...Guide Work-related stress What the law says ‘Stress at work is a major issue … together we can successfully manage and prevent it.’ Health and Safety Executive (HSE) ‘Whatever your industry, size of business or location, there are things you can do for the health and well-being of your employees.’ Health, Work and Well-being ‘Work can have a positive impact on our health and well-being. Healthy and well-motivated employees can have an equally positive impact on the productivity and effectiveness of a business.’ Acas ‘Managers need to know what stress is; and also understand what skills, abilities and behaviours are necessary to manage employees in a way that minimises work-related stress.’ CIPD Acknowledgements This guide was written and conceived by John Hamilton, Head of Safety, Health and Wellbeing at Leeds Metropolitan University and a visiting lecturer in health and safety law at Salford Law School, University of Salford. info@stressguidance.org www.stressguidance.org Contents Introduction 2 In this guidance 3 Identifying a problem 4 Preventing harm 6 Protecting individuals 7 Managing the workplace 8 The Management Standards for Work-related Stress 10 Managing stress checklist 11 Further reading 12 About this guide 13 Work-related stress: What the law says 1 Introduction This guidance summarises the legal duties that employers Statutory...
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...knowledge on stress at work. This text provides information on how to help people in the work place to reduce the stress. Phrases like: to help, to familiarise, to promote etc. are helping to establish the meaning of the text. The author of the text wants to show us about the seriousness of the problem by pointing out some words repeatedly. The text is divided into few sections with highlighted headings usage of bold and italic fonts, bullets. The text is written in a brochure format, where author used formal language. 2. Target audience for this document is everyone involved with an organisation he/she works for. When we read through the document, we encounter words like manager, employer and employee. The text is generally targeted for the employers as it provides guidelines to assist employee’s stress at work. 3. What is work – related stress, and why do we need to tackle it? We all experience stress and pressure in our personal and working lives. When we are unable to cope any longer and pressure grows then comes stress. It stops us from performing at our best. The HSE definition of stress is “the adverse reaction a person has to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed upon them”. Work-related stress can be solved by looking at the issues and finding out the ways to tackle them. HSE has produced the leaflet on work-related stress for employees and their representatives. What the Management Standards mean to me? * Better understanding of stress as manager...
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...It is not unusual for people to feel stress in their everyday lives. Stress can be found in most aspects of people lives, including in their home, in their relationships, and even in the workplace. Some people even consider their job as the most stressful aspect of their lives. According to Robbins (2003), stress can be defined as a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, constraint or demand related to what he needs and for which the outcomes are perceived to be both uncertain and important. When people feel stress, they will have several different symptoms. These reactions can be divided into three types, physiological, psychological and behavioral symptoms (Robbins, 2003). Physiological symptom is a condition whereby the stress felt by individual would affect the individual physically, such as headache, heart diseases and other physical discomfort. Psychological symptom is when the stress felt by the individual is affecting the individual psychologically or emotionally. When the individual feels stress, he would experience some psychological discomfort, such as anxiety which could lead to depression. Another symptom is when the stress affecting the individual in his or her daily behaviors or actions. In the daily lives, one symptom can lead to another symptom. In 1954, Abraham Harold Maslow (1908-1970) suggested the “Maslow’s hierarchy of needs” theory. According to this theory, the most basic needs of humans are the physiological needs...
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...Work-related Stress BBA3050 – Management and Organizational Behavior March 11, 2014 Abstract Today’s working Americans are faced with many challenges. A low-stress job can go a long way toward improving their quality of life. Typically, a low-stress job is made up of a combination of factors, including work environment, job competitiveness and risk. It is important to deal with organizational stress by recognizing the signs and sources of stress and to develop a strategy for dealing with stress. Work-related Stress The workplace is full of ups and downs. Change is inevitable and is what makes business boom. Although, when change occurs, it is human nature to try to balance ourselves and return to homeostasis, or a steady state of being. While we are trying to right ourselves, we experience something called stress. Stress, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is “constraining force or influence: as a force exerted when one body or body part presses on, pulls on, pushes against, or tends to compress or twist another body or body part; the deformation caused in a body by such a force, a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation, 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”. Even there, in the dictionary, Mr. Webster points out to us that stress is apparent at...
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...Work Related Stress and its management I worked for JP Morgan Chase a Teller for 1 year ½. The Company is the second largest bank in the US. They support a lot of charitable organizations that are beneficial to helping the less fortunate. They are also very helpful and concerned about their employees and their well beings. So the company itself has a great way of showing their caring for people. But it is a very stressful place to work. The book talks about different subtitles that tie in to Stress one in particular that I’ve encountered on a daily bases is Work over load. Work over load is defined in lame terms as the situation in which someone has too much work to do. As a teller being there the longest out of everyone in the branch, my mangers put to much responsibility on me as an employee. Such as making sure schedule was done properly, making sure I filled my TCD on time, making sure other teller was aware of their duties. Really doing they job wshile they leave early or take long luches. Sometimes they would argue about my school schedule because it was “so called inconvincing them. To me I considered that very stressful and a workover load. I am a big person on work and life balance but being overload with duties that’s really not your responsiblilty will cause health problems and even so life problems. But I had to make a choice to tell them that school was my main priority and and sometimes school is a over load if you allow it. Ive always been taught as young adults...
