Assignment

On
Job Stress Factors & its Effective
Management
Course Name: Career Planning & Development
Course Code: EM: 552
Semester: Spring 2015

Submitted to:

Professor M.A. Akkas

Department of Management Studies,
University of Dhaka.

Submitted by:

Safa Hossain
ID# 3-13-24-039
Batch: 24th

Date of Submission: 12th April, 2015

Table of Content
Sl.No.

Topic

Page No.

Introduction of Job stress

Definition of Stress

Symptoms of stress

Causes/sources of stress

4-6

Environmental factors
Organizational factors
Personal factors

4
5
6

Measurement of stress

Stress Management

8-10

Individual level
Organizational level

Conclusion

8&9
9 to 13
14

Executive Summary:
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 twothirds of Americans say that work is a main source of stress in their lives up nearly 15 percent
from 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 than for other employees. All told,
the consequences of stress-related illnesses, from depression to heart disease, costs businesses an
estimated $200 to $300 billion a year in lost productivity. More employers are recognizing that
now is the time for action. Workers who are stressed today can be disabled tomorrow.

INTRODUCTION:
The origin of the concept of stress predates antiquity. Derived from the Latin word stringere
which means to draw tight, stress is used to mean hardships, strain, adversity or affliction and
in recent times it denotes force, pressure, or strong efforts with reference to an object or person.
The concept of stress is borrowed from the natural sciences. It was first introduced in life
sciences by Hans Selye,a Canadian endocrinologist in 1936.
Stress, in general, is a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental
tension and may be a factor in disease causation. One type of stress is job stress. With job stress,
the stressors involved are work-related. Job stress is something we all face as workers -- and we
all handle it differently. There is no getting around it. Although, stress is typically in a negative
context, it also has a positive value. It is an opportunity when it offers potential gain. Many
professionals see the pressure of heavy workload and deadlines as a positive challenge that
enhances the quality of their work and the satisfaction they get from their job. So, stress is not
necessarily bad in and of itself. This positive side of stress is called eustress or challenge stress.
Eustress refers to the healthy, positive, constructive outcome of stressful events which activates
and motivates people to achieve their goals. The negative side of stress is called distress or
hindrance stress, which may include office politics, confusion of job responsibilities, etc. that
keeps one from achieving their goals. Stress is an individual's physical and mental reaction to
environmental demands or pressures.

DEFINITON OF STRESS:
In general sense, stress is the pressures people feel in life due to their reaction to situation.
Different scholars define Stress or Job Stress as illustrated under:
Hans Selye defines stress as, an adoptive response to the external situation that results in
physical, psychological, and/or behavioral deviations for organizational participants.
Beehr and Newman define Job Stress as, a condition arising from the interaction of people and
their jobs and characterized by changes within people that force them to deviate from their
normal functioning.

Ivancevich and Matteson define stress simply as, the interaction of the individual with the
environment.
It is important to point out that what stress is not:
1. Stress in not simply anxiety: Anxiety operates solely in the emotional and psychological
sphere, whereas stress operates there and also in the psychological sphere. Thus stress
may be accompanied by anxiety, but the two should not be equated.
2. Stress in not simply nervous tension: Like anxiety, nervous tension may result from
stress, but the two are not the same. Unconscious people have exhibited stress, and some
people may keep it bottled-up and not reveal it through nervous tension.
3. Stress is not necessarily something damaging, bad, or to be avoided: Stress is not
damaging or bad and is something people should seek out rather than avoid. The key, of
course, is how the person handles the stress. Stress is inevitable; distress may be
prevented or can be effectively controlled.

SYMPTOMS OF STRESS:
Stress is a pressure people feel in life. When stress persists and becomes excessive, it culminates
to strain and in turn, adversely affects a persons physique, psychology and behavior. When
stress is experienced by an individual, its symptoms can surfaced as psychosomatic,
psychological and behavioral outcomes.
1. Psychosomatic: The psychosomatic symptoms of stress are bodily or physical for which
the causes are mental. Research studies report that a number of physical complaints like
ulcer, headaches, chest pains, constipation, bronchial asthma, heart disease etc. are
emotionally induced.
2. Psychological: Stress also manifests in various forms of emotional disorders.
Researchers have found that stress gets its reflection in the form of anxiety, depression,
helplessness, hopelessness endanger. The stressful people with the slightest provocation
are easily induced to anger and anxiety and become unable to relax. In his study, Due
reports that the employees suffering from occupational stress generally tend to have low
psychological commitment to the organization.
3. Behavioral: Job stress also bears behavioral symptoms which are easily observable.
There is general agreement that a high degree of job stress drives people adopt certain
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easily visible behavioral symptoms such as sleeplessness, excessive drinking, smoking,

absenteeism, obesity and gluttony. Job stress can also lead to less visible behavioral
symptoms in the form of bad decision-making, negative internal politics, reduced
creativity, apathy and so on. According to a recent survey, about 25 per cent of Indian
executives and 44 per cent of middle level executives report that job stress drives them to
high level of alcohol consumption.

