STRESS DI TEMPAT KERJA Pertemuan 19 & 20

2. STRESS DI TEMPAT KERJAPertemuan 19 & 20 Matakuliah : L0064 / Psikologi Industri & Organisasi 1 Tahun : 2007 / 2008

3. Learning Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be able to • Describe the physiological effects of stress • Identify the contributions of individual differences in stress responses • Understand the nature of work-family conflicts • Identify the causes and effects of stress in the workplace • Describe the various approaches to treating stress in the workplace

4. What is Stress? • Stress physiological and psychological responses to excessive and usually unpleasant stimulation and to threatening events in the environment • Stress effects all levels of employees • Stress is costly to employers and correlates positively with health care claims and costs • Up to half of all physician visits are precipitated by stress • Many physical complaints may be psychosomatic

5. Stress-Related Physical Problems • High blood pressure • Ulcers • Colitis • Heart disease • Arthritis • Skin diseases • Allergies • Headaches • Neck and lower back pain • Increase in infectious diseases

6. Occupational Health Psychology • The field of study dealing with the health effects of job stress and other aspects of well-being • Proposed as a name in 1990 by Jonathan Raymond • Focus group in the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management • APA launched formal development of the field with NIOSH • Started Journal of Occupational Health Psychology

7. Physiological Effects of Stress • Adrenaline is released, blood pressure rises, heart rate increases, extra sugar is discharged into the bloodstream • Males and females respond differently to stress • Male - fight-or-flightresponse • Female - tend-and-befriend response • Prolonged exposure to stress leads to physical and psychosomatic illness • Stress doesn’t affect everyone the same way

8. Job Satisfaction and Feelings of Control • Those with high job satisfaction suffer few harmful effects of stress • Those with high levels of job dissatisfaction show considerable stress-related effects • Challenge-related stress includes time pressure and high levels of responsibility • Leads to fulfillment and achievement • Hindrance-related stress includes excessive job demands and constraints • Leads to frustration and low satisfaction • Top executives seem to handle stress better than middle managers – have 40% fewer heart attacks

9. Coping with Stress • High job satisfaction and control over working conditions reduce a person’s susceptibility stress • Social support helps coping with stress and a lack of social support correlates with heart disease • Employees with high levels of skills and abilities are more resistant to stress • Those in good general physical health suffer fewer negative effects from stressful working conditions

10. Individual Differences in Stress Responses • Type A and Type B personalities • Hardiness • Self-efficacy • Locus of control • Self-esteem • Negative affectivity • Type of occupation • Sex characteristics

11. The Type A and B Personalities • Type A personality is characterized by high competitive drive and a constant sense of time urgency • Friedman and Rosenham (1974) found that Type A personalities have been associated with heart disease, anger, hostility, time urgency, competitiveness, and depression • Type B personalities are more relaxed, rarely have heart attacks before age 70, and experience less stress

12. Hardiness • Hardiness is a personality variable based on the idea of control that may explain individual differences in vulnerability to stress. • Components: • Control • Commitment • Challenge • Hardy persons develop fewer physical complaints under highly stressful conditions than those who are not hardy • How does this differ from locus of control?

13. Self-Efficacy • Self-efficacy is our belief in our ability to accomplish a specific task • It is our sense of how adequate, efficient, and competent we feel about coping with life’s demands • Two levels of self-efficacy: • traditional - individual-focused • collective - group-focused • Those with high levels of self-efficacy feel more control and are more stress resistant

14. Locus of Control • Locus of control (LOC) refers to belief about how much influence individuals have on the forces and events that shape their lives • Internal locus of control • Those who believe that job performance, pay, and promotions are under their control and dependent on their own behavior • External locus of control • Those who believe that life is outside their control • High Internal LOC correlates with less stress

15. Self-Esteem • Self-esteem refers to how we feel about ourselves • Organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) is a personality dimension relating to our assessment of our adequacy and worth with regard to our place in the employing organization • High OBSE see themselves as important, effective and worthwhile • People low in OBSE are more affected by stress and are more passive in coping with it

16. Negative Affectivity • Negative affectivity (NA) • A “Big 5” personality dimension characterized by a generalized life and job dissatisfaction and by a focus on negative aspects of events • Closely related to neuroticism • People high in NA are likely to experience distress and dissatisfaction in all areas of life • Research results are mixed

17. Type of Occupation • High stress jobs include laborer, secretary, clinical laboratory technician, nurse, first-line supervisor, restaurant server, machine operator, farm worker, and miner • Also stressful: police officer, firefighter, computer programmer, computer programmer, electrician, plumber, and social worker • College professor is one of the least stressful

