...STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE: CAUSES, EFFECTS AND HOW WE COPE Introduction In a world of constant technological and industrial advancement on a daily basis it seems, one would expect that our lives should be easier than say 30, 40, or 50 years ago. Internet access, computer and other advancements have certainly made our lives easier in some ways, but one thing that hasn’t happened is a decrease in stress. It seems the more we have the more we want, and the more we do not achieve what we want, the more stressed we become, in our personal and professional lives. Employers have always been faced with the challenge of finding the perfect employees, just as individuals are searching for the perfect place of employment. Part of this is not only the potential candidate’s personality, and how they will handle a particular job and its responsibilities; but part of the challenge is provide incentives and benefits that will entice the perfect employees. Stress can be a major factor in any job situation and not only is it an issue of how an individual handles stress, but also how an employer combats stress in the workplace through different protocols or benefits provided to the employees. The focus of this paper will be stress in our workplace environments. Causes There are many causes of stresses (or stressors) in the workplace, no matter what trade, industry or profession one considers. The stressors however will be specific to the job. There can...
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...Stress and the Work Environment When it comes to stress, women today are juggling more obligations than in the past and feeling the strain. Job pressure, heavy workloads, time management, and other work issues can cause negative responses both physically and emotionally. Defining the word stress is the beginning of understanding and believing there is a problem. Once it is understood, changes can be made to lessen stress and allow the female employee the tools to be successful in the working environment. The definition of stress according to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary is: d : a state resulting from a stress; especially : one of bodily or mental tension resulting from factors that tend to alter an existent equilibrium <job-related stress> According to Rabin (2010), women who are stressed at work, have a 40 percent increase in cardiovascular disease over all, and an 88 percent increase in risk for heart attacks alone. There is a clear need for stress management and employers to understand in this case there is no equality between the sexes. Stress at work is becoming serious, Tyson (2006), it is estimated that each year 9.1 million workdays are lost due to stress. There is growing evidence that not only can stress cause cardiovascular disease, it can cause anxiety disorder, social isolation, and burn out among other issues. According to the website National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, (NIOSH): Gender-specific work stress factors...
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...Stress Management in the Workplace What I Learned about Stress Management and How to Manage the Stress in the Workplace Jonathon Redone MGT 301 – CL01 Theodore Finney April 24, 2010 It is three o’clock on a Friday, and it will be three-day weekend and you plan on going to a vacation resort with your family when your supervisor comes into your office and tells you that they have an emergency project and that you and your team need to come in over the weekend and work on this project that is due first thing when the weekend is over. As the supervisor, it is your job to take that news to your team and tell them that information. Obviously this will cause stress on you, your family, and team. It will cause stress on your family because this was a planned tripped and they were looking forward to going on the trip. It will cause stress on your team because this is a last minute notice and your team may have plans for the three-day weekend. It will cause stress for you because you have to tell the bad news to your family and your team. Hopefully that stress will not over take you and cause any hardship on your physical and mental being. People spend a lot of time at work, whether it is to do the normal day-to-day work, overtime, or just spending some extra time just to catch up. The time that is spent at work is not normally care-free or easy, but can cause some work anxiety which in turn can cause stress. Stress can be mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting...
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...Stress Management in the Workplace The Stress Management in the Workplace training program delivers trademarked stress management tools that are unmatched in the measured results they will produce for you and your organization. Stress management in the workplace requires more than helpful tips. Changing economic times have us pulled in multiple directions. The pressures and demands between work and personal life are blurred. As a result, the consequences of stress in the workplace come from what is happening to each of us both on and off the job. Through highly interactive learning, participants apply these stress management training tools to getting more of what's important to them done in less time. Organizational skills are improved so that less things "fall through the cracks." A realistic and positive Big Picture view is instilled that helps keep all stresses in perspective. Specific practical tools are learned that produce immediate results. Applications have a positive impact on stress levels both on and off the job. In many countries, employers have a legal responsibility to recognise and deal with stress in the workplace so that employees do not become physically or mentally ill. It is important to tackle the causes of stress in the workplace as stress at work can lead to problems for the individual, working relationships and the overall working environment. These issues may include lowered self-esteem and poor concentration skills for the employee. The employer...
