Laugh!
Go easy with criticism. Go easy on yourself and others. Look for the positive. Research from the Mayo Clinic suggests that people with a positive outlook on life are healthier and live longer than those with a negative outlook.
Take time off. Go on vacation. Spend time everyday doing something you enjoy.
Adapted from Exhibit 7-4: What You Can Do to Manage Stress

21. Organizational Stress Management
What Organizations Can Do to Manage Stress
Increase associates’ autonomy and control. According to the demand-control model, increased control should help associates cope with increased demands.
Ensure that associates have adequate skills to keep up-to-date with technical changes in the workplace.
Increase associate involvement in decision making. This is also a critical feature of the high-involvement workplace.
Increase the levels of social support available to associates. Encourage compassionate management, as discussed in the earlier Managerial Advice feature. Provide opportunities for social interaction among associates.
Improve physical working conditions. For example, use ergonomically sound equipment and tools.
Provide for job security and career development. Provide educational opportunities so that associates can continue to improve their skill sets. Use job redesign and job rotation to expand associates’ skill sets.

22. Organizational Stress Management
What Organizations Can Do to Manage Stress
Design jobs so that they are meaningful and stimulating.
Provide healthy work schedules. Avoid constant shifting of schedules. Allow for flex-time or other alternative work schedules.
Maintain job demands at healthy levels. For example, reduce overtime, reduce caseloads, and introduce changes carefully.
Improve communication to help avoid uncertainty and ambiguity.
Develop an occupational stress committee to assess the sources of stress facing associates.
Adapted from Exhibit 7-4: What You Can Do to Manage Stress