“What is stress at work? Set out the main causes of stress at work and explores some strategies for reducing the impact of stress on individuals and organizations. Give examples to support your points”.

In modern society, both in and outside work, some struggle under the strong influences and expectations we meet on a daily basis while also setting requirements and expectations for ourselves most wish to live up to.
Private matters can influence the situation in the workplace. Conditions and events in the home, obligations to children and old parents, may require time and attention also during working hours, and in some situations so much so that it can go beyond the job and ones capability. This can amplify stress experienced on workplace.

According to MHF(Mental Health Foundation) «calls for more help in managing stress as;
1. 59% of British adults say their life is more stressful than it was five years ago
2. Money and work top survey results as main causes of stress in Britain
3. People three times more likely to drink alcohol to help deal with stress than would go to a GP.
Results from a recent Mental Health Foundation survey indicate stress is becoming increasingly common in these difficult economic times; a fact also highlighted by the recent NHS Information Centre survey revealing that hospital admissions for stress have risen by seven per cent in just 12 months.» (Mentalhealth.org.uk, 2014)

An understanding of the concept of stress has evolved from many researchers perspectives, and it may be difficult to agree on one definition of the term. Most stress researchers agree, however, that stress is composed of three different components: Stimulus , which represents operating conditions which may cause stress, also called stressor, Response, which is how the individual reacts to stress (stress reactions) , and process between stimuli and responses according to Le Blanc de Jonge & Schaufeli , 2000(Anon, 2014). Cartwright and Cooper (1997 ) has defined stress as a force that destroys mental or physical stability and creates reactions in the form of bodily wear or mental stress and strain(Cartwright and L. Cooper, 2014)

Emotions in the workplace
Organizational Psychologists point out that the everyday working life is full of emotional elements that can have both a positive and negative outcome on job satisfaction and productivity.
In addition to job performance and job satisfaction there has also been a growing interest for such as prosocial behavior, in terms of companies helping their employees. Great interest is also tied to conditions that promote binding commitment to the organization. This proves for example when one is willing to work for the company beyond what is required in the given work instructions, for example in the form of overtime, during weekends, spreading a good reputation of the company etc. (M. Ashkanasy, E. J. Härtel and Zerbe, 2014)

What is stress?
The word stress comes from the Latin word " Stringere " which means to tighten(Kaufmann & Kaufmann, 1996)
Odd Hellesøy (Norwegian Stress Researcher ) emphasizes the cognitive element that conveys the relationship between external pressures and stress experiences.
Then stress will primarily become an imbalance in the interaction between individuals and the environment.

What is work-related stress?
Work-related stress is not caused by individuals, but due to rather problems at the organizational level such as poorly designed tasks and poor organization, facilitation, and leadership. Employees may experience stress when stricter requirements occurs than they can handle. Those who experience stress for long periods in the workplace can develop serious physical and mental health problems (Ccohs.ca, 2012).

Working conditions that can give rise to work-related stress includes:
- working over time
- excessive workload or too short deadlines
- conflicting demands
- lack of clarity in regard to the employee's role
- ineffective communication
- organizational changes are handled in a poor manor

Work-related stress can also occur as a result of an unhealthy social context, for example in situations of:
- lack of support from management or colleagues
- poor interpersonal relationships
- bullying
- violence, threats, and aggression
- difficulty of reconciling work and family commitments

Positive and negative stress
McGrath and Lazarus defines stress as the experience of opportunities or threats that individuals perceive as important and as it experiences not to be able to handle as desired.
The experience of opportunity is a positive form of stress that can sharpen attention, motivation, and performance.(Dewe, O’Driscoll and Cooper, 2012). Threats or negative stress, we experience when our efforts and challenges exceed a certain threshold and leads to impaired coping skills.

One can also summarize the most important knowledge we have about stress as a concept and phenomenon as the following (Ccohs.ca, 2012)
- Stress can be positive ( opportunity ) or negative ( requirements, limitations)
- Stress is the result of the interaction between individual and environment ( transaction). In the environment is potential stressors, as an experienced as requirements or opportunities.
- People have different reactions due to different needs and values
- Stressors can be physical, social and organizational nature
- Stress builds up over time, in different situations and different arenas
- People will seek to avoid, adapt or benefit of stress

Different reactions to stress
The physiological reactions to stress are complex and constantly under investigation, such as "fight and flight" mechanism described by Hans Seyle(Seay, 2013). Behavioral reactions prove partly because employees perform less, make more mistakes, increased sick leave, withdraws from people, etc. Psychological reactions have both an emotional and cognitive side. Emotional reactions can be discontent, anxiety and irritability. Cognitive function outcomes under stress will be impaired attention span, difficulty concentrating and less memory capacity.
The term «burnout» is often used in a context where an individual struggles with physical, mental and emotional exhaustion that can be associated with the workplace. This means, for example, chronic fatigue, low energy and even disparaged. On an emotional level, a feeling of not being good enough or where one does not see one's value is common.(ReachOut.com, 2014). Depersonalization of colleagues can also occur. One can then experience greater emotional distance and emotional blockage towards others.
Leaders who develop and struggle with burnout seems to be idealistic, devoted, energetic, purposeful and dynamic. Often they have a strong need for recognition, expect a lot of themselves and spend all their time at work at the expense of other activities. In the earliest stage of " burnout syndrome " that person will recognize themselves as tired, exhausted and physically indisposed. This in turn may lead to reduced efficiency, weakened initiative and less interest in the job or other aspects of life(Nhs.uk, 2014).

