STRESS AT WORK

STRESS AT WORK

INTRODUCTION

Stress is everywhere, but as a relatively new phenomenon. How can we define it and how can we explain its extraordinary cost to both business and government?

The suffering induced by stress is no figment of the imagination but can we accurately examine the relationship between stress and ill-health? Whatever stress is, it has grown immensely in recent years, which brings us to question – what is happening in society that is causing stress? The report shows that stress has its greatest effects on those at the very top and those at the very bottom of the socio-economic ladder.

The report considers recent analysis of stress and reviews a series of recent high-profile contributions to the debate. It then explores the legal and policy contexts against which organisations must opérate in regard to stress. Finally, practical interventions are examined and critically evaluated.

LIST OF KEY WORDS

Demands, control, relashionship, change, roles, support, health, environment, long hours,

MAKING SOURCE CARDS

• website: www.theworkfoundation.com

• Author’s name: Barley S and Knight D, title: ‘Toward a cultural theory of stress complaints’ in Staw B and Cummings L (eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior, JAI Press, 1992

• Author’s name: Bristow J, title: ‘Hooked on Self Esteem: an interview with Frank Furedi’, Spiked Online, accessed 1 July 2006 at http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/00000006DF70.htm , 2005

FOCUSING THE RESEARCH TOPIC

Strees in America

Most Americans are suffering from moderate to high stress, with 44 percent reporting that their stress levels have increased over the past five years. Concerns about money, work and the economy top the list of most frequently cited sources of stress. Fears about job stability are on the rise, with 49 percent of respondents citing such fears as a source of stress — up from 44 percent last year.

WRITE AN STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

My purpose with this research is to discover what is the main problem or what are the causes and on this way, people know about this problema to try to avoid it.

BRAINSTORM QUESTION

There is an identifiable physiological stress response that occurs in the body when a person is excited, fearful, challenged, or anxious. When stress occurs, the brain signals the body to get ready to meet the challenge by stimulating the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is the control centre for many bodily functions including muscle tension, breathing, blood pressure, heart rate, pupil dilation and temperature control. When the body or mind is challenged, a number of chemical and hormonal changes take place. These changes activate the body either to gear up to flee from danger, or to stand and fight it. This ‘flight or fight response’ was a healthy, necessary response to ensure our survival when most threats and challenges were physical in nature (e.g., prehistoric communities dealing with predators and hostile environments, etc.). Today, the threats and challenges we face are often social and emotional, rather tan physical, but our bodies still react in much the same way as our ancestors’ did.

GROUP QUESTION

Job stress is commonly defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the demands of the job exceed the capabilities, needs or resources of the worker. Studies show that employees who feel they have little control over their work in one way or another report higher stress levels.

MAKING A LIST OF POSSIBLE RESOURCES

Books

Magazines

Newspaper

Websites

CREATING SUBTOPIC HEADING

’Stress occurs where demands made on individuals do not match the resources

available or meet the individual’s needs and motivation… stress will be the result if the

workload is too large for the number of workers and time available. Equally, a boring

or repetitive task which does not use the potential skills and experience of some

individuals will cause them stress.

STRESS AT WORK

Just the mention of the word stress gets people’s attention pretty quickly. That’s because stress affects everyone – it is universal. Stress cuts across every economic, social and cultural boundary, so learning to understand it and manage it is important for everyone. If stress is not managed properly, it can have serious negative health consequences – both physically and mentally. In the workplace, if employee stress is

not managed properly, it’s not only individual health that is jeopardized. Consistently high levels of employee stress in the workplace can also jeopardize an organization’s bottom line.

The stress in the workplace meeting the challenge the alarming spike in the incidence of reported stress among employees in recent years and its impact on the bottom line has made the management of stress an urgent business strategy for American companies.

The climbing figures are hard to ignore. Nearly three-quarters of

American workers surveyed in 2007 reported experiencing physical symptoms of stress due to work. According to statistics from the American Psychological Association (APA), a startling two-thirds of Americans say that work is a main source of stress in their lives – up nearly 15 percent from the those who ranked work stress at the top just a year before. Roughly 30 percent of workers surveyed reported “extreme” stress levels.

The faltering economy, shrinking incomes and rampant layoffs are undeniable factors. On-the-job stressors range from unclear job expectations and time pressures to noisy work stations. A significant factor is lack of accommodation for work/life balance, which can add to the stress load, especially for women who tend to be the primary caretakers of children and elderly loved ones.

Whatever the root causes, stressed workers tend to be fatigued,

prone to mistakes and injuries, and are more likely to be absent.

And most significantly, they incur healthcare costs twice as high tan for other employees. All tolled, the consequences of stress-related illnesses, from depression to heart disease, costs businesses an estimated $200 to $300 billion a year in lost productivity.

But, what is stress, really?

There is an identifiable physiological stress response that occurs in the body when a person is excited, fearful, challenged, or anxious. When stress occurs, the brain signals the body to get ready to meet the challenge by stimulating the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is

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