We hear a great deal about stress in our day-to-day lives, but what is it?
"Stress can be defined as forces from the outside world impinging on the individual or the result produced when a structure, system or organism is acted upon by forces that disrupt equilibrium or produce strain".
In simpler terms, stress is the result of any emotional, physical, social, economic, or other factor that requires a response or change. It is generally believed that some stress is okay - sometimes referred to as ‘challenge’ or ‘positive stress’ - but when stress occurs in amounts that you cannot handle, both mental and physical changes may occur.
‘Workplace stress’ then can be considered as the harmful physical and emotional responses that can occur when there is a conflict between job demands on the employee and the amount of control an employee has over meeting these demands. In general, the combination of high demands in a job and a low amount of control over the situation can lead to stress. Stress in the workplace can have many origins or come from one single event. It can impact on both employees and employers alike. As stated by the Canadian Mental Health Association:
"Fear of job redundancy, layoffs due to an uncertain economy and increased demands for overtime due to staff cutbacks act as negative stressors. Employees who start to feel the 'pressure to perform' can get caught in a downward spiral of increasing effort to meet rising expectations with no increase in job satisfaction. The relentless requirement to work at optimum performance takes its toll in job dissatisfaction, employee turnover, reduced efficiency, illness and even death. Absenteeism, illness, alcoholism, 'petty internal politics', bad or snap decisions, indifference and apathy and lack of motivation or creativity are all by-products of an over stressed workplace".
In the workplace, stress can be the result of any numbers situations:
Categories of Job Stressors
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Examples
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Factors that are unique to the job function
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• Workload - either an overload of work or a lack of tasks to undertake
• Pace, variety and meaningfulness of work
• Autonomy - the ability to make decisions about our own job or specific tasks
• Shiftwork or the hours of work required
• Physical environment - overly noisy, poor air quality, poor lighting etc
• Isolation within the workplace - emotional or working alone
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Role within the
organisation
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• Role conflict - conflicting job demands, multiple supervisors/managers
• Role ambiguity - lack of clarity about responsibilities and/or expectations
• Level of responsibility
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Career development
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• Under/over-promotion
• Job security - fear of redundancy either from economy or lack of tasks
• A lack of career development opportunities
• Overall job satisfaction
• Poor status, pay and promotion prospects
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Interpersonal relationships
in the workplace
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• Difficulties with supervisors
• Difficulties with co-workers
• Difficulties with subordinates
• Threats of violence, harassment, bullying or threats to personal safety
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Organisational
structure/climate
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• Participation - or non-participation - in decision-making
• Management style
• Communication patterns
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The human body has been designed to cope with stress with a set of automatic responses to deal with it. This system is very effective for the short term 'fight or flight' responses we need when faced with an immediate danger. The issue, however, is that our bodies deal with all types of stress in the same way. Experiencing stress for long periods of time, for instance, at a lower level but constant stressors at work, will activate this system, which then doesn't get a chance to 'turn off'. The body's 'pre-programmed' response to stress has been called the 'Generalised Stress Response' and includes:
- Increased blood pressure
- Increased metabolism - faster heartbeat and faster respiration
- Descrease in protein synthesis, intestinal movement (digestion), immune and allergic response systems
- Increased cholesterol and fatty acids in blood for energy production systems
- Localised inflammation (redness, swelling, heat and pain)
- Faster blood clotting
- Increased production of blood sugar for energy
- Increased stomach acids
There are usually a number of warning signs that help to identify stress and that indicate when you are having trouble coping with it before any severe signs become apparent.
References
Canadian Mental Health Association, "Sources of Workplace Stress"
MedicineNet
Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 17 December 2008 )
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