© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Chapter 7 Stress and Well-Being at Work Learning Outcomes 1 Define stress, distress, and strain. 2 Compare four different approaches to stress. 3 Explain the psychophysiology of the stress response. 4 Identify work and nonwork causes of stress. 5 Describe the consequences of stress. 6 Discuss individual factors that influence a person’s response to stress and strain. 7 Identify the stages and elements of preventive stress management for individuals and organizations.

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Learning Outcome Define stress, distress, and strain. 1

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 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 ] – the adverse psychological, physical, behavioral, and organizational consequences that may arise as a result of stressful events [Strain] – distress

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Learning Outcome Compare four different approaches to stress. 2

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Homeostasis a steady state of bodily functioning and equilibrium

Homeostasis External environmental demand + = Fight Flight HOMEOSTATIC/MEDICAL 1 OF 4 APPROACHES

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 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 2 OF 4 APPROACHES

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Problem-focused coping emphasizes managing the stressor Emotion-focused coping emphasizes managing your response COGNITIVE APPRAISAL

No undue stress Good person-environment fit: a person’s skills and abilities match a clearly defined, consistent set of role expectations Stress, strain, and depression occur when role expectations are confusing and/or conflicting, or when the person’s skills and abilities do not meet the demands of the social role PERSON-ENVIRONMENT FIT 3 OF 4 APPROACHES

= the difference between ego ideal and self-image Self-Image – how a person sees oneself, both positively & negatively Ego Ideal – the embodiment of a person’s perfect self PSYCHOANALYTIC 4 OF 4 APPROACHES

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Learning Outcome Explain the psychophysiology of the stress response. 3

The Stress Response Blood redirected from the skin and internal organs to brain and large muscles Increased alertness: improved vision, hearing, and other sensory responses Release of glucose and fatty acids for sustenance Depression of immune system, digestion, and similar restorative processes Release of chemical messengers, primarily adrenaline, into the bloodstream Sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine (hormone) system activated

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. How often do the following happen to you? Always (3), often (2), sometimes (1), or never (0)? Rate each statement on a scale from 0 to 3, as honestly as you can and without spending too much time on any one statement. Am I Overstressed? 1. I have to make important snap judgments and decisions. 2. I am not consulted about what happens on my job or in my classes. 3. I feel I am underpaid. 4. I feel that no matter how hard I work, the system will mess it up. 5. I do not get along with some of my coworkers or fellow students. 6. I do not trust my superiors at work or my professors at school. 7. The paperwork burden on my job or at school is getting to me. 8. I feel people outside the job or the university do not respect what I do. Record your score as the sum of your responses. Beyond the Book: Stress Check

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. How often do the following happen to you? Always (3), often (2), sometimes (1), or never (0)? Rate each statement on a scale from 0 to 3, as honestly as you can and without spending too much time on any one statement. Am I Angry? 1. I feel that people around me make too many irritating mistakes. 2. I feel annoyed because I do good work or perform well in school, but no one appreciates it. 3. When people make me angry, I tell them off. 4. When I am angry, I say things I know will hurt people. 5. I lose my temper easily. 6. I feel like striking out at someone who angers me. 7. When a coworker or fellow student makes a mistake, I tell him or her about it. 8. I cannot stand being criticized in public. Record your score as the sum of your responses, and add it to your score from the previous section. Beyond the Book: Stress Check

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. To find your level of anger and potential for aggressive behavior, add your scores from both quiz parts. 40–48: The red flag is waving, and you had better pay attention. You are in the danger zone. You need guidance from a counselor or mental health professional, and you should be getting it now. 30–39: The yellow flag is up. Your stress and anger levels are too high, and you are feeling increasingly hostile. You are still in control, but it would not take much to trigger a violent flare of temper. 10–29:Relax, you are in the broad normal range. Like most people, you get angry occasionally, but usually with some justification. Sometimes you take overt action, but you are not likely to be unreasonably or excessively aggressive. 0–9: Congratulations! You are in great shape. Your stress and anger are well under control, giving you a laid-back personality not prone to violence. Beyond the Book: Stress Check

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Learning Outcome Identify work and nonwork causes of stress. 4

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. [Sources of Stress] Stress in the work place – comes from either WORK DEMANDS OR NONWORK DEMANDS

Sources of Stress at Work

Stress Sources at Work

Stress Benefits and Costs

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Learning Outcome Describe the consequences of stress. 5

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 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

Yerkes-Dodson Law Performance arousal High Low (distress) Optimum (eustress) High (distress) Stress level Boredom from understimulation Optimum stress load Conditions perceived as stressful Distress from overstimulation

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Negative Stress Negative stress results from –a prolonged activation of the stress response –mismanagement of the energy induced by the response –unique personal vulnerabilities

