This document discusses occupational stress, including its definition, causes, effects, and strategies for effective management. It defines occupational stress as stress experienced in the workplace that results from poor job fit or demands exceeding resources. Common stress triggers include heavy workloads, lack of support, and job dissatisfaction. Negative effects of stress include increased absenteeism, health issues, and reduced productivity and job performance. Effective stress management involves identifying stressors, open communication, counseling, workload adjustments, and engaging in relaxing activities outside of work.

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Occupational Stress
Flomo Gibson
Arizona State University
Definition

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There is a wide view about what stress is in our society. Researchers have defined
stress in so many different ways that sometimes it is even harder to distinguish what
stress is from other behaviors at work. “It is the psychological and physical state that
results when the resources of the individual are not sufficient to cope with the demands
and pressures of the situation” (Michie, 2002, p. 67). "Stress is the nonspecific response
to any demand (Selye, 1956). "Stress is an external force operating on a system, be it an
organization or a person (as cited in Schuler, 1980, p. 187). There is no one definition
that describes what really is. Malik (2011, p. 1) defines stress as such “Stress is a
universal element and persons from nearly every walk of life have to face stress. Stress
can have negative impacts on both the employee and the organization.”
Occupational stress is the most common type of stress that individuals deal with
on a daily basis. The majority of the people spend most of their days at work dealing with
different kind of people. Workers are most vulnerable to stress to any other people. “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” (Malik, 2011, p. 1). It is common in many organizations where there are limited
resources for the employees to perform their duties properly while the managers or
employers are constantly pushing the employees to produce more and better quality of
work. “Occupational stress is an ubiquitous phenomena affecting all workers.
Responsibility for prevention and/or intervention must be assumed by both the worker
and management. Reduction of misfit situations and a more flexible reward system would
be a positive contribution to occupational stress reduction” (Blix and Lee, 1991, p. 300-
301). Every worker from the chief executive officer (CEO) to the janitor experiences

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some sort of stress. Occupational stress is unavoidable in the life of employees and
managers. “Stress is said to be a physical, mental, or emotional response to events that
causes physical or mental tension. In simple words, stress is an outer force that has a
command over inner feelings” (Mohsin and Wahab, 2013, p. 164).
What are common stress triggers?
Stress is caused by a lot of different factors at work and at home, for example,
when desired results are not met; when work seems to be overwhelming; when there is
more than one can handle. These factors and many more contribute to employees
developing stress in a workplace. According to Dr. Michie, “Signs of stress can be seen
in people’s behavior, especially in changes in behavior. Acute responses to stress may be
in the areas of feelings (depression)” (Michie, 2002, p. 67). Depression is known to cause
stress in employees in a workplace; it is usually detected when the employees lack of
energy to perform their tasks. “Behavior (being withdrawn)” (Michie, 2002, p. 67). One
of the ways that employers can tell if their employees are stressed is the behavior they
exhibit at work.
Stress can create strange behavior in employees; stress can make employees
become sensitive to any talk. “Thinking (difficulties of concentration) or physical
symptoms (headaches)” (Michie, 2002, p. 67). The impact of stress is not only physical
but also mental. Stress can reduce the ability of an employee to perform his or her tasks.
One of the causes of stress is being unhappy in your job. Recently I was talking with one
of my colleagues at work. I have monitored her behavior for the past weeks; she seemed
to be withdrawn from everything at work. She kept to herself in her office and when she
talked it was very limited. I asked her what the problem was, she responded that she is

