Social Environment Flashcards
Introduction
Many potential stressors arise from the social situation at work. After consideration of social factors that may make a person feel crowded (stressed), the ways in which such feelings arise from relationship with others (peers, managers, subordinates).
Territory: An area with invisible boundaries surrounding a person’s body into which intruders may not come (Sommer 1969).
Hall (1966) – Interpersonal Space: Intimate, personal, social & public distances.
Definition: Perceived, attempted or actual control of a space. Humans use symbolic markers to prevent intrusion.
Altman (1975):
Primary Territory: Home
Public Territory: Sunbeds
Secondary Territory: Desk/Office
Schmidt & Keating (1979): Need for (Psychological) Privacy
Variables affecting Crowding
• Culture,
• Gender,
• Age,
• Personality
• Cooperative
• Competitive Tasks.
Office Landscaping: attempt to create privacy in open plan offices – dividers/screening. Provides a balance between individual privacy needs, perceived status and prestige and social contact.
Freedom: Allows for freedom from unwanted intrusion and freedom to determine the time of place of communication.
Solution: Triplett’s experiments demonstrate the co-action effect; a phenomenon whereby increased task performance comes about by the mere presence of others doing the same task.
Social facilitation: occurs not only in the presence of a co-actor but also in the presence of a passive spectator/audience. This is known as the audience effect, surprisingly.
Compatibility of Interpersonal Needs
French and Caplan 1972: Stress-reducing if socially/mutually supportive.
Schutz (1978): Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation
To Express as Well as Receive:
Inclusion: being recognised, being part of the group
Control: need to motivate an individual’s behaviour
Affection: One to one relationships and emotional connection.
Explained by Homogeneity: appearance, personality, ability, manner, age, status.
Working together in unison rather in a conflicting manner.
Belbin’s Team Role Inventory
- Implementor
- Coordinator (Controller-Inspector)
- Shaper (Thruster-Organiser)
- Plant (Creator and Innovator)
- Resource Investigator (Explorer-Promoter)
- Monitor Evaluator (Assessor-Developer)
- Completer Finisher (Concluder-Producer)
- Specialist
9 Roles, however some individuals carry a few characteristics, therefore a team of 3-4 could carry out Belbin’s Team Role Inventory.
Evaluation of Belbin’s Team Role Inventory:
Advantages:
Describes the primary role of a team member that allows for evaluation of the team member’s dominant trait. Such awareness allows for individuals to work to their strengths and manage their weaknesses.
Hall Mark to a successful team is balance, provides responsibility in teams and cohesion allowing to reduce stress.
Disadvantages:
Does not consider hierarchical relations between people or interpersonal relationships within a team.
Leadership:
Democratic and Autocratic (Gastil, 1994)
- Distributes responsibility
- Empowers
- Aids deliberation
HSE Management Competencies for Reducing Stress at Work (2009): • Empowerment • Development • Accessible/Visible • Health and Safety • Feedback • Acting with Integrity • Friendly Style • Communication • Taking Responsibility • Knowledge of Job • Empathy • Seeking Advice
Contingency Theories:
Limitation: does not take account of different leadership behaviours being more or less appropriate depending upon the aspects of the work situation at the time.
Take into account leadership styles:
Vroom and Jago (1988): Leader Participation Model
Styles from Autocratic > Consultative > Group
• More participative if subordinates committed, no time pressure, decision information unclear.
Hershey and Blanchard’s Situational Theory (1982):
Delegating, participating, selling and telling depending up the maturity of the subordinates.
Tell the less mature (worked there the smallest amount of time).
