Occupational Stress

2796 Words6 Pages

Occupational Stress Opening Statement: This paper will examine some causes and some of the effects of stress on individuals in the work environment. Role overload will be discussed as a major agent of stress at both work and home. Role Underload, Role Conflict, Role Ambiguity will be discussed briefly for comparison. Examples of stress in the work place will be used to illustrate the broad ramifications of stress in the occupational setting. Examples of Electromyography (EMG) will be given as a means of biologically diagnosing occupational and personnal stress cases as opposed to occupational soft muscle tissue diseases. Finally, interventions such as stress management programs will also be explored, as well as the benefits such programs can deliver to an organization. What is Stress?: "Stress - The confusion created when one's mind overrides the body's basic desire to choke the hell out of someone who so desperately deserves it" (Author unknown). There are many biological, engineering and physiological definitions of stress but, the definition above is the most simplified and applicable in today's fast moving business world. More classical "engineering" definition cited by R. Kahn (1992) use during the 18th and 19th centuries described stress as "A force or pressure exerted upon a material object, or person". Stress as defined by Quick, Horn and Quick (1987) "is a naturally occurring experience essential to our growth, change development both at work and at home. Depending on the way stress is handled it may have a detrimental effect on our health and well-being or it may have a beneficial effect". In order to have stress there must be a stressor, or a physical or physiological stimulus to encourage the onset of stress response. A physical stressor in a manufacturing setting may be noise, heat, dust, mist, fumes, poor lighting etc (Evans, Cohen 1987). Psychological stressors could be items such as conflicting views with your manager or, seemingly unattainable deadlines. Problems at home may compound these issues when they are presented in an occupational situation. Stress may be caused by many different situations in the various environments that we are a part of each day. Some social stress factors may be measured by Life Crisis Units (LCU) (Holmes and Rahe, 1967). This scale is used to aid in evaluation of, but n...

... middle of paper ...

...ournal of Organizational Behavior Jan vol 12, 39-53 Golembiewski, Robert & Munzenrider Robert (1991) Burnout and Mental Health: A Pilot Study Organizational Development Journal, Sum Vol 9, 51-57 Heirch, Max (1989) Making Stress Management Relevant to worksite wellness Advances Spr Vol 6, 36-40 Hendrix William H; Steel Robert P & Schultz Sherryl A (1987) Job Stress and Life Stress Journal of Social Behavior & Personality Aug Vol 2, 291-302 Klintzman Susan; House James s; Israel Barbara A & Mero Richard P (1990) Work Stress, Non-work Stress & Health Journal of Behavioral Medicine, Jun Vol 13, 221-243 Murphy L R; Dubois David & Hurrel, Joseph (1986) Accident Reduction Through Stress Management Journal of Business and Psychology Fall Volume 1, 5-18 Newsweek Publication Business Section (1988) Newsweek April 25, 42-45 Penton Publication Workers' Comp Update (1992) Occupational Hazards, Oct, 173-178 Quick, Jonathan D; Hoin Rebecca S & Quick, James (1986) Health Consequences of Stress Journal of Organizational Behavior Management Fal-Win Vol 8, 19-36 Electronic Media National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc. Available http://www.ncci.com/html/ncfoj2.htm

