The Impact of Work-Related Stress and Trauma on Employees of the Service - Essay Example

Insert Title Name Tutor Date Introduction Stress is defined as a physiological reaction to an environment that is threatening caused by certain events within the work environment. These events cause stress and when in high intensity result in trauma. The level of stress at the work place has been increasing in various workplaces and it has turned out to be a major concern especially in the sales, service and hospitality industry. Work related stress affects the employer in various ways especially health. Poor health translates into poor performance at work and reduced production (Collins, P. & Gibbs, A.2003).Work stress results in increased staff costs because of absenteeism, turnover, medical as well as legal damages that possibly lower productivity. Stress in the above mentioned fields has been observed to be high in developing compared to developed countries according to research by ILO. This paper examines the impacts of work related stress and trauma on employees in the sales, service and hospitality industries. Causes of occupational stress and trauma Occupational stress and trauma are caused by role vagueness, conflicting performance expectations, the political climate in the place of work, strained relations with the boss or workers, responsibility of the staff, the requirements of customers, staff training, excess pressure of work on staff, exertion and overtime, exploitation and harassment, overtime work assignments and workers being molested sexually (Collins, P. & Gibbs, A. 2003). There are many other problems that may result in stress and trauma at the work place. Such factors may include family, socio-economic and individual factors. Trauma is known to result from one event that may be catastrophic like violence at the place of work or many other stressors that may be less dramatic which by cumulative effect cause debilitating physical and psychological changes. Cumulative trauma results from the combined effects of things like job mismatch, demeaning conditions at work, prejudice, unclear expectations at work, abusive treatment by colleagues, impossible workloads, job insecurity and handling difficult people. These factors destroy the employee’s sense of security, well being and value. Effects of stress and trauma Trauma and stress resulting from work has been seen as resulting into disease. Increasing clinical evidence shows that stress and trauma also affect the cardiovascular and immune systems. Physiological effects of trauma and stress include increased rate of heart beat, respiratory problems, diabetes, cirrhosis, headache, excessive sweating and hypertension. Occupational stress and trauma has been linked with low work output and may result in high levels of accidents (Michie, 2002) it also has the potential to affect the private life of the employee and eventually result into problems in marriage, in the community and among the friends of the affected. Such occupational stress may cause a lot of social and economic costs for employees and employees alike. Stress at the work place has been found to be increasing on daily basis. It is a public hazard and at the same times an occupational risk factor. In the sales, service and hospitality work place it has become normal to say that stress is part of life. In the sales profession, the existence of stress is more frequent. Bultmann, Kant, Kasl, Beurskens, A & Brandt, P.A. (2002). Sales environments have a lot of conflict and role ambiguity, competitiveness within and between organizations, and behavior that is goal oriented. Investigations into sale occupations have revealed that role conflict and ambiguity are the main factors causing stress and trauma. Both the organization and the employee are affected because of stress and trauma. The employee can be impacted socially, physically, environmentally and psychologically. The organization loses through absenteeism, increased turnover, lower morale, legal implications and reduced productivity. There is increasing recognition that work related ill health can result from occupational stress and trauma. Negative effects can also be experienced on the psychological and physical wellbeing. Stress in the employee comes from an absence of fitness between the demands that the work place presents and the capabilities of the employee. An employee who is not qualified for a given job could become stressed and traumatized very highly at the place of work. Although the effects of trauma from an emotional standpoint could be well known work related trauma could have far much hidden effects. The depth of the effect caused by trauma on work is serious than can be realized by anybody .Just as stress, trauma can affect all the aspects of the effectiveness of an employee at the place of work. In most cases employees who are traumatized are in most cases compromised so that their capacity to manage change, think, learn and relate with other people is affected. Such employees have a very high likelihood of having physical and mental health problems among them substance abuse, depression which are among the most expensive problems experienced in the place of work currently. Sales, hospitality and service industries are very sensitive places of work where employees deal with people all the time (Cox, Griffith & Rial-Gonzalez, 2000).It is therefore expected that occupational stress and trauma could have more negative impacts in these work places which should be avoided for the work to continue. How to prevent bullying, aggression and stressors Griffith & Rial-Gonzalez, (2000) observe that the health of any organization is found in a secure and committed workforce. In such an organization harassment of employees becomes alien because a culture and anti harassment policies that put in place ensure that employees are free to report bullying and sources of stress. The problem of aggression and bullying can easily be solved if there is an atmosphere that gives employees the freedom to expose the bullies. Dealing with fear among employees is key to dealing with bullying, stress and aggression. Exposing bullies is an important way of