18. Sex Differences • Women consistently report higher levels of stress than men • Also more headaches, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and eating disorders • Also more likely to smoke, drink and use drugs in response to workplace stress • But more likely to use social support networks to cope • Women in highly stressful jobs more prone to spontaneous abortion and shorter menstrual cycles • Women homemakers experience higher levels of stress than those in paid positions

19. Work-Family Conflicts • Both men and women report conflicts, but the difficulties are usually greater for women • Stresses of work-family conflict are independent of type of job and working conditions • Employed women enjoy better health than those who stay at home • Presence of women managers increases organizational responsiveness to work-family conflicts: flexible scheduling, supportive supervisors, FMLA absence and maternity leave

20. Causes of Stress in the Workplace • Work overload and work underload • Organizational change • Role ambiguity and role conflict • Other stressors

21. Work Overload and Underload • Work overload results if there is too much work to perform in the time available (quantitative), or work that is too difficult for the employee to perform (qualitative) • Work underload results from work that is too simple or insufficiently challenging for one’s abilities • Both conditions are positively correlated with stress

22. Organizational Change • Organizational change is stressful • Those who view change as exciting and a challenge are less vulnerable than those who resist change or view it as a threat • Older workers experience increased stress with the increase in younger worker and ethnic diversity which brings to the workplace unfamiliar habits and cultural values • Introduction of employee participation in decision making can be stressful for higher-level managers

23. Role Ambiguity and Role Conflict • Role ambiguity results when job responsibilities are unstructured or poorly defined • Components of role ambiguity • Performance criteria • Work method • Scheduling • Role conflict results when there is a disparity between job demands and the employee’s personal standards

24. Other Stressors • Supervisors and managers • Problems of career development • Taking responsibility for subordinates • Working under a deadline • Having to fire a subordinate • Other stress carriers • Assembly line work • Computer-controlled performance monitoring • Cataclysmic events (e.g., September 11)

25. Effects of Stress in the Workplace • Research has linked stress to long-term psychological and behavioral consequences, including tension, depression, anxiety, spousal and child abuse, and overt hostility in the workplace • Other effects include • Mass psychogenic illness • Burnout • Workaholism

26. Mass Psychogenic Illness • Mass psychogenic illness is a stress-related disorder manifested in a variety of physical symptoms • Popularly called “assembly-line hysteria” • Typically afflicts more women than men, strikes suddenly and spreads swiftly • Dizziness, nausea, trouble breathing • Social isolation,work-related stress, and poor working conditions may be factors

27. Burnout • Burnout is a condition of job stress that results from overwork • Emotional exhaustion • Depersonalization • Reduced sense of accomplishment • Burnout victims tend to become rigid about their work, following rules and procedures compulsively • Characterized by exhaustion, apathy, depression, irritation, and boredom; work quality deteriorates but not necessarily quantity

28. Burnout • Measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory • Emotional exhaustion • Depersonalization • Sense of accomplishment • Personal involvement • Women managers show more intense effects than men • Those under 40 more likely to experience burnout • Burnout victims may feel insecure and have unfulfilling personal lives, and lack self-esteem and personal recognition off the job • Higher among Type A’s, external LOCs and those low in hardiness and self-esteem

29. Workaholism • A workaholic is an employee who is addicted to work stemming from anxiety and insecurity, or because of a genuine liking for the job • Workaholics can be a source of stress to others • Healthy workaholics are said to be high in Job Engagement • Unhealthy workaholics are highly involved but derive little satisfaction from their work • Compulsive addiction to work can lead to negative situations (e.g., too controlling, rigid thinking, and hard on colleagues and subordinates)

30. Treating Stress in the Workplace • Organizational techniques • Alter the organizational climate • Provide treatment under employee assistance programs (EAP) • Individual techniques • Relaxation training – relax one part of body after another • Biofeedback – monitor physiological responses to stress and use results to control responses • Behavior modification involving the conditioning of positive emotional responses to stressful events

31. Organizational Techniques • Controlling the organizational climate by allowing for participation • Providing control • Defining employee roles • Eliminating work overload and underload • Providing for social support • Bringing pets to work • Providing stress-management programs • Providing fitness programs

32. Key Terms • Biofeedback • Burnout • Hardiness • Job engagement • Locus of control • Mass psychogenic illness • Negative affectivity • Occupational heal psychology • Organization-based self esteem • Relaxation training • Role ambiguity • Role conflict • Stress • Type A & Type B personalities • Work overload • Work underload • Workaholism

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