Organisational Behavior - Stress and Well-being at Work

1. Topics covered:
1. Stress
2. Approaches
3. Response
4. Sources of work stress
Vijayalakshmi S

2. Defining stress
 "unconscious preparation to fight or flee that a person
experiences when faced with any demand"
 comprehensive definition: “physical and physiological
effects on a person, and can be a mental, physical, or
emotional strain”
positive
negative
stress
manage crises, push yourself harder
to achieve something. this is called
Eustress.
It is the discomfort experienced by
people when they are put in
situations unfavourable
to them.

3. Reasoning
1. Individuals feel stress when the need of desire is not
accomplished in the normal expected ways
2. This is because of natural constraints operated on the individuals.
The more the intensity of the desire and the greater is the
uncertainty associated with the achievement of the goal, the
greater is the degree of stress
Example:
1. Employees are working for longer hours, taking
on the work once done by laid-off colleagues,
meeting tighter deadlines and cutting back on family
demands of monthly mortgages, childcare issues and
aging parents, and the deterioration. Perhaps these are
potential reasons for stress in the employees.
2. Balancing home and work for new parents
who are still getting used to their careers and the new
born

4. Features of stress
 Stress is both psychological and physical aspect.
 It is common to both the genders.
 It results from deviation of expectations from actual situation.
 It is symptomatic, Potential stress appears with the symptoms. If
the potential stress is ignored it leads to actual stress.
 Stress is generally treated to be negative.
 Stress is an interactive concept. It does not spring from the
internal organs of the individual. It comes from the interaction of
the human being with the environment. Thus, environment has
a profound influence on the stress.

5. Approaches to stress
Distress: adverse behaviour that arises due to stress. AKA strain
Stressor: the person/event that triggers stress
 1. Homeostasis/Medical Approach: The fight/flight response to
stress. Acc. to W.B. Canon, stress resulted when external or
environmental demand upsets a person's natural steady-state
balance called "homeostasis". he believed that body has a natural
defense against to keeps it's balance.
 2. Cognitive Appraisal approach: by Richard Lazarus
Stress levels depend on psychological factors like perception and
cognitive appraisal (evaluation) of people and events. Different
cultures have different aspects that stresses people out. Mr.
Lazarus also introduced problem-focused (managing the stressor)
and emotion-focused (managing individual response) coping of
stress.

6. Approaches to stress
 3. Person-Environment Fit Approach: when a person and his
environment do not coincide. Roles/expectations do not coincide
with a person's skills and abilities.
 4. Psychoanalytic approach: Stress occurs from the clash of
"Ego-ideal“ – one’s idea perfect self and “Self-image” – how a
person sees himself +ve & -ve*

7. Work Stress
 Work stress is a response people have for
various work-related reasons:
1. Demands/pressures of work that is not in
their means – mismatch in their abilities to
what’s expected
2. Lack of support from supervisors/colleagues
3. Insufficient use of one’s abilities
4. Criticism or harsh feedback
Work
Stressors
Physical
environment
Role-related
Interpersonal
Organizational

8. Work demand
 a) Task demand:
 Change, Globalization, Technology, innovation
 Timing, inability to make decisions, career progress, time
pressures, work load
 Bad bosses
 b) Role Demands
 > Role conflict: Interrole(employee-parent), Intrarole(fast + high
quality work), Person-role(ethics violation - values, beliefs)
 > Role ambiguity: Lack of awareness of how to do what is
expected. Like, being asked to work on MSExcel and not knowing
how to do it.
 > Role overload: too much work

9. Work demand
 http://www.who.int/occupational_health/publications/en/oehstress
.pdf
 ORGB book
 STRESS IN ORGANIZATIONS by Sabine Sonnentag & Michael Frese
c) Interpersonal Demands:
Poor leadership, sexual harassment, safeguarding reputations, lack
of trust
d) Physical demand:
Handling hazardous substances, frequent travel, tough jobs eg:
mining, stock-brokerage ..
References :