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...Outline and Evaluate the relationship between the workplace and stress Many people believe work affects their health. Defining what is stressful in the workplace is not easy, because individuals react quite differently to the same situation. However, some common factors have been found in many workers that cause them stress and in some cases lead to illness. These include the level of control they have (low control = stress), the amount of workload they have (high workload = stress) and role conflict (getting the work life balance right). The job-strain model of workplace stress suggests that the workplace creates stress and illness in two ways, through high workload (putting pressure on people to work harder) and low job control (e.g. over deadlines and procedures). Marmot tested this model by studying 7372 civil servants. They were asked to fill in a questionnaire on workload, job control and how much social support they received. They were also checked for signs of cardiovascular disease (e.g. chest pains). Five years later they were then re-assessed to see if those who reported difficulties also had more severe heart disease. They found that for workload and stress there was no link. However, for job control and social support there was a link. The lowest grade civil servants had both low job control and poor social support and had the highest level of cardiovascular problems. In contrast the higher-grade civil servants expressed a high level of job control and...
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...Workplace Stress Stress is a factor in everyone’s life mainly during difficult times such as divorce, marriage, and even when buying a house, but the most stress seems to be related to the workplace. Employees deal with firings, change in financial status, and problems with the boss, altered responsibilities, variations in work hours, business readjustments, retirement and vacations. Stress interferes with your productivity and can reduce your physical and emotional health and affects everyone differently. Stress is a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. The body’s defenses kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the “fight-or-flight” reaction, or the stress response. The stress response is the body’s way of protecting you. When it is working properly, it helps you stay focused, alert, and energetic. In certain emergency situations, stress can save your life. It goes extra strength to defend you. Stress response also helps you meet challenges. Managers should be educated and aware of the many symptoms of stress because if they go unnoticed and unattended they can lead to bigger problems. People feel overwhelmed and several signs and symptoms can occur such as: • Feeling anxious, irritable, or depressed • Apathy, loss of interest in work. • Problems sleeping • Fatigue, • Trouble concentrating • Muscle tension or headaches • Stomach problems • Social withdrawal • Loss of...
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...be productive in the workforce in a high performance workplace. What increase the organizational structure within the workforce is the positive atmosphere, training, and development, benefit, competitive wages, two way communication, team effort, and good leadership. A team can help a high performance workplace resolve work-related problems so that there is progress and an increase in production, (Hunt, Osborn, Schermerhorn, 2003). A successful team in high performance workplace organization must feel motivated, feel collectively accountable, and have strong core values in order to meet their high performance objective, (Hunt, Osborn, Schermerhorn, 2003). The characteristic of a high performance workplace and organization is to embrace new innovations and change so that the financial results were increased. Organizations and workplaces need teams like self-managed teams, virtual teams, cross-functional teams, and problem solving teams to be successful, (Hunt, Osborn, Schermerhorn, 2003). Without it there wouldn’t be good performance, decrease in productivity, and no teamwork. In a high performance work places differ from traditional organizations effectiveness because of the key requirements. A traditional organization management are concerned if their employees can perform their jobs to the company standards. In a high performance workplace they have a motivated strategy. The high performance workplace motivated strategy consist of defining business goals...
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...The Impact of Stress on Jobs and the Workplace Prepared for: Mr. Glenn Pace Webster University Truman Education Center ------------------------------------------------- Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri ------------------------------------------------- Prepared By: Mrs. Betty Downing 5 March 2012 Introduction: There is an overwhelming concern in today’s society about stress on the job and in the workplace and how that will carry over to a person’s home life. Stress has taken an immense toll on the physical and emotional health of individuals, as well as the bottom lines of organizations (Greenhaus, Callanan, Godshalk, 2010). Stress can be the number one problem for working individuals, many of whom are trying to juggle everything at one time such as home, caring for children or aging family members, and work. The human brain has an inherit response for perceived attacks, harm or threats to ourselves that is known as the “fight or flight” response. With constant stress situations at work an individual will make a decision to either fight or flee the environment. There is no getting around it stress is going to be in the workplace but the issue is determining if the stressor is a positive or negative factor for employees is the matter to be dealt with. Afterwards people need to learn how to manage the stress therefore maximizing their job performance while also being able to preserve both their mental and physical health. What organizations need to start...
