Stress and the Workplace

Stress and Workplace

In the occupational or industrial setting , the emphasis on maintaining mental as well as physical and social wellbeing is essential to success The most frequent condition under the mental health `umbrella ' is stress , and much effort has been directed to understanding the basis and helping staff manage the pressures on them . All jobs involve some degree of pressure and often such pressure can be positive , improving performance and giving job satisfaction . Where the pressure reaches excessive levels , and continues for some time , it can lead to mental and

physical ill health (Teasdale , 2006

Lower levels of both procedural justice and interactional justice were associated with workers ' experiences of workplace stress . This effect was more pronounced among individuals who also suffered higher amounts of conflict between their work lives and their family lives . This follows from the idea that individuals who cannot find social support for their work-related concerns either on the job or at home will suffer the most . Because such individuals have few other places to turn for relief , it makes sense that they would experience the greatest levels of stress (Greenberg , 2004

Occupational stress produces negative consequences for workers , such as high health care costs and increased risk for depression and anxiety Additionally , it can have a detrimental impact on organizations , by increasing rates of absenteeism and turnover . Given the prevalence of workplace stress in our society , along with its negative outcomes , it becomes increasingly important to understand the types of strategies that workers use to cope with these pressures , as well as the determinants and outcomes of workplace coping strategies (Welbourne et al , 2006

Coping efforts may be directed externally (problem focused ) or internally (emotion focused . Problem-focused coping may be viewed as attempting to manage or change the problem causing the stress , whereas emotion-focused coping attempts to alleviate emotional distress (Payne 1991 . Lazarus identifies two main coping responses which is problem focussed coping and emotion focussed coping (Lazarus , 1993 . In emotion-focused coping , the individual attempts to reinterpret the stressor instead of modifying its external cause . According to Lazarus distancing and denial are two emotion-focused ways of managing stress Because problem-focused coping targets stress at the source it is more effective than emotion-focused coping , which targets only the individuals ' response to the stress (Blankstein and Flett , 1992

The strategies used to cope with stressful situations at work may have important implications for well-being in the workplace , that is to say job satisfaction . Problem solving and cognitive restructuring coping strategies may lead workers to find tangible solutions to stressful workplace problems or to view stressful situations in more positive ways , resulting in greater job satisfaction . Seeking social support from others may also lead to greater satisfaction by providing workers with positive emotional or instrumental support in the workplace (Welbourne et al , 2006 . Conversely , engaging in avoidant strategies , such as disengaging or denying a workplace problem exists , may lead to lower job involvement , an outcome which has been previously associated with decreased job satisfaction (Brown , 1996

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