ensuring that they do not continue with their evil habits. The Human Resource department in any organization must therefore forge warm relations with employees to ensure that they are free enough to share their problems especially those that cause stress like bullying and being violated. In regards to Chan, A. & Huak, C. (2004).Stress at the place of work can be dealt with if the management tries as much as possible to get rid of the factors that cause this stress. For example interpersonal relations between employees and the employee management relations should be taken care of. An atmosphere of peace and understanding should be cultivated. Employees should never be under undue pressure resulting from excessive work, unrealistic expectations from employees and molestation. As many forums as possible should be created by the management to help employees open up and tell the issues they struggle with at the workplace. These issues should then be handled carefully with dedication to ensure that every employee is treated with respect in the organization . The HR department should create an environment which fosters honesty, trust and many other positive attitudes necessary to help the workforce have a comfortable life. In tackling the behavior of aggression and bullying, prevention works better than cure. The Human Resource department can sieve the people being recruited into the company to ensure that bullies are left out. Potential employers should be examined in interviews on their ability to communicate positively instead of just looking for the skills that the employer requires for the job. Employers should organize induction seminars in which employees can be trained and given support. In such a seminar a trainer from outside should be invited to give training to the employees. In the induction seminar there should be training about the equal opportunities in the organization, anti harassment policies. Bullying should therefore be mentioned as an issue of gross misconduct. In such seminars the staff members must be given information in written on where to go or whom to go to if they get into problems about bullying and aggression. This information should be issued again and again on regular basis putting a note in the employees’ wage packet (Collins, P. & Gibbs, A. 2003). The policies on anti harassment should be able to clarify what the warning signs of the relationships between bullies and victims are for workers to recognize them in case a situation comes up. Where it is appropriate employees should be shown where they can report incidences of bullies and warning signs with all the confidence and without their future prospects within the organization being threatened. A strong message coming from the management that the organization cares for them which is known not to be empty rhetoric could motivate employees to work well. In the same line of effort the management should introduce external employee assistance programs (EAPs) that can be counted upon to give therapeutic counseling to those employees that have been harassed or bullied at the workplace. The tight rules of confidentiality in these programs give the employees’ confidence to discuss their problems with counselors that are qualified to defuse problems that could be potentially damaging early enough before they become difficult. Bullies should also be counseled and their counseling should not be taken for granted. Counseling forces a bully to come to terms with the bad effect that their conduct causes to other people (Pelfrene, E., Vlerick, P., Kittel, F., Mak, R.P., Kornitzer, M. & De Backer, G. 2002). In the EAPs the employees should be taught assertive skills that can help them to deal with bullying at the work place. Many people who are victims of bullying at the place of work are not assertive enough to confront those tormenting them and they also lack the skills to effectively do this confrontation. Conclusion In conclusion the essay has examined the impacts resulting from work related stress and trauma on employees. Special emphasis has been places on the service, sales and hospitality industries. The methods of dealing with bullying, aggression and stressors at the work place have also been explored. Work related stress, trauma, bullying and aggression are things that lower employee productivity whenever they affect the emotional health of any employee. Stress related problems destroy the enthusiasm, motivation and ability to work in people. Stress and trauma at the workplace could result from many reasons some of which are individual or work related. Those related to work include sexual molestation, too much work, hard working conditions, harassment and exploitation among others. References Bultmann, U., Kant, I., Kasl, V., Beurskens, A. & Brandt, P.A. (2002). Fatigue and psychological distress in the working population. Psychometrics, prevalence, and correlates Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 52, 445-452. Collins, P. & Gibbs, A. (2003). Stress in police officers: a study of the origins, prevalence and severity of stress-related symptoms within a country police force. Occupational medicine, 53, 256- 264. disorders. American Psychologist 45(10):1146-1158. Chan, A. & Huak, C. (2004). Psychological impact of the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak on health workers in a medium size regional general hospital in Singapore. Cox, T., Griffith, A. & Rial-Gonzalez, E. (2000), Research on Work-related stress, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Luxembourg. Mikkelsen, E & Einarsen, S. (2002). Relationships between exposure to bullying at work and psychological and psychosomatic health complaints: the role of state negative affectivity and generalized self-efficacy. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 43, 397- 405. Michie, S. (2002) Causes and management of stress at work. Occup Environ Med, 59, 67-72. Pelfrene, E., Vlerick, P., Kittel, F., Mak, R.P., Kornitzer, M. & De Backer, G. (2002). Psychosocial work environment and psychological well-being: assessment of the buffering effects in the job demand-control (support) model in BELLSTRESS. Stress and Health, 18, 43-56. Read More