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...sections of anxiety disorders, mood and affective disorders, dissociative disorders, and somatoform disorders. The likely categorizations and signs beneath these groupings will be covered. As well as, one disorder out of all categories—general anxiety disorder, cyclothymic disorder, depersonalization disorder, and body dysmorphic disorder will be analyzed. Anxiety Disorders The primary distinction between fear and anxiety is that fear is directed at a specific stimuli; whereas, anxiety is more a general feeling of apprehension about the future (Hansell & Damour, 2008). The precise disorders that can shoot from too much anxiety are: acute stress disorder, agoraphobia, anxiety disorders due to a medical condition, general anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder with and without agoraphobia, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), specific phobia, social phobia, and substance-induced anxiety disorder (Hansell & Damour, 2008). Panic and anxiety are regular reactions but when these feelings are sensed in the nonexistence of a underlying agent psychological dysfunction can be the ended outcome, for instance what occurs in the path of generalized anxiety disorder. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) Those who suffer from GAD, “…experience chronic pervasive anxiety… [And] feel tense and worried most of the time, which causes them distress and interferes with their functioning” (Hansell & Damour, 2008, p. 119). Furthermore, the sufferer finds it hard to...
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...Abstract Dissociative Disorders is the disruption in the integrated functions of consciences, memory, identity, or perception of the environment. They are marked by a dissociation from or interruption of a person’s fundamental aspect of waking consciousness such as personal identity and one’s personal history. In this paper I will be discussing the main dissociative disorders, which are: Dissociative Amnesia, Dissociative Fugue, Dissociative Identity Disorder, and Depersonalization Disorder. All of the dissociative disorders are thought to stem from trauma experienced by the individual with the disorder. (Maser, 2000) Seen in a number of other mental illnesses, including post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder, symptoms of dissociative or even one or more of the disorders are shown. A cross-cultural perspective is particularly important in the evaluation of Dissociative Disorders because dissociative states are a common and accepted expression of cultural activities or religious experience in many societies. (Frances, 1994) Dissociative Amnesia The first disorder is Dissociative Amnesia which is characterized by an inability to recall important personal information, usually of a traumatic or stressful nature, that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness. This disorder is formerly known as Psychogenic Amnesia. Dissociative Amnesia involves a reversible memory impairment in which memories of personal...
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...classifies mental disorders in five areas called Axis’s. The areas of the DSM that will be discussed in more detail are anxiety, mood disorders, and dissociative or somatoform disorders. It will be interesting to compare the biological, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components of each disorder. Anxiety Anxiety is usually defined as an unpleasant emotion with a sense of danger or believing that something bad will happen. Generalized anxiety disorder or GAD is commonly diagnosed. Females are diagnosed two times more frequently than men with GAD. The development of GAD can occur as a child. A child can worry about fitting in at school, sporting events, the strive for approval, and perfection. Adolescents with GAD could feel the stress associated with punctuality, school performance, and catastrophic events (Staff, nd). Panic disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and phobias are included in this section of the DSM. In a panic attack, the victim is overwhelmed with a sense of the need to escape. A phobia is explained as an exaggerated sense of fear to an object or place such as cynophobia or fear of dogs. OCD is characterized by repetition of anxiety that produces compulsive rituals to protect the person from anxiety (Hansell, 2008). There have been studies that link genetics and hormonal differences in men and women making women more vulnerable to GAD. People living in poor urban environments are also more likely to...
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...Work Pressure and Stress How do symptoms of stress differ from male to female? Date: 25/05/2012 Module code: MN1010N Tutor: Chaidi Fourali By Edou Mota ID no: 11016465 Contents Abstract3 Hypothesis 14 Hypothesis 24 Introduction4 Methodology5 Sample4 Data Collection4 Data Analysis4 Findings4 Literary Review4 Discussion5 Conclusion6 References7 Abstract Work-related stress occurs when people may be presented with work demands and pressures that are not matched to their knowledge and abilities and which challenges their ability to cope. According to Hans Selye, acknowledge internationally as the “father of stress research” (1936), defined stress as “the nonspecific response of the body to any demand placed upon it”. Researchers continue to struggle today in an effort to agree on exactly what is stress and how it can be measured (AIS, 1979). Stress is a word that comes from the Latin word stringere meaning to draw tight, Cannon (1929) defined stress in terms of the internal physiological state of subjects exposed to threatening or exciting situations, e.g. the raised adrenaline secretion that can be observed in the well-known ‘fight or flight’ reaction (Arnorld and Randall et al., 2010) For several decades, occupational health researchers have been concerned with factors at work that may cause stress (Innstrand et al., 2012). Work-related stress and work pressure draw attention of many researchers due to the increase...
