W11.3 Org Stress

Question 1

What is stress?

Answer 1

An unpleasant psychological process that occurs in response to environmental pressures.

Question 2

What are What are potential sources of stress?

Answer 2

Environmental Factors

• Economic
• Political
• Technological

Organizational

• Task demands
• Role demands
• Interpersonal demands

Personal

• Family
• Economic
• Personality

Question 3

What are some individual differences that determine level of stress?

Answer 3

1. Perception
2. Experience
3. Social Support
4. Personality Traits

Question 4

What are the consequences of stress?

Answer 4

Physiological Symptoms: research supports the link between job stress and poor health.

Psychological Symptoms: job dissatisfaction is an obvious cause of stress.

Behavioral Symptoms: reductions in productivity, absence, turnover, as well as changes in eating habits, increased smoking and/or consumption of alcohol, rapid speech, fidgeting, and sleep disorders.

Question 5

What is the individual approach to managing stress?

Answer 5

Time-management techniques.
Increased physical exercise.
Relaxation training.
Expanded social support networks.

Question 6

What is the organizational approach to managing stress?

Answer 6

1. Better selection and placement, and training.
   Individuals with little experience or an external locus of control tend to be more prone to stress.
   Selection and placement decisions should take these facts into consideration.
   Training can increase an individual’s self-efficacy and thus lessen job strain in these situations.
2. Goal-setting.
   Goals can reduce stress as well as provide motivation.
   Employees who are highly committed to their goals and see purpose in their jobs experience less stress.
3. Redesigning jobs.
   Redesigning jobs to give employees more responsibility, more meaningful work, more autonomy, and increased feedback can reduce stress because these factors give employees greater control over work activities and lessen dependence on others.
4. Employee involvement.
   Role stress is detrimental to a large extent because employees feel uncertain about goals, expectations, how they’ll be evaluated, and the like.
   Giving employees a voice in management decisions can increase employee control and reduce role stress.
   Managers should consider increasing employee involvement in decision making.
5. Organizational communication.
   Increasing formal organizational communication with employees reduces uncertainty by lessening role ambiguity and role conflict.
   Given the importance that perceptions play in moderating the stress-response relationship, management can also use effective communications as a means to shape employee perceptions.
6. Employee sabbaticals.
   Some employees need an occasional escape from the frenetic pace of their work.
   These sabbaticals—ranging in length from a few weeks to several months—allow employees to travel, relax, or pursue personal projects that consume time beyond normal vacations.
7. Corporate wellness programs.
   Typically provide workshops to help people quit smoking, control alcohol use, lose weight, eat better, and develop a regular exercise program.
   Focus on the employee’s total physical and mental condition.

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