The Effects of Vietnam War in The Red Convertible by Louise Erdich
1837 Words | 4 Pages
...rce Personnel's Mental Health, Job Burnout And Other Organizational Related Outcomes." Journal Of Occupational Health Psychology 16.1 (2011): 3-17. PsycARTICLES. Web. 5 May 2014.
Read More
Home First Program in Markham Stouffville Hospital
1111 Words | 3 Pages
Shuttleworth, A., (2004). Managing workplace stress: how training can help. Industrial and Commercial Training, 36 (2), 61 – 65.
Read More
Burnout, contributing factor and how it relates to job performance
2133 Words | 5 Pages
In the recent years, organizations have paid extra attention to employee stress and its effect on job performance. Burnout, an outcome of stress is known to cause individual, family and organizational problems and health conditions such as insomnia and hypertension. The question many ask is where does it originate from? And, how supported are the employees by the organization? Researchers have attempted to link stress and burnout and its effect on job performance. This research analysis includes different scholarly studies done and that found many contributing factors such as job satisfaction, work and family demands, work environment, and culture.
Read More
Occupational Stress and Health
2287 Words | 5 Pages
Occupational Stress and Health Introduction In recent years, occupational stress and health have gained considerable importance to people in all forms life. Keeping in mind, the excessive work load, amount of time spent at work and the recent changes that are affecting the nature of work, it is not surprising that work stress today is increasing (Szymanski, 1999). Stress can be caused due to a number of reasons and in many ways and those things are known as stressors which may vary from person to person. According to the United States National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (1999), job stress can be defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker.
Read More
Stress In The Workplace
547 Words | 2 Pages
Some effects that can result from stress in the work place are; poor job performance, low morale in the office, and insalubrious employees. Reciprocally, elevated stress levels in an organization are associated with increased turnover, absenteeism; sickness, and reduced productivity. At a personal level, work stressors are related to depression, anxiety, general mental distress symptoms, heart disease, ulcers, and chronic pain (Sauter, Hurrell, & Cooper, 1989).
Read More
Argumentative Essay On Burnout
844 Words | 2 Pages
Burnout has become a major social, cultural and health issue. It has also become globally significant. It affects all kinds of people regardless of their age, race, gender, etc. It can occur at any stage in one’s life and affect them on a physical, emotional, social or cultural level. There is a lot of stigma associated with burnout in the society. Education is key to break the stigma. The risk for burnout has risen significantly in certain occupations, notably in the field of human services. Self-awareness as well as awareness of others is important to identify the problem and treat it in the most suitable manner. This paper considers understanding burnout by examining a few
Read More
The Importance of an Employee Stress Management Program
2748 Words | 6 Pages
In Murphy and Shoeborn’s paper, Stress Management in Work Settings, practical information in presented regarding the application of a stress management program within the workplace, along with guidance for creating a “comprehensive stress management program which encourages each individual to become more self-responsible and self-determining, and suggests that the overall program must focus on dynamics within the organization as well as within the individual” (Murphy & Shoenborn, 1987). In addition, Murphy and Shoenborn state that to develop an effective stress management program; several steps as indicated in must be applied as outlined in Figure 3
Read More
The Impacts of Occupational Stress
944 Words | 2 Pages
Work place or occupational stress refers to any form of restrain that is experienced when there is no match between job demands and the output of the worker. The article ‘Occupational stress’ aims at showing ways in which stress people get from their work place affect them and what causes the stress. This condition may encompass many conditions that include maladaptive behavior, psychological disorders, cognitive impairment, as well as emotional strain. These conditions lead to poor performances at work, injuries, or biological reactions that in turn may compromise the health of the employee.
Read More
Improving Job Satisfaction and Productivity
1402 Words | 3 Pages
Improving job satisfaction and productivity is an issue which is imperative among all employees and workplaces. There are various issues contributing to the decrease of job satisfaction including conflict, issues with pay, stress and workplace training. Low productivity rates and unsatisfied employees increase the risk for absenteeism and employee turnover. Occupational stress can often occur in the workplace, leading to an increased rate of ab...
Read More
Burnout Essay
1924 Words | 4 Pages
Burnout is a response to chronic emotional stress due to those factors, resulting in reduced job productivity, and emotional and/or physical exhaustion. (Perlman & Hartman, 1982). Many studies consider burnout to be a job-related stress condition or even work-related mental health impairment, with the ICD-10 closely tying burnout with the diagnosis of work-related neurasthenia (Awa et al., 2010; Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001; World Health Organization, 1992). Numerous conceptualisation of the burnout phenomenon has been posited but most researchers favour a multidimensional definition developed by Maslach and colleagues (1993; 1996) that encompasses three aspects: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and reduced personal accomplishment at work.
Read More
Signs of Stress
2215 Words | 5 Pages
"Forty-three percent of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress; 75 to 90 percent of all physician office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints; stress is linked to the six leading causes of death--heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide." (Miller, 1993, p.12) " Stress plays havoc with our health, our productivity, our pocketbooks, and our lives, but it is necessary, even desirable." (Oxford, 1998, p.29)
Read More
Workplace Stress Essay
666 Words | 2 Pages
to the environment and social life. There are different types of stress and its stressors we face in our daily lives. A huge source of stress comes from the workplace. It is caused by work and workload. Many employees become victim of the stress in the workplace both physically and mentally. This is underlying the workplace stress. This essay will discuss internal and external stress.
Read More
Ways to Reduce Stress
972 Words | 2 Pages
As the world becomes more and more developed, stress gradually becomes an unavoidable feature of modern society. “Stress is a dynamic condition is which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, demand, or resource related to what the individual desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important”. Stress occurs in a lot of events in our everyday life such as everyday events (suddenly sees a red light), exciting events (having a baby), scary events (watching a horror movie) and many more. Among the different types of stress, job stressors has been generally accepted as an universal phenomenon. Job stressors trigger problems for people both physiologically and psychologically. However, individual differences when they face a particular event to be a job stressors. Culture difference is one major factor that causes the individual differences. America, England, China and Japan are used for analyzing the different types of stress in western and eastern culture and their unique ways of coping the stress. Just like western culture, eastern culture also has a lot of stress among employees. China is one of most representative countries in eastern culture. While China becomes more and more universalized, China still contains its own Confucian culture. Since China has a special environment and culture, it causes unique types of stress compare to western culture. Those types of stress are mainly work demand stress and family demand stress. Work demands are psychological stress at the workplace, such as overloading of work; time shifts; complexity of work; and having conflict demands. Due to these work demand of stress, it damages employees’ both physical and psychological states (e.g., tension and anxiety...
Read More
Stress In The Workplace Essay
2939 Words | 6 Pages
Since people are always dealing with certain changes in their lives, they are always dealing with some type of stress. One of the biggest growing issues with stress is stress in the workplace. According to Northwestern National Life, one-fourth of employees view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives (“Stress at Work,” 1999).... ... middle of paper ...
Read More
The Causes Of Stress In Modern Life
1000 Words | 2 Pages
Long – term stress can even require the brain, leaving you more vulnerable to anxiety, and depression; it can be a main cause of moodiness and frustration. Many of us are aware of the physical symptoms of stress-muscle pain, rapid breathing or an increased pulse. At the same time, they also suffer from emotional of stress which can be like roller coaster of highs or lows. emotional effects rang from emotional overeating to a feeling of being overwhelmed and pressure. stress impact many other components, which leads to difficulties in making decisions, loss sense humor, poorer concentration, negative thinking. As can be seen, stress nearly brings serious effects to people. Apart from the effects above, it can be the main reason which creates your decreased productivity at work. stress makes people less control their pace work, which leads to dissatisfaction. about 40% employees said that they are burned out because of work-related stress and loss $300 billion each year in the workplace . In addition, your relationship with people around also become worsens because of your stress. In fact, stress makes people puzzled and their life can undergo a considerable
Read More

Open Document

Wait a second!

Occupational Stress

The Effects of Vietnam War in The Red Convertible by Louise Erdich

Home First Program in Markham Stouffville Hospital

Burnout, contributing factor and how it relates to job performance