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Chapter 7Stress and Well-Being at

Work

What Is Stress?

[Stress] – the unconscious preparation to fight or flee that a person experiences when faced with any demand

[Stressor ] – the person or event that triggers the stress response

[Distress (or strain)] – the adverse psychological, physical, behavioral, and organizational consequences that may arise as a result of stressful events

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Homeostatic/Medical

Stress occurs when an external demand upsets an individual’s natural, steady-state

balance.

4 APPROACHES TO STRESS

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• Individuals differ in their appraisal of events and people

• What is stressful for one person is not for another

• Perception and cognitive appraisal determines what is stressful

COGNITIVE APPRAISAL

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Problem-focused copingemphasizes managing the stressor

COGNITIVE APPRAISAL

Emotion-focused copingemphasizes managing your response

• Confusing and conflicting expectations in a social role create stress.

• Good person-environment fit occurs when one’s skills and abilities match a clearly defined set of role expectations.

• Stress occurs when expectations are confusing or when they conflict with one’s skills.

PERSON-ENVIRONMENT FIT

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PSYCHOANALYTIC

STRESS

Discrepancy between the idealized selfand the real self-image

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The Stress ResponseRelease of chemical

messengers

Activation of sympathetic nervous and

endocrine systems

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Sources of Stress: Work Demands

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Stress Source: Nonwork Demands

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Positive Stress

• Stress response itself is neutral• Some stressful activities (aerobic exercise,

etc.) can enhance a person’s ability to manage stressful demands or situations

• Stress can provide a needed energy boost

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Yerkes-Dodson Law

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© 2012 Cengage Learning

Demand

Eustress

Distress (strain)

GenderType A behavior patternPersonality HardinessSelf-reliance (attachment style)

Stressor Stress Response

Individual Distress

Work-related psychological disordersWork-related psychological disorders(depression, burnout, (depression, burnout,

psychosomatic disorders)psychosomatic disorders)

Medical illness

(heart disease, strokes,

headaches, backaches)

Behavioral problems

Behavioral problems(substance abuse,

(substance abuse,violence, accidents)

violence, accidents)

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Organizational Distress

Participative Problems – a cost associated with absenteeism, tardiness, strikes and work stoppages, and turnover

Performance Decrement – a cost resulting from poor quality or low quantity of production, grievances, and unscheduled machine downtime and repair

Compensation Award – an organizational cost resulting from court awards for job distress

Stresseffects a company’sbottom line

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Individual Differences

Achilles’ heel phenomenon – –

a person breaks down at his or her weakest point

Gender Effects

Sexual HarassmentVulnerabilities

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Type A Behavior Patterns

• Competitiveness• Time urgency• Social Status Insecurity• Aggression• Hostility• Quest for achievements

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Personality Hardiness

[Personality Hardiness]– challenge (versus threat)– commitment (versus alienation)– control (versus powerlessness)

[Transformational Coping] active process of modifying one’s perception of an event in order to reduce stress.

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Preventative Stress Management

an organizational philosophy

according to which people and

organizations should take joint

responsibility for promoting

health and preventing distress

and strain

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Preventative Stress Management

Primary Prevention – the stage in preventive stress management designed to reduce, modify, or eliminate the demand or stressor

Secondary Prevention – the stage in preventive stress management designed to alter or modify the individual’s or the organization’s response to a demand or stressor

Tertiary Prevention – the stage in preventive stress management designed to heal individual or organizational symptoms of distress and strain

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Preventative Stress Maintenance

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Organizational Stress Prevention

• Job redesign• Goal setting• Role negotiation• Social support systems

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Job Strain Model

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Social Support at Work and Home

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SOURCE: J. C. Quick, J. D. Quick, D. L. Nelson, and J. J. Hurrell, Jr., Preventive Stress Management in Organizations (Washington, D.C.:American Psychological Association, 1997), 198. Reprinted with permission.

Individual Preventive Stress Management

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What Can Managers Do?

• Learn how to create healthy stress without distress

• Help employees adjust to new technologies

• Be sensitive to early signs of distress• Be aware of gender, personality, and

behavioral differences• Use principles and methods of preventive

stress management

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