Psychology 245

1. 1 Psychology 245 Worker Stress and Worker Well-Being Chapter 11

2. 2 What is stress? A physiological or psychological reaction to threatening/taxing events. Stress leads to strain Negative and positive stress Distress � reactions to negative events. Eustress � reactions to positive events. Feelings of pride, accomplishment, challenge.

3. 3 Stressors and Strains Stressor: An environmental event that is perceived as threatening. Eg: deadlines, huge workloads, etc. Strains: Undesirable personal outcomes that can result from stressful experiences.

4. 4 General Stress Model

5. 5 Organizational sources of stress Work Task Stressors Work overload Results when work requires too much speed, output, or concentration. Underutilization Results when work does not fully utilize an individual�s KSAs.

6. 6 Job stressors Job/role ambiguity: Role expectations are unclear. *Role conflict: Supervisor sends mixed messages. Interpersonal relationships Having bad relationships with others ? stress.

7. 7 21st Century Org Stressors and How to Deal with Them Less Supervision: Develop own responsibilities/objectives. Seek high-quality feedback from others. Team-oriented Culture : Be prepared for and accept empowerment. Improve your communication skills.

8. 8 21st Century Stressors cont� Downsizing: Be aware of rumors, but don�t let them overcome you. Work hard and creatively to prove your worth to your organization. Diversity: Become more aware of your own values and prejudices. Consider the many benefits that come from diversity including increasing productivity.

9. 9 Dispositional stressors *Type A Personality A personality dominated by an excessive drive for work, underlined by impatience, hostility, and competitiveness. Linked to greater incidence of heart disease than Type B personality. Research shows mixed findings: Type A�s more likely to report high stress. receive same environmental trigger in different way than B Type A�s more likely to display stronger reactions. receive in same way but display in different way than B Type A�s exhibit workaholism.

10. 10 More dispositional stressors Susceptibility to stress: Hardiness An ability to resist the negative effects of stressful situations. Resiliency. Negatively correlated with stress. Self-efficacy An individual�s beliefs that s/he has the power to engage in successful behaviors. Negatively correlated with stress.

11. 11 Measurement of stress Physiological measures Blood pressure monitoring, use of EKGs, blood tests. Self report assessments Eg: Stress Diagnostic Survey (SDS), Job Stress Survey (JSS), Stress in General (SIG). Stressful Life Events Uses the social readjustment rating scale. (attach) Measurement of P-E, Person-Environment fit Discrepancy b/w measures of a person�s KSAs and measures of work environment and job demands. introvert waiter

12. 12 Effects of Worker Stress: Some Common Strains Psychological Depression, anxiety, fatigue, mood, overall well-being and life satisfaction . Physiological illness, chronic health problems/ carpal tunnel, pain, sleep, diet Performance deficits Inverted U-shaped relationship between stress and performance at work. Low satisfaction and less motivation Absenteeism and voluntary turnover

13. 13 Job Burnout A process of withdrawal from the organization stemming from prolonged exposure to work stress. Symptoms � tardiness, absenteeism, poor performance and quality, attrition Three phases of burnout: Emotional Exhaustion: Being overextended at work. Depersonalization: Detachment from the job resulting from cynicism. Low personal accomplishment A belief that one is no longer useful at work.

14. 14 Managerial Perspective on Stress Stress is either challenge or hindrance-related Challenge-related stress is positively related to satisfaction, negatively to job search Hindrance-related stress interferes with work and is negatively related to job satisfaction, positively related to job search Different types of stress have differential effects on important outcomes.

15. 15 Coping with stress Coping: Efforts that help individuals manage or reduce stress. Problem-focused coping Coping style that targets solving the stress inducing problem itself. Finding compromises to problem issues. Emotion-focused coping Coping style involving cognitive strategies that minimize the emotional effects of stressful events. Rationalizing situations to reduce stress.

16. 16 Organizational coping strategies Improve person-job fit. Done through screening, selection, and placement of employees. Improve training and orientation because most-stressed workers are new employees Increase autonomy Remember the JCM [Job characteristics model]? Eliminate punitive management. Supportive, team-oriented work environment. Strong org culture fostering support, like Southwest Airlines. Improved communication. a lot of time, stress results from poor communication

17. 17 Warr�s Environmental Determinants of Well-Being Opportunity for personal control Opportunity for skill use Variety Environmental clarity Valued social position Externally-generated goals Availability of money Physical security Supportive supervisor research Opportunity for interpersonal contact

18. 18 Factors Related to Job-Related Well-Being The more one�s job provides the factors in Warr�s model, the greater one�s well-being. You can have �too much of a good thing.� Too many demands and too much responsibility can overwhelm employees.

