Stress and Well-Being At Work Stress and Well-Being At Work Chapter 7 Organizational Behavior Nelson & Quick, 6th edition

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 - the adverse psychological, physical, behavioral, and organizational consequences that may arise as a result of stressful events Strain – distress 2

What is Homeostasis? Homeostasis – a steady state of bodily functioning and equilibrium Photos courtesy of Clips Online ©2008 Microsoft Corporation 2

4 Stress Approaches: Homeostatic/Medical Approach 4 Stress Approaches: Homeostatic/Medical Approach External environmental demand Homeostasis + = Flight STRESS Fight Photos courtesy of Clips Online ©2008 Microsoft Corporation 3

4 Stress Approaches: Cognitive Appraisal Approach 4 Stress Approaches: Cognitive Appraisal Approach Individuals differ in their appraisal of events & people What is stressful for one person is not for another Perception and cognitive appraisal determines what is stressful 4

4 Stress Approaches: Cognitive Appraisal Approach 4 Stress Approaches: Cognitive Appraisal Approach Coping with Stress Problem-focused coping emphasizes managing the stressor Emotion-focused coping emphasizes managing your response Photos courtesy of Clips Online ©2008 Microsoft Corporation 4

4 Stress Approaches: Person-Environment Fit Approach No undue stress Good person-environment fit: a person’s skills & abilities match a clearly defined, consistent set of role expectations Stress, strain, and depression occur when Role expectations are confusing and/or conflicting Person’s skills & abilities do not meet the demands of the social role 5

4 Stress Approaches: Psychoanalytic Approach 4 Stress Approaches: Psychoanalytic Approach Ego Ideal - the embodiment of a person’s perfect self Self-Image - how a person sees oneself, both positively & negatively = the difference between ego ideal and self-image STRESS ! ? Photos courtesy of Clips Online ©2008 Microsoft Corporation 6

The Stress Response Blood redirected from the skin & internal organs to brain and large muscles Increased alertness: improved vision, hearing, & other sensory responses Release of glucose & fatty acids for sustenance Depression of immune system, digestion, & similar restorative processes Sympathetic nervous system & the endocrine (hormone) system activated Release of chemical messengers, primarily adrenaline, into the bloodstream 7

Sources of Stress at Work 8

Stress Sources at Work Workaholism – an imbalanced preoccupation with work at the expense of home and personal life satisfaction 9

Stress Benefits and Costs 10

Yerkes-Dodson Law Performance arousal Stress level High Low Low Performance arousal High Low Low (distress) Optimum (eustress) High (distress) Stress level Boredom from understimulation Optimum stress load Conditions perceived as stressful Distress from overstimulation 11

Positive Stress Stress response itself is neutral Stress response itself is neutral Some stressful activities (aerobic exercise, etc.) can provide an energy boost to enhance a person’s ability to manage stressful demands or situations Photos courtesy of Clips Online ©2008 Microsoft Corporation 12

Negative Stress Negative stress results from Negative stress results from a prolonged activation of the stress response mismanagement of the energy induced by the response unique personal vulnerabilities Photos courtesy of Clips Online ©2008 Microsoft Corporation 12

Individual Distress Behavioral problems Medical illness Behavioral problems (substance abuse, violence, accidents) Medical illness (heart disease, strokes, headaches, backaches) Work-related psychological disorders (depression, burnout, psychosomatic disorders) 13

Organizational Distress Organizational Distress Participative Problems - a cost associated with absenteeism, tardiness, strikes & work stoppages, & turnover Performance Decrement - a cost resulting from poor quality or low quantity of production, grievances, & unscheduled machine downtime & repair Compensation Award - an organizational cost resulting from court awards for job distress 14

Dealing with Stress Achilles’ heel phenomenon – a person breaks down at his or her weakest point Heart Disease Headaches Backaches Depression Photos courtesy of Clips Online ©2008 Microsoft Corporation 15

Are There Gender-Related Stressors? Are There Gender-Related Stressors? Sexual harassment Early age fatal health problems Long term disabling health problems Violence Photos courtesy of Clips Online ©2008 Microsoft Corporation 16

Type A Behavior Patterns Type A Behavior Patterns - a complex of personality and behavior characteristics Competitiveness Time urgency Social status insecurity Aggression Hostility Quest for achievements Photos courtesy of Clips Online ©2008 Microsoft Corporation 17