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not happy with the job, she does not like her job but she has no other choice because she
has bills to pay. She told me that she is not happy working at the job. According to Dr.
Sonja, in her book The how of happiness: A scientific approach to getting the life you
want, “Recent surveys show that more Americans than ever are dissatisfied with their
jobs. Some are burned out or bored, while others feel that professional success has eluded
them” (Lyubomirsky, 2008). I asked my colleague if she was worried; she responded that
she is bored but not worried. Stress at workplace can be a result of having a heavy
workload or too much responsibility. Not every employee can handle too much
responsibility at once.
There are people who prefer to work on one task at a time; if they find themselves
in a workplace environment where too much is been asked, those people will be quick to
develop stress and that will lead to low performance in their job. Therefore, they will not
be happy while working. There is a correlation between work performance and
happiness. In a study conducted by Boehm and Lyubomirsky, 2008, they found out that
there is a positive relationship between happiness and career success. In their report they
concluded that those who are generally happy are more satisfied with their job and having
more freedom in their assigned tasks. Happy people are less likely to exhibit withdrawal
behavior and evidently they are less likely to lose their job. Stress can also cause health
problem. Boehm and Lyubomirsky said “And more generally, happy people are
physically healthier, live longer, and cope more effectively with challenges
(Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005, as cited in Boehm and Lyubomirsky, p. 110,
2008).
What are the negative effects of stress?

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Stress has negative effects on employees. It affects the work, the families of the
employees, and their social life. If not properly managed, stress can cause severe damage
to the employee or employees either mentally or physically. One of the negative effects
of stress is the fact that employers loose productions and finances. According to Cooper
(2001), “Each day, 270,000 people in the UK take time off work because of stress, and
each year, the condition costs L7 billion through lost production, sickness payments and
NHS charges.” In the USA employers have paid ransoms to settle employees’ disputes
for work related incidents due to stress. Stress not only affects the employees but it also
has an impact on the employers. Cooper describes the American experience as such, “The
American experience offers a foretaste... In the US the Workers' Compensation Scheme -
a no-fault insurance scheme designed to compensate for work-related accidents and
injuries - has been inundated with claims related to mental rather than physical injury
(2001).
Employees are taking time off because they are stressed; for many employees, the
best way to deal with stress is to stay at home and relax, stay away from the job for a day
or two. Salmon (2011) explains, “A new report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel
and Development (CIPD) and Health-care Company Simplyhealth has found stress has,
for the first time, moved ahead of repetitive strain injury or medical conditions to become
the top reason for taking sick leave.” Stress is becoming more and more epidemic in
workplace among employees and managers due to different reasons such as budget cut or
employees’ workload. “The more serious effects of stress can include cardiovascular
problems such as heart attacks and strokes, linked to high blood pressure. When a person
is stressed, steroid hormones are released in the body and such hormones can raise blood

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pressure” (Salmon, 2011). There are many ways that stress can affect organizations. If
there is stress in an organization or company among the employees, production will go
down, employees’ satisfaction will decrease; employees’ commitment level will
diminish. This will also lead to an increase in absenteeism and a lot of turnover among
the employees. “Job stress is considered to be a factor that may affect organizational
effectiveness through lowering employee performance (McGrath, 1976), absenteeism,
tardiness, and turnover (Johnston, 1980; as cited in Blix and Lee, 1991, p. 289).
Occupational stress can also have a negative impact on the employees as well. In todays’
world, many workplaces are fast paced and managers are constantly talking and
monitoring the effectiveness of their employees, which lead to employees working extra
harder than they should be. This costs them a lot of stress.
Occupational stress or work-related stress is undoubtedly a major cause of mental
ill health in populations and is a world-wide phenomenon (Nako, 2010). For
example, in Canada 28% of workers report that they find most days at work either
‘quite a bit’ or ‘extremely stressful’ (Bergman et al., 2009). In the United
Kingdom, the recent Labor Force Survey (Office for National Statistics et al.,
2010) estimates an annual incidence rate of work-related stress, depression or
anxiety of 760 cases per 100,000 workers (as cited in Wells, 2011, p. 1).
How do people handle stress effectively?
There are many ways to deal with stress effectively. Some people see
psychologist for services. Others will try to simply change what they do on a daily basis.
There is no one specific way to deal with stress. According to Dr. Michie (2002, p. 70),
the best way to deal with stress is change. To get rid of stress, one must change his/her
physical (noise), social (support system), and work (pressure, amount) situations and also
changing yourself through active coping (eating, exercising, and smoking) and a lot of

