Chapter 5- Stress

Statistics Canada estimates that a third of Canadian workers feel their jobs are quite or
extremely stressful
Stress- The psychological response to demands when there is something at
stake for an individual, and when coping with these demands would exceed
the individuals capacity or resources
o Depends on the nature of the demand and the person who confronts it
o Different people might experience different levels of stress even when confronted
with exactly the same situation
Stressors- Demands that cause the stress response
Strains- Negative consequences of the stress response

Why are some employees more Stressed than others?

Transactional theory of stress- A theory that explains how stressful demands are
perceived and appraised, as well as how people respond to the perceptions of appraisals
When people first encounter stressors, the process of primary appraisal is triggered
o Evaluation of whether a demand is stressful and it is it, the implications of the
stressor in terms of personal goals and well being
Benign job demands- job demands that are NOT appraised as being stressful
o Ex. A librarians job is not very stressful
Hindrance stressors- Stressful demands that are perceived as delaying
progress toward personal accomplishments or goal attainment
o Tend to trigger negative emotions -> anger, anxiety
o The various roles we have at work are the source of different types of work-related
hindrance stressors
o Examples of work hindrance stressors:
Role Conflict- Conflicting expectation that other people may have of us
Ex. Call center people must contact as many people as possible but
must have a good conversation with each person -> 2 roles to
accomplish
Role Ambiguity- A lack of direction and information about what needs to be
done in a role
Ex. Employees asked to work on a project for which they are given few
instructions. They dont know how much money they can spend on the
project, or long its to take
Students face this when profs dont explain something about a project,
and they stress out cause of their marks
Role Overload- One individual has too many roles that they cant complete
them effectively

Daily Hassles-Minor day-to-day demands that get in the way of

accomplishing things that we really need to accomplish
Ex. Deal with unnecessary paperwork, office equipment malfunction,
conflicts with co-workers

o Examples of non-work hindrance stressors:

Work-family conflict- A form of role conflict in which the demands of a work
role hinder the fulfillment of the demands in a family role (or vice versa)
Ex. Employees who have trouble at work, may go home frustrated

Ex 2. Employee is facing trouble at home, and goes to work annoyed

and gets mad at customers
Negative life events- Events such as a divorce or death of a family member
that tend to be appraised as a burden
They are a burden because they stop the ability to achieve life goals
and are associate with negative emotion
Financial uncertainty- Uncertainties with regard to the potential for loss of
livelihood, savings, or the ability to pay expenses
Highly relevant during recessions/economic downturns
If people are scared about losing jobs, homes ect they become
stressed and cant do their job properly

Challenge stressors- Stressors that tend to be appraised as opportunities for

growth and achievement
o Tend to trigger positive emptions -> pride, enthusiasm
o Examples of work challenge stressors:
Time pressure- A strong sense that the amount of time you have to do a task
is just not quite enough
Success in meeting such strict time demands is satisfying
Ex. Architects have a number of project, but once it is completed they
feel very satisfied
Work Complexity- The degree to which the requirements of the work, in
terms of knowledge, skills and abilities, exceed the capabilities of the person
who is responsible for performing the task
Work Responsibility- The number and importance of the obligations that an
employee has to others
Ex. The work responsibility for an air traffic controller is high because
they are accountable for lives!
o Examples of non-work challenge stressors:
Family time demands- The amount of time committed to fulfilling family
responsibilities
Ex. Time spent travelling, hosting parties, home improvements
Personal Development- Participation in activities outside of work that foster
growth and learning
Ex. Participation in formal education programs
Positive life events- associated with positive emotions
Events such as marriage, birth of a child

How do people cope with stressors?

Secondary appraisal- When people determine how to cope with the various
stressors they face
Coping- behaviors/thoughts used to manage stressful demands and the
emotions associated with the stressful demands
Coping involves different type of activities, and these activities can be grouped into four
broad categories based on two dimensions.
The first dimension is the method of coping -> behavioral versus cognitive
The second dimension is the focus on coping -> problem versus emotion focused
Behavioral coping- physical activities used to deal with a stressful situation