CAUSES OR SOURCES OF JOB STRESS:

Conditions or things that cause stress are called stressors or loads. Stressors can be defined as
the causes or stress, including any environmental conditions that place a physical or emotional
demanding the individual. The potential sources of stress can be divided into three broad
categories:
1. Environmental factors
2. Organizational factors
3. Personal factors
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS: Environmental uncertainties influences the design of an
organizations structure, it also influences stress level among employees in that organization.
Environmental factors that cause stress are listed below:
1. Economic and Financial uncertainties: When an economy is contracting people become
increasingly anxious about their job security.
2. Political uncertainties: A country which is politically unstable may cause to the people of
the country.
3. Technological change: New innovations can make an employees skill and experience
obsolete in a very short time and thereby cause stress to the workers.
4. Terrorism: Terrorism is becoming an increasing source of environmental-induced stress in
the 21stcentury.The physical environmental conditions such as excessive noise, poor
lighting, safety hazards, poorly designed office space, lack of privacy and poor air quality
also cause stress.
ORGANISATIONAL FACTORS: Organized workplaces are going through metamorphic
changes under intense economic transformation and consequence pressures. Reorganizations,
takeovers, merger, downsizing and other changes have become major stressors for employees, as
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companies try to live up to the competition to survive. Organizational policies such as rotation of
work, inequality in remuneration and incentives, unfair performance evaluation etc. also serves
as stressors. The difference between actual leadership style and expected leadership style leads to
a conflict and dissonance between the superior and subordinates. This conflict and dissonance
serves as a source of stress.
Workload: Unrealistic expectations, puts unhealthy and unreasonable pressure on the employee,
causing suffering. Increased workload, extremely long working hours and intense pressure to
perform at the peak level all the time for the same pay, can actually leave an employee physically
and emotionally drained. Excessive travel and too much time away from family for work also
contribute to an employees stress.
Lack of Social Support: Lack of social support from colleagues and poor interpersonal
relationship can cause stress, especially among employees with a high social need. When
individuals believe that they have co-workers and friends to support them at times of sorrow or
difficulty, their ability to resist the adverse effects of stress seems to increase.
Role conflict: People play various roles in organizations. They face conflicting demands in
discharging their roles; it is called role conflict. For example, sales staff in the Indian banking
industry experience inter conflict role in trying to balance the needs of their bank and needs of
customers. Role conflict also occurs when an employee receives contradictory messages from
different people about how to perform a job. It is called intraoral conflict.
Role Ambiguity: Role ambiguity occurs when employees are uncertain about several aspects of
their job, such as, duties, performance expectations, level of authority etc. This ambiguity tends
to occur when people enter new situations, such as, joining the organization or taking a foreign
assignment, because they are uncertain about their task and expectations and may lead to stress.

PERSONAL FACTORS: The experiences and problems that employees encounter in the nonworking hours, i.e. an employees personal issues can spillover to the job. Primarily, these
personal factors are family issues, such as, marital difficulties, breaking off of a relationship,
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problems with children, ill health of a family member, death in the family etc. Personal economic
problems, such as, education expenses of the children, repayment of loan, medical expenses etc.
Personality Traits: Personality affects behavior. Different people possess different kinds of
personality. Some people thrive better on stressful situation in comparison to others. This is due
the individuals trait. Some people may have an inherent tendency to accentuate negative aspects
of the world and are more stress prone. Some people have a higher threshold for stressors and
cope better in the same situation. Self-efficacy has also been found to influence stress outcome.
Self-efficacy refers to an individuals belief in that he or she is capable of performing a task.
Studies have shown that confidence in ones ability decreases stress. It is reported that type an
employees experience considerable stress than type B employees.

MEASUREMENT OF STRESS:
Just as a doctor needs first to measure the intensity of the health problem of his/her patient to
prescribe the right treatment for its cure, so does the need is there to measure the level of stress in
order to cope or manage with it. Hence, researchers have felt the need for measuring stress and
have developed some instruments for its measurement. In India, two instruments of stress
measurement namely Organizational Role Stress (ORS) and Occupational Stress Index are wide
used to measure stress.
Organizational Role Stress: Popularly known as ORS is developed by Udai Pareek to measure
stress in the Indian context. Pareeks ORS instrument is based on integration of an employees
job role with overall organizational structure within he/she works. Another words, in his
instrument, Pareek assumes that the role assigned to an employee is linked with different parts
and persons of an organization and it is through this role the employee interacts and integrates
himself with the entire organizational structure. Here, it is important to mention that the type of
organizational structure within which employee work influences the role he/she plays at times
producing strain and stress for the role performer/employee. Pareek explains stress with the help
of two closely related concepts of role space and role set.
Occupational Stress Index: Occupational Stress Index as an instrument to measure stress was
constructed by Srivastava and Singh. The index consists of 46 items relating to all relevant
components of a job life causing stress in one way or other. Like Pareeks ORS, the 46 items of
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the index measure twelve different types of occupational stresses like role overload, role
ambiguity, role conflict, under participation, low status, powerlessness etc.