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Columnist Jared Sandberg often addresses the absurdities resulting from employer-friend inter-role conflict in his Wall Street Journal column “Cubicle Culture”. Informal or “friendly” behavior from bosses (e.g. sharing strange hobbies, or friend requests on social-networking websites) can result in uncertain, unusual, and potentially stressful social dynamics at work. What do you do when your boss strikes up a casual conversation about information from your Facebook profile? Beyond the Book: Friends with the Boss

Individual Distress Work-related psychological disorders (depression, burnout, psychosomatic disorders) Medical illness (heart disease, strokes, headaches, backaches) Behavioral problems (substance abuse, violence, accidents) Copyright ©2006 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 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

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Learning Outcome Discuss individual factors that influence a person’s response to stress and strain. 6

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Individual Differences – Achilles’ heel phenomenon – a person breaks down at his or her weakest point Backaches Headaches Heart Disease Depression in the Stress–Strain Relationship

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Are There Gender-Related Stressors? Sexual harassment Early age fatal health problems Long term disabling health problems Violence

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Type A Behavior Patterns Type A Behavior Patterns – a complex of personality and behavior characteristics –sense of time urgency “hurry sickness” –quest for numbers (of achievements) –status insecurity –aggression & hostility expressed in response to frustration & conflict

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Personality Hardiness [ Personality Hardiness ] – a personality resistant to distress and characterized by –challenge (versus threat) –commitment (versus alienation) –control (versus powerlessness) [ Transformational Coping ] – a way of managing stressful events by changing them into subjectively less stressful events (versus regressive coping – passive avoidance of events by decreasing interaction with the environment)

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Self-Reliance Self-Reliance – a healthy, secure, interdependent pattern of behavior related to how people form and maintain supportive attachments with others Counterdependence – an unhealthy, insecure pattern of behavior that leads to separation in relationships with other people Overdependence – an unhealthy, insecure pattern of behavior that leads to preoccupied attempts to achieve security through relationships.

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Learning Outcome Identify the stages and elements of preventive stress management for individuals and organizations. 7

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. an organizational philosophy that holds that people & organizations should take joint responsibility for promoting health and preventing distress and strain Preventative Stress Management

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Primary Prevention – designed to reduce, modify, or eliminate the demand or stressor causing stress Secondary Prevention – designed to alter or modify the individual’s or the organization’s response to a demand or stressor Tertiary Prevention – designed to heal individual or organizational symptoms of distress and strain Preventative Stress Management

Distress Individual problems Behavioral Medical Psychological Organizational costs Direct Indirect Symptomatic disease Symptomatic disease Tertiary prevention symptom directed Preventative Stress Maintenance Stress responses Individual Organizational Stress responses Individual Organizational Asymptomatic disease Asymptomatic disease Secondary prevention response directed Organizational stressors Task demands Role demands Physical demands Interpersonal demands Organizational stressors Task demands Role demands Physical demands Interpersonal demands Health risk factors Primary prevention stressor directed SOURCE: Based on J. D. Quick, J. C. Quick, and D.L. Nelson. “The Theory of Preventive Stress Management in Organizations,” in C. L. Cooper, ed. Theories of Organizational Stress (Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. 1998), Organizational ContextPreventive Medicine Context

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Recent studies suggest that employees with greater political skill are able to moderate physical and mental effects of stress from role conflict. Does the use of political skill enable workers to reconcile conflicting roles and eliminate discrepancies in expectations? Beyond the Book: Political Skill and Role-Conflict

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Organizational Stress Prevention Focuses on people’s work demands Focuses on ways to reduce distress at work Most organizational prevention is primary –job redesign –goal setting –role negotiation –social support systems

Job Strain Model Unresolved strain (ill health) Workload Low High Self- determination Low High Active job SOURCE: B. Gardell, “Efficiency and Health Hazards in Mechanized Work,” in J. C. Quick, R.S. Bhagat, J. E. Dalton, and J. D. Quick, eds., Work Stress: Health Care Systems in the Workplace. Copyright © Reproduced with permission of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., Westport, CT. High-strain job Low-strain job Passive job

Social Support at Work and Home Individual Organizational Supervisor Colleagues Subordinates Clients Family Spouse Children Parents In-laws Church Minister/Rabbi Friends Support groups Clubs Business associations Social clubs Athletic groups Professional Physicians Psychologists Counselors Lawyers SOURCE: From J. C. Quick J. D. Quick, D. L. Nelson and J. J. Hurrell, Jr., in Preventive Stress Management in Organizations, 1997, p Copyright© 1997 by The American Psychological Association. Reprinted with permission. Copyright ©2006 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved

Individual Preventive Stress Management

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 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