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resting (meditation, leisure, travel, relaxation). The health care professionals are easily
vulnerable to workplace stress. “Stress in the workplace is here to stay. Data suggests, at
this time, that health care is one of the most stressful work environments” (Lambert &
Lambert, 1993; Yamase, 1999; Doi et al., 2000; Tonori & Aizawa, 2001, as cited in,
Lambert, Lambert, Yamase, 2003).
The fact that health care providers deal with situations that are sometimes heart
broken, increase their level of stress. Most of the time health care workers take care of
people who are on their sick bed many of whom die before their eyes. They are stressed
because of the long hours of work. There are many ways that employees can deal with
stress. The most common used are emotional support and instrumental support Fenlason
and Beehr described emotional and instrumental support as such “Emotional social
support is characterized by the actions of caring or listening sympathetically to another
person. Instrumental support is characterized by rendering tangible assistance, such as
physical assistance or aid in the form of advice or knowledge needed to complete a task”
(1994, p. 158). Social support may not always the best factor to handle stress if the
people in the environment are all negative.
There are strategies to use when managing stress. To better deal with stressors
first an employee must able to identify what the stressors are in his/her life. This is the
most important part of being stress free. Once the stressors are discovered, the employee
can then look for the reason for the stressors. Evidently nothing happens without any
reason. Knowing the reason for the stressors will lead to a better way of dealing with
them.
What can managers do to promote effective stress management?

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It is a real challenge for managers to help employees how to deal with stress.
Many times it is hard for managers to realize how difficult it is for their employees to
experience stress at any time in their job. However, there are strategies that managers can
use to help employees who stress. “Encourage open channel of communication to deal
work related stress” (Malik, 2011, p. 7). Many managers do not communicate with their
employees outside of work related issues. In fact the only time they will interact with the
employees is when they are giving new assignment or following up on previous duties. It
is imperative for managers to take the time to have a conversation with their employees at
least once a week on topics that do not include work. This exercise may help employees
to open up to their managers, which will allow the managers to understand what their
employees go through both at home and at work. Malik (2011, p. 7) continues, “Provide
counseling on work related and personnel problems and support from a team of welfare
health and counseling staff.” Counseling seems to be the first choice for mangers to use
in stress management.
Most managers forget to understand that counseling is not the only way to deal
with stress. In fact it costs the company a lot of money for one employee to receive
counseling for stress. Moreover, a simple conversation can help reduce stress level in
employees. If managers do not help their employees during the period of stress it could
lead to more serious issues for the employees. Reducing the workload of employees can
also help minimize their stress level. Many employees cannot work under pressure, some
do not work at a fast pace so it; therefore it is important for managers to understand the
working style of their employees so they cannot stress them out.
What actions do you take to deal with stress?

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I experience stress every day at my work and in my personal life due to different
events that occur on a daily basis. It can come from either the people that I serve or my
supervisor or my coworkers. Most of the time these individuals are not aware of the
impact they are having on me either positively or negatively; I struggle to understand the
reasons behind certain behaviors toward me. Due to the nature of my work, I always take
the blame in every situation because I cannot argue with any of the families that I work
with. Some of the parents that I provide services to think they are entitled to every service
that my department (Department of Economic Security) offers. I am patient and always
try to avoid conflicts with the parents.
When the work gets stressful sometimes I leave the office and go for a walk. It
helps me a lot when I get away from the job and everything that comes with it. More
often than not I choose to engage myself in activities that I love simply to get my mind
off the stressors. When I am at work it is a little harder for me to get away from stress
whenever it presents itself. One of the actions I have been doing is to go in a coworker’s
office to discuss matters unrelated to the job; sometimes we talk about the weather or we
discuss sporting events in Europe and compared to the USA. The ten or fifteen minutes I
spend talking to my coworkers revamped my entire day as if I was not in a stress mood.
If I do not feel like talking to anyone at that moment, I stay in my office and begin to
visualize different things in my life; I ask myself why did I take this job; are all these
stress worth it or am I just wasting my time at this place. When I can answer those
questions to myself, I begin to feel better about my employment. Sometimes I go home
with stress from work so I go to the gym to exercise in order for me to relax my mind and

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take courage to prepare for the next day. The good thing is that my work stress does not
spill over into my family life.

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