STRESS MANAGEMENT:
Stress has a negative correlation with task performance. Though, stress is helpful, but it is
usually harmful as it impinges on employees health and his performances. Therefore, stress
needs to be managed or coped with to minimize its debilitating effects. The word managing or
coping bears two connotations in stress literature. It has been used to denote the way of dealing
with stress. The various strategies to manage or reduce stress can be classified into two broad
categories:

At individual level
At organizational level

1. AT INDIVIDUAL LEVEL:
Individual strategies are based on self-help approaches. An employee can take personal
responsibility for reducing stress levels. Individual strategies that have proven effective include
implementing time management techniques, physical exercise, relaxation training, and
expanding the social support network.
Time management:
Many people manage their time poorly. The well-organized employee can often accomplish
twice the person who is poorly organized. So an understanding and utilization of basic time
management principles can help individuals better cope with tensions created by job demand. A
few of the more well-known time management principles are : (a)making daily list of activities
to be accomplished, (b)prioritizing activities by importance and urgency, (c)knowing your daily
cycle and handling the most demanding part of your job during the high part of your cycle when
you are most alert and productive.
Physical exercise: Non-competitive physical exercise such as aerobics, walking jogging
swimming etc. have long been recommended by physicians to deal with excessive stress levels.
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This form of exercise increases heart capacity, provide a mental diversion from work pressures
and offer means to let off steam and helps in reducing stress.
Relaxation training: Individuals can teach themselves to reduce tension through relaxation
techniques such as meditation and yoga. Deep relaxation for 15 to 20minutes a day releases
tension and provides a person with a pronounced sense of peacefulness.
Social support network: Having friends, family or work colleagues to talk to provide an outlet
when stress level becomes excessive. Expanding your social network, therefore, can be a means
for stress reduction. It provides you with someone to hear your problems and to offer a more
objective perspective on the situation.
2. AT ORGANISATIONAL LEVEL
Like an individual, an organizational also help manage stress through various proactive
interventions. Some of these interventions are listed below:
Setting clear objectives: Organizations should set clear objectives for its members. This helps
minimize role ambiguity which usually filters down the organization in the form of neurosis.
Stress Audit: Pestonjee has suggested stress audit as one of the effective proactive intervention
to combat stress. According to him, when an organization decides to have a scientific peep into
mental and physical health status of its backbone group, the exercise is called a stress audit. It
involves an attempt that organizations make to study, explore and control various types of
stresses which the individual executives experience by virtue of their organizational membership.
Counselling: Counselling is yet another proactive strategy to be used by organizations to deal
with stress. Counselling to employees in the matters like career planning to provide them clarity
in their job roles, helping them in identifying their strengths and weaknesses help them better
cope with stress. Dissemination of information to employees on how to face stressors within the
organization and outside proves useful for employees in dealing with stress.
Spread the message: Spreading the message about the importance of regular habits of work,
leisure, proper, proper diet, exercises, and mental peace among the organizational members helps
them better cope with stress.
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Fit between person and work: Research evidence shows that striking a fit between worker and
his/her work environment serves as one of the best strategy to manage stress. This congruence
can be attained by linking the worker to the job characteristics, for high internal motivation, high
quality performance, high work satisfaction and low absenteeism and turnover.
Clarity in roles: There is enough evidence to show that defining individual roles through role
efficacy helps them reduce their role-shared stresses. This is so as a result of an individuals
movement from a reactive i.e. role taking behavior to a proactive i.e. role-making behavior. Role
efficacy is found negatively related with role stress and it helps in overcoming the experience of
role stress.

CONCLUSION|:
Stress, in general, is a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental
tension and may be a factor in disease causation. Stress is non-specific response to demands
from environment that results in physical, psychological and behavioral deviations for people.
No one is immune to stress. Stress is experienced by an individual; its symptoms can surfaced as
psychosomatic, psychological and behavioral outcomes. The potential sources of stress can be
divided into three broad categories as environmental, organizational and personal factors. Stress
can be managed at both the individual level and the organizational level. Strategies to manage
stress include clarity of employee roles, procedures, policies and rules, change in organizational
structure, counselling, spread of message of evil effects of stress and so on. Managing/coping
with stress for job satisfaction

References:
1. Interpersonal Communication Skills: Training to Minimize Conflict and
Build Collaboration in Today's Team-Oriented Workplace, by Debra Sutch,
Career Track, Inc., 2000. (A four-tape Audio Program).
2. Job Strategies for People with Disabilities, by Melanie Astaire Witt, Peterson's
Guides, 1992.
3. The Success Profile, by Lester Korn, Fireside, 1988.
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4. Telecommuting - A Manager's Guide to Flexible Work Arrangements, by Joel

Kugelmass, Lexington Books, 1995.
5. Your Rights in the Workplace, by Barbara Kate Repa, Nolo, 2000.
6. www.psychology.org.au/publications/inpsych/stress/
7. http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/hr/policy/stress/causes.html
8. Cartwright, S and Cooper C.L. (2002). ASSET: An Organisational Stress Screening Tool
The Management Guide. Manchester, RCL Ltd.
9. Tytherleigh, M.Y., Webb. C., Cooper, C.L. and Ricketts, C. (2005). Occupational stress in UK
Higher Education Institutions: a comparative study of all staff categories. Higher Education
Research & Development, Vol 24:1, pp 4161.

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