Personality Hardiness Personality Hardiness - a personality resistant to distress & characterized by commitment (versus alienation) control (versus powerlessness) challenge (versus threat) Transformational Coping - a way of managing stressful events by changing them into subjectively less stressful events (versus regressive coping - passive avoidance of events by decreasing interaction with the environment) 18

Self-Reliance Self-Reliance - a healthy, secure, interdependent pattern of behavior related to how people form and maintain supportive attachments with others Counterdependence - an unhealthy, insecure pattern of behavior that leads to separation in relationships with other people Overdependence - an unhealthy, insecure pattern of behavior that leads to preoccupied attempts to achieve security through relationships 19

Preventative Stress Management Preventative Stress Management - an organizational philosophy that holds that people & organizations should take joint responsibility for promoting health and preventing distress & strain Photos courtesy of Clips Online ©2008 Microsoft Corporation 20

Stages in Preventative Stress Management Primary Prevention - designed to reduce, modify, or eliminate the demand or stressor causing stress Secondary Prevention - designed to alter or modify the individual’s or the organization’s response to a demand or stressor Tertiary Prevention - designed to heal individual or organizational symptoms of distress & strain 20

Preventative Stress Maintenance Organizational Context Preventive Medicine Context Organizational stressors Task demands Role demands • Physical demands Interpersonal demands Health risk factors Primary Prevention: stressor directed Stress responses Individual Organizational Asymptomatic disease Secondary Prevention: response directed Distress Individual problems Behavioral •Medical Psychological Organizational costs Direct • Indirect Symptomatic disease Tertiary Prevention: symptom directed SOURCE: Based on J. D. Quick, J. C. Quick, and D.L. Nelson. “The Theory of Preventive Stress Management in Organizations,” in C. L. Cooper, ed. Theories of Organizational Stress (Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. 1998), 246-268. 21

Organizational Stress Prevention Primary prevention Job redesign Goal setting Role negotiation Career management Secondary Prevention Team building Social support at work 22

Job Strain Model Unresolved Workload strain (ill health) Self- Unresolved strain (ill health) Workload Low High Self- determination Passive job High-strain job Low-strain job Low High Active job SOURCE: B. Gardell, “Efficiency and Health Hazards in Mechanized Work,” in J. C. Quick, R.S. Bhagat, J. E. Dalton, and J. D. Quick, eds., Work Stress: Health Care Systems in the Workplace. Copyright © 1987. Reproduced with permission of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., Westport, CT. 23

Social Support at Work & Home Organizational Supervisor Colleagues Subordinates Clients Family Spouse Children Parents In-laws Individual Church/ Synagogue/Mosque Minister/Rabbi/Priest Friends Support groups Professional Physicians Psychologists Counselors Lawyers Clubs Business Social Athletic SOURCE: From J. C. Quick J. D. Quick, D. L. Nelson and J. J. Hurrell, Jr., in Preventive Stress Management in Organizations, 1997, p. 198. Copyright© 1997 by The American Psychological Association. Reprinted with permission. 24

Individual Preventive Stress Management 25

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

Chapter 7: Reflect & Discuss Meet the Parents Video Clip What to Watch for and Ask Yourself Does Greg experience the stress response during this scene? What evidence appears in the scene? Does he experience distress or eustress? Why does Greg respond so harshly to the simple request to check his bag? Meet the Parents Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) hopes his weekend visit to his girlfriend Pam’s (Teri Polo) home will leave a positive impression on her parents. Unfortunately, Jack (Robert De Niro), Pam’s father, immediately dislikes him. Jack’s fondness does not improve after Greg accidentally breaks the urn holding Jack’s mother’s ashes. Other factors do not help the developing relationship: Greg is Jewish while Jack is a WASP ex-CIA psychological profiler. These factors blend well to cause the continuous development of stress and stress responses of all parties involved. The scene from Meet the Parents comes from the “Bomb’s the Word” segment in the last quarter of the film. Greg has boarded his flight to return home after his excruciating weekend visit with Pam’s family. By this time, he has experienced an almost endless stream of stressors: meeting Pam’s parents for the first time, taking a polygraph test administered by Jack, adjusting to Jinx the Himalayan cat’s odd behavior, and … The film continues to a predictable happy ending. What to Watch for and Ask Yourself Does Greg experience the stress response during this scene? What evidence appears in the scene? Does he experience distress or eustress? Why does Greg respond so harshly to the simple request to check his bag?