o Ex. A person confronted with a lot of time pressure at work might choose to cope
by working faster
o Ex 2. An employee who has several daily hassles might cope by avoiding workcoming late, leaving early, or staying at home
Cognitive coping- thoughts used to deal with a stressful situation
o Ex. Person confronted with an increase in time pressure might cope by thinking
about different ways of accomplishing the work more efficiently
o Ex 2. Employees who meet with daily hassles might try to convince themselves
that the hassles are not that bad after all
Problem-focused coping- behaviors and cognitions of an individual intended to
manage the stressful situation itself
o Refers to how people focus on meeting demands rather than avoiding it
Ex. If time pressure the person should work harder
Emotion-focused coping- refers to the various ways people manage their own
emotional relations to stressful demands
o Ex. The employee used avoidance and distancing behaviors to reduce the
emotional distress caused by the stressful situation
Although people might be successful at changing the way different situations are
construed to avoid feeling unpleasant emotions, the demand or problem that initially
triggered the appraisal process remains
There are some situations in which emotion-focused coping may be functional for the
person
How do people choose a particular coping strategy?
o Set of beliefs that people have about how well different coping strategies can
address different demands
o Ex. A student may cope with a final exam better by studying harder rather than
going out till 3am
o The choice also depends on the degree to which a person believes that he or she
has what it takes to execute the coping strategy effectively
o One critical factor that determines coping strategy choice is the degree to which
people believe that a particular strategy gives them some degree of control over
the stressor
What determines how people develop a sense of control?
o The nature of the stressful demand itself
People will feel less control over a stressor when they appraise it as a
difficulty rather than a challenge

The Experience of Strain

The demands of jobs are very excessive, and the negative health consequences are
predictable
Our body can handle stress, but if it happens to often our bodys response is toxic
When people are confronted with stressor, their bodies create a chemical, and if the
chemicals last for a while it begins to break down the body
There are three negative consequences:
o Physiological Strains- Reactions from stressors that harm that human body
Physiological strains at least four systems of the human body
First- stressors reduce effective of bodys immune system
Second-harm the bodys cardiovascular system-heart races

Third- problems in the bodys musculoskeletal system- headaches, tight

shoulders
Four- problems in gastrointestinal system- stomach aches, indigestion,
diarrhea
o Psychological strains- results from stressors
Depression, anxiety, anger, memory loss, reduced self-confidence, a loss of
sense of humor
Theres reflect a more general psychological condition burnout
Burnout- The emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion from coping with
stressful demands on a continuing basis
o Behavioral strains- Patterns of negative behaviors that are associated with other
strains
Grinding ones teeth, being overly critical, excessive smoking

Accounting for individuals in the stress process

Type A Behavior Pattern- People who tend to experience more stressors, to appraise
more demands as stressful, and to be prone to experiencing more strains
Type A people have a strong sense of time urgency and tend to be impatient,
hard-driving, competitive, aggressive
Type A behavior pattern may have a direct influence on the level of stressors
that person confronts
Type A get more work required which leads to aggressive and competition
Type A is linked to heart disease and other physiological, psychological and
behavioral strains
o Type B- Completely opposite -> patient, relaxed, easy going
Another factor that affects the way people manage stress is the degree of social support
o Social support- The help people receive from others when they are confronted with
stressful demands
o Two major types:
Instrumental support- the help people receive from other that can be used to
address a stressful demand directly
Emotional support- the empathy and understanding people receive from
others that can be used to alleviate emotional distress form stress demands
Application: Stress Management
60-90% of all doctor visits have to do with stress-related causes
Relationship between stress and healthcare cost is important
Reducing Stress
Approaches that organization can use to manage employee stress
o First step is to assess the level and sources of stress in workplace
o Stress audit- An assessment of the sources of stress in the workplace
Changes in organization that led to job uncertainty
Questions about work itself
Relationship between employees and the organization
o If stress audit says there is stress then
o Company can do job sharing
Job Sharing- when two people share the responsibilities of one job
o Company can do a sabbatical which gives employees the opportunity to take time
off from work to engage in an alternative activitity
Providing Resources

Organizations can provide resource that help employee with stress demand
o Training interventions- Practices that increase employees competencies and skills
o Supportive practices- ways in which organizations help employees manage and
balance their demands
Ex. Flexible hours, eliminate unnecessary meetings
Reducing Strains
Many organizations use practices to reduce strains
Relaxation techniques- Calming activities to reduce stress
o Ex. Meditation, taking walks
o Teach people how to counteract the effects of stressors by engaging in activities
that slow the heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure
Cognitive-behavioral techniques- Various practices that help workers cope with lifes
stressors in a rational manner
o People learn to say things about stressful demands that reflect optimism
o Training someone on how to prioritize demands, manage time
Health and wellness programs- Employee assistance programs that help workers with
personal problems
o Alcoholism, addictions, weight control