Effects of stress and trauma Trauma and stress resulting from work has been seen as resulting into disease. Increasing clinical evidence shows that stress and trauma also affect the cardiovascular and immune systems. Physiological effects of trauma and stress include increased rate of heart beat, respiratory problems, diabetes, cirrhosis, headache, excessive sweating and hypertension. Occupational stress and trauma has been linked with low work output and may result in high levels of accidents (Michie, 2002) it also has the potential to affect the private life of the employee and eventually result into problems in marriage, in the community and among the friends of the affected.

Such occupational stress may cause a lot of social and economic costs for employees and employees alike. Stress at the work place has been found to be increasing on daily basis. It is a public hazard and at the same times an occupational risk factor. In the sales, service and hospitality work place it has become normal to say that stress is part of life. In the sales profession, the existence of stress is more frequent. Bultmann, Kant, Kasl, Beurskens, A & Brandt, P.A. (2002). Sales environments have a lot of conflict and role ambiguity, competitiveness within and between organizations, and behavior that is goal oriented.

Investigations into sale occupations have revealed that role conflict and ambiguity are the main factors causing stress and trauma. Both the organization and the employee are affected because of stress and trauma. The employee can be impacted socially, physically, environmentally and psychologically. The organization loses through absenteeism, increased turnover, lower morale, legal implications and reduced productivity. There is increasing recognition that work related ill health can result from occupational stress and trauma.

Negative effects can also be experienced on the psychological and physical wellbeing. Stress in the employee comes from an absence of fitness between the demands that the work place presents and the capabilities of the employee. An employee who is not qualified for a given job could become stressed and traumatized very highly at the place of work. Although the effects of trauma from an emotional standpoint could be well known work related trauma could have far much hidden effects. The depth of the effect caused by trauma on work is serious than can be realized by anybody .

Just as stress, trauma can affect all the aspects of the effectiveness of an employee at the place of work. In most cases employees who are traumatized are in most cases compromised so that their capacity to manage change, think, learn and relate with other people is affected. Such employees have a very high likelihood of having physical and mental health problems among them substance abuse, depression which are among the most expensive problems experienced in the place of work currently. Sales, hospitality and service industries are very sensitive places of work where employees deal with people all the time (Cox, Griffith & Rial-Gonzalez, 2000).

It is therefore expected that occupational stress and trauma could have more negative impacts in these work places which should be avoided for the work to continue. How to prevent bullying, aggression and stressors Griffith & Rial-Gonzalez, (2000) observe that the health of any organization is found in a secure and committed workforce. In such an organization harassment of employees becomes alien because a culture and anti harassment policies that put in place ensure that employees are free to report bullying and sources of stress.

The problem of aggression and bullying can easily be solved if there is an atmosphere that gives employees the freedom to expose the bullies. Dealing with fear among employees is key to dealing with bullying, stress and aggression. Exposing bullies is an important way of ensuring that they do not continue with their evil habits. The Human Resource department in any organization must therefore forge warm relations with employees to ensure that they are free enough to share their problems especially those that cause stress like bullying and being violated.

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