19. 19 Work-Family Conflict More dual-earner couples than ever before. 78% of women with kids between 6 and 17 are employed outside the home. 78% of employees surveyed said that their #1 priority is to balance work and family life. 22% of employees think they can�t have a good family life and get ahead in their companies.

20. 20 Work-Family Conflict Spillover model: Attitudes and behaviors carry over from one domain to the other. most supported, more often to spill work->family Compensation Model: Domains of work and family operate in counterbalancing fashion. Segmentation Model: Work and family issues are kept separate, little overlap.

21. 21 Family-Friendly Benefits Family-Leave Policies: Allow employees to take time off to tend to family issues. Child-Care Benefits: Help employees in providing care for their kids. Elder-Care Assistance: Help employees care for their aging parents and relatives.

22. 22 Family-Leave Policies Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): Employees can take a leave of up to 12 weeks because of family related issues. Taken advantage of by workers 18-34, reasons for leave prominently include personal health and childbirth. Problem with US policy is that employees can�t afford to use it. European countries have a much stronger program, such as Belgium�s career break program.

23. 23 Child Care Benefits On-site child care has become very prominent in American organizations Good recruitment tool for employees and seen as a very valuable resource by those who can take advantage of it. Lotus Software: 4-5% turnover rate for those using child care benefits as compared to 18% industry average. Linked to higher job satisfaction and org. commitment. �Family-friendly backlash by singles� - ChildFree Network.

24. 24 Elder-Care Assistance 22 million US households provide care to elderly. Typical care-giver: 46 year old woman spending 18hrs/wk caring for mother. Sandwich generation; 41% of those caregivers are also caring for kids under 18 (baby boomers). # of folks over 65 will double between 2000-2030. More than 305 of employers offer some elder care services. Huge costs to orgs via absenteeism, interruptions, emergencies, and turnover.

25. 25 Dual-Earner Couples Represent 45% of the labor force. Work has become home and home has become work; faster paced lives now. One non-work related variable found to affect career satisfaction of those folks was sat with child care arrangements. Lack of job security, time pressures at work, poor supervisor/subordinate relations affected marital satisfaction. negative spillover

26. 26 New Look at Dual-Earners Conventional Dual-Career Marriage: Female maintains primary responsibility for home and kids while adding a career. Role-Sharing Dual-Career Marriage: Both spouses active in careers and home. Women expecting a role-sharing marriage are more committed to a lifelong career, have higher self-esteem, and expect a husband to involve himself in managing the household.

27. 27 Job Loss in Organizations US corporations have been reducing number of jobs at alarming rates since the 1980s and it�s really gearing up right now. 43 million jobs lost in the US since 1979. Anxiety about job loss continues to rise. Working scared. Surviving a layoff doesn�t make you feel confident. What about next time?

28. 28 Job Loss in Organizations 1000 workers murdered and more than 1 million assaulted in the workplace every year. 1.7 million Americans assaulted or threatened with assault at work every year. Interest in workplace violence took off with the Patrick Sherrill case in Edmund, OK, 1986 � killed 14 Post Office workers and himself with his supervisor going first.

29. 29 Workplace Violence Strong positive relationship between stress and workplace violence. Study published by the FBI and US Dept of Justice (1995) found� 97% of the murderers were males Between the ages of 30-60 Over 70% were white A firearm was always used Almost 90% of them were former / current employees History of psychological / personality disorders Always exhibited at least one behavioral warning sign prior to the incident.

30. 30 Research findings on workplace violence Reliable findings: 1. Frustrating events -> aggression / violence. 2. Perpetrators of violence have Been rewarded for such behavior in the past (other�s fear) Had role models who were violent. 3. High external locus of control ? responding to negative events in violent ways. Belief they�re not in charge of what happens to them Males more likely than females to be violent in the workplace.

31. 31 Models of Workplace Violence Tentative findings: Seemingly minor frustrations at work may act as triggers. Individuals high in negative affectivity are more likely to respond to aversive outcomes with aggressive behaviors as are those with more impulsive personalities. affectivity: predisposition of what to expect from world. cynical.

32. 32 Models of Workplace Violence Some propositions: Some aggressive behaviors happen without conscious thought. Individuals who are emotionally susceptible (react to aversive events in charged fashion) are more likely to perceive workplace events as triggers. Management is often perceived as cause for negative outcomes in ambiguous situations and subsequently becomes a target.