Occupational Safety and Health 6 th Edition Lecture Notes By: Dr. David Goetsch

Chapter Eleven Stress and Safety

Occupational Safety and Health for Technologists, Engineers, and Managers, 6/th ed. Goetsch © 2008 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Stress Defined Stress is the harmful physical and emotional response that occurs when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker.

Occupational Safety and Health for Technologists, Engineers, and Managers, 6/th ed. Goetsch © 2008 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Workplace Stress Workplace stress involves a worker’s feelings resulting from perceived differences between the demands of the job and the person’s capacity to cope with these demands.

Occupational Safety and Health for Technologists, Engineers, and Managers, 6/th ed. Goetsch © 2008 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Sources of Workplace Stress Sources of workplace stress include: Environmental conditions Work overload Role ambiguity Lack of feedback Personality Personal and family problems Role conflict Task complexity Lack of control over job Public safety responsibility Job security Lack of psychological support Environmental safety concerns

Occupational Safety and Health for Technologists, Engineers, and Managers, 6/th ed. Goetsch © 2008 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Causes of Workplace Stress A life insurance company poll of workers found that workplace stress may be caused by: Company reorganization Buyout or layoffs Mandatory overtime Varying workloads Work pace Lack of opportunity for advancement Bureaucracy Shortages of staff, money, or technology Low pay Rotating shifts

Occupational Safety and Health for Technologists, Engineers, and Managers, 6/th ed. Goetsch © 2008 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Categories of Human Reaction to Workplace Stress Human reaction to workplace stress may be grouped into five categories: Subjective Behavioral Cognitive Physiological Organizational

Occupational Safety and Health for Technologists, Engineers, and Managers, 6/th ed. Goetsch © 2008 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Reactions to Stress Psychosomatic reaction to stress may eventually lead to autoimmune disease. Until an individual’s limit is reached, the effects of stress may be reversed. After that limit, with continuing stress, the effects can become pathological. Research has shown three stages of human reaction to stress: Alarm Resistance Exhaustion

Occupational Safety and Health for Technologists, Engineers, and Managers, 6/th ed. Goetsch © 2008 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Measuring Mental Workload Mental workload can be measured in three ways: 1. Subjective ratings that are state dependent 2. Behavioral time sharing 3. Psycho physiological techniques

Occupational Safety and Health for Technologists, Engineers, and Managers, 6/th ed. Goetsch © 2008 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Psychosocial Surveys Defined Psychosocial questionnaires study how workers feel about their jobs.

Occupational Safety and Health for Technologists, Engineers, and Managers, 6/th ed. Goetsch © 2008 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Shift Work Shift work occurs when the majority of people are at leisure. The circadian rhythm, or biological clock within the body, determines when a person will be comfortable either working or sleeping. Workers surveyed have reported lower job satisfaction with rotating shifts. Shift work may result in loss of productivity and an increased number of accidents.

Occupational Safety and Health for Technologists, Engineers, and Managers, 6/th ed. Goetsch © 2008 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Dealing with Stress The best policy regarding stress is to learn to adapt to it. Efforts to rid the workplace of stress are unlikely to succeed. All sources of job stress cannot be eliminated.

Occupational Safety and Health for Technologists, Engineers, and Managers, 6/th ed. Goetsch © 2008 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Stress Reduction Efforts by Managers Managers can reduce workplace stress by: Reducing role ambiguity Increasing Feedback and job autonomy Reducing exposure to physical hazards Varying the work pace Eliminating monotonous or short-cycle operations

Occupational Safety and Health for Technologists, Engineers, and Managers, 6/th ed. Goetsch © 2008 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Life Insurance Study on Stress Reduction Workplace stress reduction, according to a life insurance study, can be accomplished by: Providing employees mental health insurance benefits Improving employee-management communications Providing workers with information about how to deal with stress Providing job descriptions Talking with employees regularly Recognizing and rewarding contributions Having published work rules

Occupational Safety and Health for Technologists, Engineers, and Managers, 6/th ed. Goetsch © 2008 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Life Insurance Study on Stress Reduction (Continued) Permitting flexible work hours Granting perks fairly Giving adequate training and technology access Proving a place and time to relax Having uncrowded workplaces with space to put up personal items Keeping a sense of humor

Occupational Safety and Health for Technologists, Engineers, and Managers, 6/th ed. Goetsch © 2008 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Individuals’ Response to Stress Individuals can effectively respond to a stressful workload by: Delegating responsibility Learning how to relax Relaxation methods include: Meditation Biofeedback Music Exercise

Occupational Safety and Health for Technologists, Engineers, and Managers, 6/th ed. Goetsch © 2008 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. Most Important Factor in Dealing with Stress One of the most important factors in dealing with stress is learning to recognize its symptoms and taking the symptoms seriously.