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...Stress at Work A report prepared for The Work Foundation’s Principal Partners Ricardo Blaug Amy Kenyon Rohit Lekhi Contents Executive Summary Introduction 1. What is stress? 1.1 Defining stress 1. Explaining stress 1.3 Stress and ill-health 2. An epidemic of stress? .1 The extent of stress . The costs of stress .3 The victims of stress .4 The causes of stress 3. Why now? 3.1 Stress, work and contemporary life 3. Stress and happiness 3.3 Stress and social status 4. The sceptics 4.1 Problems of method and measurement 4. Putting stress in perspective 4.3 Therapy culture? 5. Legal and policy contexts 5.1 Stress and the law 5. Stress and public policy 6. Interventions 6.1 What does the evidence say? 6. Focussing on prevention Conclusion Bibliography 4 12 14 14 17 19 25 5 6 8 31 35 35 38 43 47 47 5 58 62 6 68 71 71 79 88 89 Stress at Work List of Tables, Figures and Boxes Table 1: Effects of stress on bodily functions Figure 1: Model of work-related stress Figure : The impact of workplace demands on physiological and psychological performance Figure 3: How stressful is your work environment? Figure 4: Overwork concern in organisations Figure 5: Self-reported Illness accentuated by work Figure 6: Estimated days lost due to self-reported work-related injury or illness Figure 7: Work-related mental ill-health Figure 8: Percentage of organisations where workers identify stress to be the leading hazard of concern by sector Figure 9: Percentage reporting...
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...Everyone, at some point, experiences mental or emotional strain; this is known as stress. Stress is a natural part of life that can come in both negative and positive forms. While positive stress can give a person the drive and motivation necessary to succeed, negative stress can lead to severe consequences, especially in the workplace (Seidl, 2009). Work-related stress can cause serious problems for employees as well as the organizations they work for; as such, it is important to be aware of these problems and the factors which contribute to work-related stress must be addressed. Causes of Work-Related Stress Over the course of a day, most adults spend at least eight hours of their time in their work environment; this amounts to a third of their day, and as much as half of their waking hours. During that time, pressures that are placed on those people can lead to stress. Exploring specific factors which can lead to stress at work is necessary for us to better understand the topic. • Lack of Control: People are unable to influence the demands or restrictions placed on them. • Ambiguous Expectations: Employees are unclear on their job functions, or experience conflict between their roles and assignments. • Pressure: Employees feel their work is “piling up” or there is not enough time to accomplish tasks. • Communication: Employees feel left in the dark in regards to the organization’s goals, or their futures within the organization. • Support: Employees are not given...
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... Full Length Research Paper A study on occupational stress experienced by private and public banks employees in Quetta City Nadeem Malik Commerce Department University of Balochistan Pakistan. E-mail: nadeem_malik_uob@yahoo.com. Accepted 18 February, 2011 Stress is a universal element and persons from nearly every walk of life have to face stress. Stress can have negative impacts on both the employee and the organization. Actually, in this research paper it was checked that what the impact occupational stress produced upon employees. The study describes the occupational stress in public and private banks. A randomly selected sample of 200 employees from private and public banks shows that occupational stress is found higher among private bank employees compared to public bank employees. Among different occupational stress variables role over load, role authority, role conflict and lack of senior level support contribute more to the occupational stress. Bank employees cannot afford the time to relax and "wind down" when they are faced with work variety, discrimination, favoritism, delegation and conflicting tasks. Key words: Occupational stress, pubic bank employees, private bank employees, employees’ health, increased competition, organizational behavior. INTRODUCTION People react to stress in different ways. Some coping much better than others and suffering fewer of the harmful effects of stress. Just as stress differs as a function of the individual, it also differs...
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...Work related stress develops because a person is unable to cope with the demands being placed on them. Stress, including work related stress, can be a significant cause of illness and is known to be linked with high levels of sickness absence, staff turnover and other issues such as more errors. Stress can hit anyone at any level of the business and recent research shows that work related stress is widespread and is not confined to particular sectors, jobs or industries. That is why a population-wide approach is necessary to tackle it. Definition of stress Stress can be described as: "The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them at work." Stress is not an illness – it is a state. However, if stress becomes too excessive and prolonged, mental and physical illness may develop. Well-designed, organised and managed work is generally good for us and when insufficient attention to job design, work organisation and management has taken place, it can result in Work related stress. Work related stress develops because a person is unable to cope with the demands being placed on them. Stress, including work related stress, can be a significant cause of illness and is known to be linked with high levels of sickness absence, staff turnover and other issues including fatigue which in turn can lead to errors in the workplace. We can say that “Stress causes some people to break, and other to break records.” Stress or pressure There...
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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 current...
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...“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...
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