Occupational stress

Occupational Stress is stress involving work. Stress is defined in terms of its physical and physiological effects on a person, and can be a mental, physical or emotional strain. It can also be a tension or a situation or factor that can cause stress.^[1] Occupational stress occurs when there is a discrepancy between the demands of the environment/workplace and an individual’s ability to carry out and complete these demands.^[2] Often a stressor can lead the body to have a physiological reaction which can strain a person physically as well as mentally. One of the main causes of occupational stress is work overload.

Causes

Some scholars^[who?] note that an increase in workload, a hostile work environment, downsizing, and shift work can result in occupational stress.^[3] Often workloads remain immense even though employees do their best to complete them, and the employees may feel stressed as a result. A high demand and time pressures contribute to the stress.^[3] Downsizing may also be due to the privatization of a company.^{[citation needed]} When downsizing occurs, employees are either laid off or fired. Those who still have their jobs often have to worry about whether they will be next on the list of employees to be laid off. If employers are not supportive, discriminating in favor of some employees at the expense of others, do not offer encouragement, or create a hostile work environment, this can cause stress for employees.^{[citation needed]}

Interpersonal conflicts within the workplace, uncertainty about job security, and underutilized job abilities are also causes of occupational stress.^{[citation needed]}

Effects

Physical symptoms that may occur because of occupational stress include fatigue, headache, stomach problems, musclular aches and pains, chronic mild illness, sleep disturbances, and eating disorders. Psychological and behavioral problems that may develop include anxiety, irritability, alcohol and drug use, feeling powerless and low morale.^[3] If exposure to stressors in the workplace is prolonged, then chronic health problems can occur including stroke. Studies among the Japanese population specifically showed a more than 2-fold increase in the risk of total stroke among men with job strain (combination of high job demand and low job control).^[4] Along with the risk of stroke comes high blood pressure and immune system dysfunction. Prolonged occupational stress can lead to occupational burnout.

Stress Models

The demand control model and the effort reward imbalance model are two work stress models that help to identify particular job characteristics important for employee well-being. The DC model predicts that the most adverse health effects of psychological strain occur when job demands are high and the ability to make decisions is low. The ERI model assumes that emotional distress and adverse health effects occur when there is a perceived imbalance between efforts and occupational rewards.^[5]

See also

• Workplace stress
• Stress management
• Work-life balance
• Perceived organizational support
• Perceived psychological contract violation

References

1. ^ http://dictionary.reference.com
2. ^ Henry, O. & Evans, A.J. (2008). "Occupational Stress in Organizations". Journal of Management Research 8 (3): 123–135. http://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:jmr&volume=8&issue=3&article=001. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Brynien, Igoe 2006^{[Full citation needed]}
4. ^ Ishikawa, S, et al. (2009). "Prospective Study on Occupational Stress and Risk of Stroke". Archives of Internal Medicine 169 (1): 56–61. http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/169/1/56. 
5. ^ Jonge, J., Landsbergis, P. & Vegchel, N. (2005). "Occupational Stress in (inter)action: The Interplay Between Job Demands and Job Resources". Journal of Organizational Behavior 26 (5): 535–560. doi:10.1002/job.327. 

Further reading

• Butts, M.; DeJoy, D.; Schaffer, B.; Wilson, M. & Vandenberg, R. (Apr 2009). Individual Reactions to High Involvement Work Processes: Investigating the Role of Empowerment and Perceived Organizational Support. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14(2), 122-136,
• Cooper, C., Dewe, P. & Michael P. (2001) Organizational Communication: A Review and Critique. SAGE
• Dov Zohar. (1999). When Things Go Wrong: The Effect of Daily Work Hassles on Effort, Exertion and Negative Mood. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 72(3), 265-283.
• Kossek, E. E., & Ozeki, C. (1998). Work–family conflict, policies, and the job–life satisfaction relationship: A review and directions for organizational behavior–human resources research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 139–149.
• Minas, C. ( Feb 2000) Stress at Work: a Sociological Perspective: The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology. 37(1), 119
• Saxby, C. (June 2008). Barriers to Communication. Evansville Business Journal. 1-2.
• Temple, H. & Gillespie, B. (February 2009). Taking Charge of Work and Life. ABA Journal, 95(2), 31-32.