Occupational Stress Chapter 15 © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Occupational Stress Chapter 15 © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Chapter Overview • Definition, contexts, and importance of occupational • • • • • • • • • stress Gender and occupational stress Disease and occupational stress Occupational stressors The workaholic Burnout Women and work outside the home Sexual harassment Working in the home Interventions © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. What Is Occupational Stress? • First, complete Lab 15.1 • Pertains to sources of stress at work • Involves individual characteristics • Related to the employee’s role within the organization © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Occupational Stress Model © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Multi-faceted Look at Occupational Stress Occupational Stress Evaluation Grid (Table 15.1) recognizes that occupational stress occurs in seven different contexts: 1. 2. 3. 4. Sociocultural Organizational Work setting Interpersonal 5. Psychological 6. Biological 7. Physical/ Environmental © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Why Is Occupational Stress of Concern? • Cost to businesses was >$200 billion/year, • • • (Swoboda, 1992); probably much more now Leads to increased sick days, drug or alcohol abuse, and early death Can promote high turnover rates of employees Technological advances keep employees tethered to work © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Did You Know? • Absences attributed to stress tripled between 1995 and 2004 • 62% of the time when workers called in “sick,” they were not really sick © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Gender and Occupational Stress • Stressors that particularly affect women include: – Career blocks – Sexual harassment – Male-dominated climate – Performance pressure – Gender stereotyping – Isolation – Lack of role models © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Disease and Occupational Stress • Physiological effects – Elevated blood pressure – Elevated serum cholesterol – Increased left ventricular mass – Increased catecholamines – High plasma fibrinogen concentrations – Increased use of alcohol and drugs © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Occupational Stress and Disease (cont.) • Disease states – – – – – – Coronary artery disease Obesity Psychosomatic symptoms Diabetes Hypertension Peptic ulcers • More heart attacks occur on Mondays than any other days © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Occupational Stress and Disease (cont.) • Psychological effects – Low self-esteem – Increased job tension – Low job satisfaction © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Control/Demands Interaction Control High Psychological Demands Low High High job satisfaction Most pathogenic Low Least pathogenic Second most pathogenic © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Occupational Stressors • Workers feel stress at work because of: – Lack of participation in decision-making process – Role problems • Role overload • Role insufficiency • Role ambiguity • Role conflict © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Occupational Stressors (cont.) • Workers feel stress at work because of: (cont.) – Job dissatisfaction • Motivational factors affect job satisfaction – Work environment © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. The Workaholic • Immersing oneself excessively in work at the expense of nonwork activities • Identifying oneself more with the role of a worker rather than as an individual • Are you a person who happens to be a student, or are you a student who happens to be a person? © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. The Workaholic (cont.) • Two factors for classifying workaholics (Naughton, 1987) – – Career commitment (CC) Obsession-compulsion (OC) • Naughton believed there were three types of workaholics: 1. Job-involved workaholics (high CC, low OC) 2. Compulsive workaholics (high CC, high OC) 3. Non workaholics (low CC, low OC) © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. The Workaholic (cont.) • Scott et al. (1997) classified workaholics as: – Compulsive-dependent – Perfectionist • Spence & Robbins (1992) proposed a workaholic triad: – Work involvement, drive, and work enjoyment © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Ways to Combat Workaholism • Focus on the work you most like doing, work • • • • • • that you wouldn’t mind “doing for free” Use your time; don’t let it use you Build friendships at work Schedule open time into your work life Learn to say no sometimes Create a work environment that pleases you Look for the positives in your job © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Burnout • Adverse stress reaction to work with • psychological, psychophysiological, and behavioral components Symptoms include: – – – – – – – – Diminished sense of humor Skipping rest and meals Increased overtime/no vacation Increased physical complaints Social withdrawal Changed job performance Self-medication Internal changes © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Five Stages of Burnout • • • • • Stage Stage Stage Stage Stage 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: The honeymoon Fuel shortage Chronic symptoms Crisis Hitting the wall © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. How to Combat Burnout 1. Identify the value and meaning of your job 2. List all activities you like and rank them in order of importance 3. Create a support group 4. Start a physical self-care program 5. Start a psychological self-care program 6. Do something silly every day © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Women and Work Outside the Home • Women are clearly disadvantaged in the world of work: – They make less money than their male counterparts – Women are subjected to more sexual harassment – Minority women earn less than non-minority women © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Women and Work Outside the Home (cont.) • 56% of women work outside the home • Still employed in traditionally women’s roles – – – – – – Secretaries Receptionists Nurses Bookkeepers Nursing aids Elementary school teachers © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Women and Work Outside the Home (cont.) • Women cope differently from men – More emotion-focused coping – Tend to request and receive more social support © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Women and Work Outside the Home (cont.) • Women and retirement – Only 33% of women over 65 receive pensions – Lack of life insurance benefits – Divorced women receive less retirement income © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Women and Work Outside the Home (cont.) • Family-friendly workplace policies – – – – – – – Help to recruit and retain best workers Job sharing Flexible work schedules Home-based work Health promotion programs Child and elder care Other policies © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Women and Work Outside the Home (cont.) • Work-family balance – Workers bring family stress to work – Workers also bring work stress home • Affects productivity, decision-making, relationships © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Women and Work Outside the Home (cont.) • Three theories of work family balance: – Spillover theory: change in one domain affects other domains – Compensation theory: when one domain is troubled, resources go to other domain – Resource drain theory: Resources devoted to one domain are not available to the other © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Working in the Home • Homemakers experience denigration of their role • Homemakers are at risk for all of the same occupational stressors: – – – – Role Role Role Role overload insufficiency conflict ambiguity • Empty-nest syndrome is a potent stressor © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Interventions • Life-situation interventions • Perception interventions • Emotional arousal interventions • Physiological arousal interventions © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Occupational Stress © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
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