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Unit 5.2. Stress at Work




5.2.1. What is Stress?

 

Recent statistics show that 75 per cent of workers indicate they feel stress on the job. Stress is a term which is rarely clearly understood. Various definitions have been put forward over the years, as follows:

1. Any influence that disturbs the natural equilibrium of the living body.

2. The common response to attack.

3. A feeling of sustained anxiety which, over a period of time, leads to disease.

4. A psychological response which follows failure to cope with problems.

Generally, a stressful circumstance is one with which an individual is unable to cope successfully and which results in unwanted physical, mental or emotional responses. Stress can be perceived as a threat, it can produce the classic 'flight or fight' response, it may create physiological imbalance and can certainly affect individual performance. It is particularly concerned with how people cope with changes in their lives at work, at home and in other circumstances. It should be appreciated, however, that not all stress is bad. We all need a certain amount of stress (positive stress) in order to cope with life situations.

Classification of stressors

A stressor produces stress. There are many forms of stressors, namely:

1. Physical stressors ─ extremes of temperature, lighting, ventilation and humidity, noise and vibration.

2. Chemical stressors ─ dangerous chemicals: gases, vapours, dusts, etc

3. Biological stressors ─ bacteria, viruses, etc.

However, most people associate stress with social or psychological stress which may be brought about, perhaps, by isolation, rejection, pressure and a general overloading of the body systems (distress). The demands on people at work include:

• psychological demands ─ machine-paced work, the quality of supervision, hazards, monotony of the task;

• physical demands ─ the effort required, as in manual handling activities, the potential for fatigue and exposure to hazardous substances;

• demands related to the construction of displays and controls on machinery ─ vision screen equipment, fork lift trucks, machinery;

• environmental demands ─ noise, pollution, poor lighting, etc;

• working hours ─ shift work, unsocial hours, night work, the frequency of breaks;

• payment arrangements ─ piece work systems, compliance with quality standards.

Sources of stress among managers may be associated with many factors ─ their role in the organisation, career development, the organisational structure and climate, relationships within the organisation and certain factors which are specific to the job. There may also be demands from outside the organization. Personal factors are important in this case in terms of individual personality, a person's tolerance for ambiguity, ability to cope with change, level of motivation and specific behavioural patterns.

 


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