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...Motivation, Stress & Communication Leadership & Organizational Behavior Browder CoateS August 12, 2012 To find the right job for you, you'll need to figure out what type of person you are, and what your interests are. For many jobs available, you will need the proper training or education. However, a lot of jobs do offer on the job training, which would enable you to apply for that particular field. Try to match your personality, interests, knowledge, and age, with a position suitable for you. Where you work can be just as important as what you’ll do there, in terms of determining whether a job is right for you. The Company that I would choose to work for is Redstone Arsenal, which is a United States Army base. Originally a chemical weapons manufacturing facility for World War II, the Arsenal became the focal point of the Army’s rocket and space projects, including development of the first U.S. ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles in 1950s. Huntsville Arsenal was established in 1941 to create a second chemical weapons plant in addition to the one in Edgewood, Maryland. The military installation was originally composed of three separate entities: The Huntsville Arsenal and the Huntsville Depot, which were operated under the auspices of the Chemical Warfare Service, and the Redstone Ordnance Plant, operated by the Army Ordnance Department. The name Redstone drew on region’s red rocks and soil. The ordnance plant was renamed Redstone Arsenal in 1943...
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...politics among our organizations. Work stressors will be addressed as well as a list of strategies for managing stress within an organization. Lastly, we will evaluate the business and ethical considerations of operating organizations on a global scale. We define stress as a state of tension experienced by individuals facing extraordinary demands, constraints, or opportunities (). We encounter stress in our everyday life. While some stress is a normal part of life, extreme stress can interfere with productivity and reduce physical and emotional health in a person. “Layoffs” and “Budget cuts”, have become dreaded words in organizations and people fear the uncertainty of job security. Because of these worries employees will push themselves to the extreme to avoid losing their jobs. Some organizations know that their employees will do whatever it takes to keep their jobs and use that to their advantage. Common causes of work place stress * Fear of layoffs * Staff cut backs * Increased demand of overtime * rising expectations but with no increase in pay * unreasonable demands * workplace bullying * Not caring or realizing that when their employees feel overwhelmed they lose confidence and become less productive in their job performance. Some signs of work place stress are * Anxiety * Indecisiveness * Irritability * Loss of interest in work * Forgetfulness...
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...TERM PAPER MPOB L LOVELY INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT topic:- stress management SUBMITTED TO:- Ms. MANBIR KAUR GILL SUBMITTED BY:- NAME:- PRASHANT KUMAR ROLL NO:- RT1901 “A19” SUB:- MPOB REG NO:- 10900829 PROG :- MBA (1ST) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT | I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude towards all those people who have helped me in the successful completion of this term paper, directly or indirectly. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude towards Ms. Manbir kaur gill (my term paper guide) for her guidance and help which she willingly provided at every step of my term paper. PRASHANT KUMAR M.B.A 1st SEMESTER TABLE OF CONTENT INTRODUCTION 1 ORGANIZATION SIGNIFYING 4 LITERATURE REVIEW 5 RESEARCH METHODOLGY * SECONDARY DATA 8 DATA ANALYSIS ...
