What is stress at work Main causes of stress at work and effects on individuals - Essay Example

?Introduction Newspapers, magazines, blogs and other forms of media are replete with discussions on stress. From books discussing how to cope with stress to talk shows on how to reduce stress levels in individuals, we are bombarded with information of stress in our daily lives. More recently, the concept of stress at work has gained a lot of attention from researchers who have devoted a lot of time to study this concept, its causes and consequences to individuals and to organisations. This paper discusses the concept of stress at work focusing on the definition of stress at work, the main causes of stress at work and the consequences of stress to individuals and organisations with relevant examples to support the effects. Stress at Work Cooper et al agreed that there is widespread discrepancy in how stress is defined. They noted that stress has been operationalized as a dependent variable, independent variable, and also as a process. This, they opine, was due to the wide application of stress in a number of disciplines such as medical, behavioural and social science research. Stress has therefore been defined as a response-based concept, a stimulus-based concept, as an interaction, and as a transaction. Work stress is defined by the HSE (2009) as “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them at work”. In a study by Jex et al (1992), the participants interpreted stress as being related to strains and stressors. Stress is “an interaction of strains and stressors (Aziz and Cunningham, 2008). Main causes of stress at work There are a number of causes of stress at work. This section discusses just a few main causes of stress at work. These include work overload, control, work relationships, job security, work-life balance, resources and communication, and aspects of the job. These are mostly cited in literature as being the main factors that influence stress at work and therefore have been discussed here with relevant examples. Overload One of the causes of stress is overload. This is defined as the workload pressures. For instance, work could have unrealistic deadlines and expectations. A case in point is auditors who are usually given deadlines to meet for a specific audit yet the workload itself is too much and hence employees cannot work realistically within the time without having to work long days and late into the night including on weekends and holidays to try and just beat the deadlines and expectations of theirs supervisors. Sometimes one of the team members could a super-achiever and therefore the whole team is expected to work like the super achiever when it is impossible for them to emulate the set standards. Some of the overloads could be as a result of under-recruitment of staff which is a case in most organisations as one person does the work of four others just for firms to cut on costs. There are also technology overloads in organisations which may be a cause of stress for employees. Another overload case is workaholism. According to a study by Burke and MacDermid (1999), workaholics experienced greater stress than non-workaholics. Control Another cause of stress has been linked perception of control. Some employees usually get stressed when they feel they lack influence or when they cannot be consulted in how work is organised and performed. For example, a bank employee could be stressed when they cannot make decisions related to their job descriptions as they have to ask for permission from the superiors. They could also be stressed when they are not involved in any decision making where they start questioning that place in the organisation. Some could be stressed because their ideas or suggestions about the job are not taken into account. Further, employees may also be stressed when they cannot influence their performance targets which are usually set by their superiors and could therefore be unachievable. All these examples show lack of control over work on the part of the employee and could therefore be a major stress factor. Work relationships Work relationships can also be a major cause of stress at work. In the modern times, employees spend most of their days at work and therefore relationships with other employees matter a lot and can therefore be a major cause of stress at work if co-workers are unsupportive. Sometimes the employees may be isolated or unfairly treated by their colleagues hence a major source of stress. The poor work relationships can be attributed to aggressive management style, bullying and harassment from colleagues, isolation by colleagues, and others taking credit for personal achievements. These among other issues could soil work relationships and therefore be a stress factor in organisations. Job security Job security has also been identified as a major stress factor for employees in organisations. When an employee feels that he or she could lose his job at any time, it becomes a major source of pressure at work. Thus, the job insecurity is a sure factor that causes work related stress in organisations. Job insecurity can be as a result of lack of job permanence especially in situations where employees work on temporary contracts or on fixed term contracts. In such instances, an employee keeps guessing whether he will be retained when the term expires or whether he will be made a permanent staff or not. These are real issues that confront employees with such status at work. Further, a possibility of future job change can be a major cause of job insecurity and therefore a stress factor. With technology introduction in organisations and new structures of in organisations meant to enhance production are introduced, there is real fear of skill redundancy and therefore a major stress factor for most employees. For example, when an electricity company introduces use of pre-paid meters for households, it makes the jobs of thousands of meter-readers who relied on the post-paid meters redundant. Therefore, a possibility of skill redundancy can cause a lot of pressure at work. Work-life balance Another cause of stress at work is work-life balance. Some jobs require one to work beyond the office and this means some of the work is usually carried home, for example lawyers and auditors. This means that an employee will not have time for his or her family. Some jobs could be so demanding such that one cannot