FREE ESSAY ON OCCUPATIONAL STRESS

OCCUPATIONAL STRESS

Abstract
Job stress can be defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when
the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the
worker. Job stress can lead to poor health and even injury.
This paper will discuss the four primary areas from which occupational stress originates.
Next, the outcomes of stress will be discussed, followed by an examination of the
classifications of stressors. The remainder of the discussion will be focused on the
aspects of organizational communication and recommendations for prevention of
occupational stress and stress management.
Table of Contents
Introduction 4
Sources of Occupational Stress 4
Stress Outcomes 5
Classifications of Occupationally Related Stress 6
Stressors and Organizational Communication 6
Job "Burn-Out" 8
Recommendations for Stress Management 9
Bibliography 11
Occupational Stress and its
Effects on Organizational Communication
The nature of work is changing at whirlwind speeds. Perhaps now, more than ever before,
job stress poses a threat to the health of workers. Stress has long been associated with
the onset of significant physical and mental health problems. Stress began to be
implicated in areas beyond the bounds of physical and mental health as far back as the
1980s. In the organizational environment, stress has been implicated in the deterioration
of performance efficiency by both managers and subordinates. When performance efficiency
suffers the quality of the overall organizational environment and productivity
deteriorates. A deterioration of the organizational environment is accompanied by
deterioration in organizational communication (Gilberg, 1993). 
Sources of Occupational Stress
The primary sources of occupational stress within an organization originate from four
areas. These areas include task demands, physical demands, role demands, and
interpersonal demands. "Any demand, either of a physical nature or psychological nature,
encountered in the course of living is know as a 'stressor'. A stress response will occur
as a result of an individual's interaction with and reaction to the stressor" (Knotts,
1996).
Task-related stress is directly related to the specific characteristics of the job
itself. This type of stress involves role ambiguity, conflicting task demands, work
overload or work underload, inadequate resource support, no provision for meaningful
participation in decision-making, and insecurity, among others (Knotts, 1996).
Physical demands of the workplace are another source to be considered. Environmental
factors such as temperature variations, noise vibrations, and lighting may significantly
affect individual stress. For example, "extremes in lighting can cause stress, which
often results in headaches and nervous tension" (Knotts, 1996).
Role demands are external to the tasks associated with a job. This particular type of
stress typically develops as a result of flawed organizational structures, ineffective
organizational development, the inability of an individual to successfully pursue
achievement goals within an organization, or some combination of all three. The
individual's stress often results when his or her work role and responsibility has not
been clearly defined (Knotts, 1996).
The final source area of occupational stress relates to interpersonal demands.
"Interpersonal stress at work is concerned with the demands that are placed on us in
developing working relationships with other people in our organizations" (Knotts, 1996).
Leadership style of managers and supervisors is often a source of stress for their
employees. 
Stress Outcomes
The result of stressors commonly associated with occupational stress tends to vary
widely. Workers may simply resort to daydreaming or fantasizing. Alternatively, employees
may react more actively by creating interpersonal and intraorganizational conflicts
involving escalating levels of communication problems. 
Workers may also experience effects in their psychological and physical health.
Psychological consequences may include anxiety, boredom, low self-esteem, forgetfulness,
depression, anger, apathy, or worry. Physical consequences may include, but are certainly
not limited to, headaches, diabetes, fatigue, hypertension, chest and back pain, ulcers,
or even infectious diseases. Studies show that 85% of all physical illness is stress
related (Randolfi, 1996). 
These results are just a few of many stress outcomes that may result from the effects of
occupational stress. Workers may also exhibit deviations in their behavior. Examples of
departures from normal behavior may be overeating/loss of appetite, smoking, alcohol
abuse, sleeping disorders, emotional outbursts, or violence and aggression (Randolfi,
1996).
From the organizational aspect, stress has many consequences. Reductions in
effectiveness, productivity, and communication are results that are not as easy to
identify; however, such outcomes can be among the most debilitating for both the
organization and for the individual. Other results may include accidents in the
workplace, job turnover, low morale, poor work relations, poor organizational climate,
and absenteeism (Randolfi, 1996). "Absenteeism, for example, results in 4% of the work
hours which are lost, and translates into millions of dollars annually" (Knotts, 1996).
Classifications of Stressors
Occupationally related stressors tend to vary from job to job and from organization to
organization. These stressors can be easily divided into three classifications.
The first classification contains stressors that are common to a wide variety of jobs.
This group includes issues regarding customer demands, time constraints, and ineffective
training. The second classification contains stressors that are common to a wide variety
of organizations. This group includes issues related to absence of support from
organizational superiors, non-competitive wage structures, poor job descriptions, and
ineffective organizational motivational strategies. The third, and last, classification
contains factors related to interdepartmental activities within an organization. This
group included issues such as poor cooperation, organizational politics, and similar
activities.
Occupationally related stressors also tend to evolve as changes occur in organizational
environments, organizational staffing, and job tasks (Schaubroeck, 1993). Change should
always be carefully planned. Therefore, employees should be educated as to the nature and
purpose of the change, and the implementation of change must be non-threatening, if
debilitating stress associated with the change is to be avoided.
Stressors and Organizational Communication
A separate class of stress research has emphasized the determination of how stressors
develop in organizations, as opposed to the identification of additional stressors, or
the assessment stressor quality or quantity (Schaubroeck, 1993). This research identified
three groups of occupational stressor antecedents. These antecedent groups are contextual
variables, role variables, and task variables. Contextual variables were associated with
the organizational subsystem; role variables were associated with job levels; and task
variables were associated with autonomy, complexity, interdependence, routinization, and
closeness of supervision (Schaubroeck, 1993).