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...Stress Management Essay Abstract This paper will consider some company-sponsored stress management programs. It will provide a list of the most commonly implemented programs and discuss them in order from most beneficial to least beneficial. I will provide the reasoning for the order that I chose in each paragraph. Stress Management While stress can be a great motivator, it is not so great for your health. One of the leading sources of stress is the workplace. Workplace stress is not so great for a company’s bottom line, which results in absenteeism, lowered productivity, turnover and health claims. According to Safani’s article, In order to combat the costs associated with these issues, many employers have implemented one or more of the following strategies. This list includes the percentage of companies that are using these strategies. * Work/life balance support programs (46%) * Leadership training on worker stress (45%) * Online healthy lifestyle programs (45%) * Onsite fitness centers (43%) * Physical activity programs (38%) * Stress awareness campaigns (35%) * Financial management classes (30%) * Personal health/lifestyle management coaching (29%) From this list, the most beneficial strategies are Stress awareness campaigns and Leadership training on worker stress. A company first needs to build a general awareness about job stress, such as the causes, costs, and how to control job stress. Afterwards, it is necessary to...
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...A STUDY ON WORK STRESS OF WOMEN ABSTRACT Women place a important part in the society, in the modern world women are entrusted with dual roles. These dual roles have caused stress in the working women which in turn leads to many physical and psychological problems. The study focus on identifying the work related stress the women are facing and to identify the area and factors which contribute to the stress at working place. The research also attempts to find out the variables which are related to the work stress. This study assesses and will certainly try to find the factors that directly or indirectly affect the work stress of the employee. It also tries to find the extent of relationship between the various socio-demographic variables and work stress like work load, work environment, management support, salary and allowance, welfare activities. INTRODUCTION Stress is the general term applied to the pressures people feel in life. The presence of stress at work is almost inevitable in many jobs. However, individual differences accounts for a wide range of reactions to stress; a task viewed as challenging by one person may produce high levels of anxiety in another. When pressure begins to build up, it can cause adverse strain on a person’s emotions, through, processes and physical conditions. When stress becomes excessive employees develop various symptoms of stress that can harm their job performance and health, and even threaten their ability to cope with the environment...
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...Behavior Jodi Feikema 27 April 2016 Stress by book definition is defined to be a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life, work, etc: something that causes strong feelings of worry or anxiety: physical force or pressure. (Merriam-Webster, 2016) According to McGrath stress is an imprecise term that usually defined in terms of the internal and external conditions that create stressful situations, and the symptoms that people experience when they are stressed. “So there is a potential for stress when an environmental situation is perceived as presenting a demand that threatens to exceed the person’s capabilities and resources for meeting it, under conditions when he expects a substantial differential in the rewards and costs from meeting the demand versus not meeting it.” (McGrath, 1976) His definition implies that the degree of stress is correlated with a person’s perceived inability to deal with an environmental demand. Stress is correlated with a person’s fear in failure. (McGrath 1976) Stress can effect just about anyone in many different ways, there can be allot of stress that is associated with organizational behavior, different people deal or cope with their stress in different ways during work which can determine how that person produces throughout the day. Stress in the work place is very common among people who work for a living; powerlessness is a universal cause of job stress. When a person feels powerless they start to feel helplessness...
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...felt the pressure of work-related stress. Any job can have stressful elements, even if you love what you do. In the short-term, you may experience pressure to meet a deadline or to fulfill a challenging obligation. But when work stress becomes chronic, it can be overwhelming — and harmful to both physical and emotional health. Job stress comes in different forms and affects human mind and body in different ways. Small things can make feeling stressed, such as a copy machine that never seems to work when anyone need it or phones that won't quit ringing. Major stress comes from having too much or not enough work or doing work that doesn't satisfy him. Conflicts with boss, coworkers, or customers are other major causes of job stress. It's normal to have some stress. Stress releases hormones that speed up human heart, making breathe faster, and giving a burst of energy. Stress can be useful when anyone need to focus on or finish a big project. But too much stress or being under stress for too long isn't good for health. Constant stress can make anyone likely to get sick more often. It can make chronic pain worse and can also lead to long-term health problems such as heart diseases, back problems, and depression. Looking for these signs of job stress: * Headaches * Trouble sleeping * Problems concentrating * Short temper * Upset stomach * Job dissatisfaction and low morale Definition of Job Stress Job stress is stress involving work. According to the...
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