even celebrate family anniversaries and birthdays, honour dates, among other issues. This spill over of work into an employees’ personal life surely does harm family relationships. Sometimes the jobs demand that one travels a lot, for example consultants. The excessive travel time means that one stays away from home and family sometimes for a very long time and therefore unable to balance between work and personal relationships. Such imbalances could cause a lot of strain on the employees as relationships outside work crumble through separations, divorce, and quarrels. This causes a lot of stress to employees as they cannot balance well between the two masters. Resources and communication Resources and communication have also been regarded as one of the causes of stress in organisations. In order for employees to effectively perform their duties, they must possess adequate training and have appropriate equipment and resources to perform their duties. Should this not be the case, they will feel inadequately prepared for the tasks and therefore question their value to the organisation. To perform a job effectively, individuals need to feel that they have appropriate training, equipment and resources. Employees are more likely to be stressed when they lack information about what is going on in the organisation in which case they feel undervalued. They may also be stressed when they cannot get feedback on their performance as some organisations do not provide results of performance appraisals to employees. In other cases, some of the feedback could be stressors if they show poor employee performance. Aspects of the job There are aspects of the job that could be potential sources of stress. For example, a job that is unlikely to change in the next 5-10 years could become boring and a source of stress to employees. Poor physical working conditions such as unhygienic conditions, dangerous workplaces such as crowding, noise, air pollution, or ergonomic problems, among others could also cause stress to employees. In cases where employees are physically abused at work, the fear of physical violence could cause stress at work. In some organisations, work performance could be closely monitored where supervision is so tight that an employee cannot even take a break. This can be a source of stress. Some organisations that keep changing just for the sake of changing can also be a major source of stress at work as employees keep second-guessing why changes are happening. Effects of stress on individuals There are a number of physical effects of stress on employees. One of them is sleep disturbances as most stressed employees cannot sleep at night. People who are stressed also complain about incessant headaches, and gastrointestinal upsets. Stressed people have also always been diagnosed with having raised blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, the effect of stress on health of individuals is enormous. The expenditure on health for individuals becomes expensive. According to the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, health care expenditures are nearly 50% greater for workers who report high levels of stress. Another effect of stress at work on individuals is emotional impact. Stressed workers experience anxiety and are highly irritable. This means that such emotions can lead to very negative consequences in terms of physical fights in organisations among employees. There is also depression among stressed employees and this is a condition that has serious health consequences to individuals. There is also intellectual effect of stress at work to individuals. For example, stressed employees lose concentration at work. The loss of concentration can lead to serious injuries especially when employees work in manufacturing firms where concentration is very important. This is also true for those who work in the service firms as lack of concentration can lead to poor productivity. Stressed employees also lack motivation. The lack of motivation means that employees do not have any reason to work harder and therefore their productivity is affected. There is also difficulty with thought process as individuals are preoccupied with other issues that stress them. Stressed employees also have memory loses and are poor at making decisions. This in essence affects their work. Another effect of stress at work is observed in the behaviour of employees. For instance, employees may start misusing substance including drinking of alcohol. People start drinking too much to forget about their stressful lives. In some cases, both men and women lose or experience decreased libido as sex requires a clear mind. When other issues block the functioning of the brain, it also affects their libido. Some may start displaying inappropriate behaviour in organisations and outside work places. Some start isolating themselves from others because of stress. Effects of Stress on Organisations Commentators have noted that stress-related illness is responsible for the loss of 6.5 million working days each year costing society about ?3.7 billion every year (Cartwright and Cooper 2002). This means that organisations end up spending a lot of money for employee health related bills that emanate from stressful work situations. Organisations also feel the pinch on their bottom-line when employees are stressed. For example, studies have found that stressful work conditions lead to increased absenteeism and higher employee exits and therefore detrimental to firm performance. It is therefore in the best interest of organisations to eliminate stressful work situations if productivity of their organisations is to be maintained or improved. In essence, most of the effects of stress on individuals also go on to affect organisations as when the productivity of a worker is affected so is that of the organisation. Stress can lead to higher employee turnovers, poor performance, increased employee complaints and accidents in workplaces. Conclusion This paper has discussed the concept of stress at work, defining the concept in detail and discussing the causes of stress in organisations. Further, the paper had discussed the effects of stress both to individuals and to organisations. References Burke, R.J., MacDermid, G. (1999), "Are workaholics job satisfied and successful in their careers?", Career Development International, Vol. 4 pp.277-82. 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