This same body of research classified the occupational stressors that stemmed from the
three antecedent groups into seven categories. These seven stressor categories are
entrant conflict, technical problems, efficiency problems, role frustration, staff
shortages, short lead times, and excessive meetings. Through the study of stressor
antecedents, and through the classification of occupationally related stressors as
described above, this body of research found that both the type and the magnitude of
stressors varied according to organizational level. At upper management levels, the most
significant stressors tended to be qualitative overload and time constraints, while at
lower levels of an organization, the most significant stressors tended to be role
frustration and technical problems. This body of research concluded that a large measure
of uniformity in the perceived work experiences of individuals exists within particular
membership groups, but not between membership groups. Extensions of the basic research in
this area found that both contextually related and role-related variables affect
interpersonal communication, job attitude, job behavior, and the magnitude of job
stressors. In this context, the researchers concluded that an individual's perceptions of
work-generated stressors and their eventual reactions to these organizational realities
are influenced by the location within a particular organizational environment of that
individual (Schaubroeck, 1993).
Occupational stress is often associated with overachievers or workaholics. High levels of
self-induced stress usually characterize these individuals. Stress, however, is also
associated with so-called underload situations. Studies of plant closures and
involuntarily unemployed workers found that health problems, both physical and mental,
are higher during layoff periods than during periods of employment. Studies also found
that stress is often higher among blue-collar workers than among managerial personnel.
Job level, associated with job status, was found to be tied to self-esteem. Lower
self-esteem was associated with higher levels of stress. Even on the job, job underload
creates as much stress as does job overload. Job underload means that an individual is
not challenged in her or his work, and may be subject to periods of boredom or periods of
fatigue stemming from boredom. Job underload may also create higher levels of anxiety,
depression, and physical illness than job overload.
Alienation has also been related to the development of occupational stress (Garfield,
1995). Alienation is especially harmful to effective organizational communications.
Alienation with respect to occupational stress is defined as an objective social
situation that exists independent of its recognition by those in that situation
(Garfield, 1995, p. 115). Such a definition of a stressor means that it could have an
impact whether or not those individuals working in that environment perceived its
presence in the environment. The definition also infers that stress-creating events or
situations may be viewed as being inherent in specific occupations or tasks. Further, the
definition infers that stress-outcomes may not always be controllable by individuals
exposed to stressors.
Job "Burn-Out"
A concept closely associated with occupational stress is job burn-out. The term is
frequently used in connection with all so-called high-pressure occupations. Job burnout
actually has been found to be present in all occupations, regardless of whether or not
the occupation is a so-called high-pressure occupation (Maslack, 1997).
Job burnout is held to result from the combined effects of work-related factors that
create unrelieved work stress, which, in turn, leads to a generally debilitated
psychological condition in individuals. Certain behaviors associated with job burnout
have been observed in a wide variety of occupations. These behaviors include a tendency
on the part of an individual to blame others in an organization for one's own problems,
increased absenteeism, increased involvement in interpersonal conflicts and
confrontation, and increasing isolation from others in the organization (Maslack, 1997).
Individuals suffering from job burnout frequently attempt to remove themselves from the
situations they perceive to be the source of their problems without actually terminating
their jobs. Their strategies in such attempts involve a breakdown in communication, and
are often damaging to both their organizations and to their own careers.
Recommendations for Stress Management
There are many approaches managers and supervisors can take to prevent occupational
stress. However, any attempt made by management to institute a stress prevention program
would constitute the first step in the process: identifying the problem. Several remedies
to the stress-communication problem include listening by the managers, creating teams to
deal with the organizational communication problems, and mediation. 
Managers should always ensure that the workload is in line with the workers' capabilities
and resources. They should also design jobs to provide meaning, stimulation, and
opportunities for workers to use their skills. Along with these essential steps, the
workers' roles and responsibilities should always be clearly defined.
Improving communication is another critical step in preventing occupational stress. If
workers are given the opportunity to participate in decisions and actions affecting their
jobs, uncertainty about career development and security may be reduced. Work schedules
that are compatible with demands and responsibilities outside the job should also be
established.
In conclusion, building general awareness about occupational stress is the first step in
prevention. Securing top management commitment and support for the program will only lend
to more positive results. Reduction in occupational stress is a worthwhile time
investment for managers and supervisors, as it will only stand to improve productivity,
morale, and overall organizational climate.
Bibliography
Garfield, J. (1995). Social stress and medical ideology. Stress and Survival, 3.
111-134.
Gilberg, K.R. (1993, April). Open communications provide key to good employee relations.
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Knotts, T. (1996, July 8). Workplace stress doesn't have to kill you. Business Journal
Serving Fresno & the Central San Joaquin Valley, 322013. [EBSCOhost]. University of
Phoenix Online Collection. Available: http://ehost.epnet.com: (2000, September 16).
Maslack, C. (1997). The truth about burnout: How organizations cause personal stress and
what to do about it. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Randolfi, E. (1996, December 12-13). Stress management evaluation [online]. Available:
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Schaubroeck, J., & Ganster, D.C. (1993, Spring). A field experiment testing supervisory
role clarification. Personnel Psychology, 46 (1). [EBSCOhost). University of Phoenix
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