It is important to prevent work -related stress because the organizational and psychosocial work environment has great importance for the health and welfare. This can have consequences for both the organization and society as a unit.
Good prevention and management of work-related stress may, therefore both lead to the workers not getting sick as a result of work-related stress, which can lead to lower absenteeism and sickness presence.
Through creating a good working environment, companies can help employees stay healthy and productive. This will reduce or eliminate the absenteeism associated with work-related stress. 
Characteristics of an individual also have significance for the stress reactions that are triggered. A task may be perceived as a great burden for one individual while for another person the task can seem exciting and even as a stimulating challenge.
For the employee concerned, the consequences can include burnout and depression, difficulty concentrating, problems in private life, drug and alcohol abuse, physical health problems, particularly cardiovascular diseases and MSDs.
At an organizational level , the consequences may include a general weakening business results, increased absenteeism, " sickness presenteeism " (employees going to work even if they are sick and unable to function effectively ) and higher accident and injury figures.

Models of stress
Stress researcher Hans Selye differentiates between stress as an individual inner state ( breakdown in the organism responses) and stressors, which are the causative sources of stress. Stress he defines as a non-specific response to any load, positive and negative ( joy as sorrow)(Stress.org, 2014)
Seyle’s three phases of developing stress:
Alarming phase - Fires of mental and physical appearance. The body mobilizes its defenses (increased secretion of adrenaline, heart activity and sensitivity to sensory input)
Resistance phase - Enters if stressors persist. Here people will try to adapt the to the given stressful situation. One acclimatizes and symptoms disappear. Stress condition may still show through symptoms such as headache, muscle and stomach ailments.
Exhaustion phase - The individual's physical or mental defense collapses. In extreme psychological stress, there is a risk that the Psychological defense mechanisms breakdown over time.

Another stress model one can look at is Coopers six factors in the work environment which is particularly significant in regards to stress.
Factors which are embedded in the job itself can cause stress and concerns about matters that responsibility , status , working hours, the organization of the Factors which are embedded in the job itself can cause stress and concerns about matters that responsibility , status , working hours, actual performance of work , poor physical working conditions, time pressure etc.
What role and position one holds in the organization can be a source of stress for many
Career is a stressor in this model. Unrealised ambitions or an imposed career may, for many a stress factor. Lack of job security entails insecurity and can result in a stressful situation.
Social reactions and social support are for most a positive asset in the workplace. If the situation at work is characterized by poor relationship with management and colleagues, little social contact and many conflicts, it will result in a stressed an organization.
Organizational structure and climate are the penultimate stressors in this model. Low degree of job involvement and little participation in decisions can be caused of stress. For many, a lack of effective communication and consultations among employees lead to stressful conditions.
A healthy balance between one’s work, - and private life.

How we react to these conditions will, as previously mentioned, be dependent on the individual's physical and mental state and personality. Factors as motivation, attitude, and age will also play a role. It all revolves as an interplay between various factors and an imbalance in this interaction can lead to stress in the organization. As for now, stress will still continue to be an issue for because it takes a strong method to make it have less of an impact on people in today's stressful society.

References

1. Anon, (2014). In: 1st ed. [online] Available at: http://www.wilmarschaufeli.nl/publications/Schaufeli/299.pdf [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].

2. Cartwright, S. and L. Cooper, C. (2014). Managing Workplace Stress. [online] SAGE. Available at: http://www.uk.sagepub.com/books/Book6020#tabview=google [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].

3. Ccohs.ca, (2012). Workplace Stress - General : OSH Answers. [online] Available at: http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/stress.html [Accessed 10 Dec. 2014].

4. Dewe, P., O’Driscoll, M. and Cooper, C. (2012). 1st ed. [ebook] pp.23-36. Available at: http://file:///Users/Julie/Downloads/9781461448389-c1.pdf [Accessed 8 Dec. 2014].

5. Hse.gov.uk, (2014). Statistics - Stress-related and psychological disorders in Great Britain (GB). [online] Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/stress/ [Accessed 10 Dec. 2014].

6. M. Ashkanasy, N., E. J. Härtel, C. and Zerbe, W. (2014). Emotions in the Workplace. [online] Google Books. Available at: https://books.google.no/books?id=yCEYtlePnmEC&pg=PA41&lpg=PA41&dq=positive+and+negative+emotions+in+the+workplace&source=bl&ots=iA5tr6k6_-&sig=bthCZbXSYrLG6P1A5jdshgqfZXA&hl=no&sa=X&ei=ZZ2QVJ2gM5DY7AaH4oGgAg&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=positive%20and%20negative%20emotions%20in%20the%20workplace&f=false [Accessed 8 Dec. 2014].

7. Mentalhealth.org.uk, (2014). Nearly half of adults feel stressed every day or every few days. [online] Available at: http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-news/news-archive/2013-news-archive/130108-stress/ [Accessed 10 Dec. 2014].

8. Nhs.uk, (2014). Struggling with stress? - Stress, anxiety and depression - NHS Choices. [online] Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/pages/understanding-stress.aspx [Accessed 10 Dec. 2014].

9. ReachOut.com, (2014). Burnout - or chronic stress. [online] Available at: http://au.reachout.com/burnout-or-chronic-stress [Accessed 10 Dec. 2014].

10. Seay, E. (2013). AP Psychology Dueling Theorists Project: Hans Seyle and Walter Cannon. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uceXoEIfGtQ&channel=emseay96 [Accessed 13 Dec. 2014].

11. Stress.org, (2014). Hans Selye: Birth of Stress- what is stress? | The American Institute of Stress. [online] Available at: http://www.stress.org/about/hans-selye-birth-of-stress/ [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].

12. Stress.org.uk, (2014). Stress in the Workplace. [online] Available at: http://www.stress.org.uk/Stress-at-work.aspx [Accessed 13 Dec. 2014].R