INTRODUCTION

Stress in the workplace is a growing concern in the current state of the economy, where employees
increasingly face conditions of overwork, job insecurity, low levels of job satisfaction, and lack of
autonomy. Workplace stress has been shown to have a detrimental effect on the health and
wellbeing of employees, as well as a negative impact on workplace productivity and profits. In
this paper an attempt has been made to identify and explain key factors in the work situation that
can influence the level of stress that may be experienced by individual employees as well as to
suggest suitable ways by which organizations can minimize stress levels among employees. The
paper will begin by defining key words of the question at hand. Thereafter it will identify and
explain key factors influencing levels of stress experienced by individual employees in the work
situation while suggesting suitable ways by which organizations can minimize stress levels among
employees.

MAIN BODY

Stress is much in the news at present but it isn’t a new problem. Pressure is part and parcel of all
work and helps to keep us motivated. But excessive pressure can lead to stress which undermines
performance. Stress has been defined differently over the millions of years, it is a broad term which
conveys a variety of meanings. The word ‘stress’ now forms part of most people’s daily vocabulary
but its reach and meaning remain unclear. Modern definitions of stress all recognize that it is a
personal experience caused by pressure or demands on an individual, and impacts upon the
individual’s ability to cope or rather, his/her perception of that ability. The Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) defines stress as, “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other
types of demand placed upon them (Cooper, 1998).” According to McGrath (1979) Stress is an
individual’s adaptive response to a situation that is perceived as challenging or threatening to a
person’s well-being. Work related stress refers to “the response people may have when presented
with work demands and pressures that are not matched to their knowledge and ability and which
challenge their ability to cope (Ivancevich, 1980).” Arnold and Feldman (1989) define stress as
“the reaction of individuals to new or threatening factors in their work environment. Since our
work environments often contain new situations, this definition suggests that stress is inevitable.
This definition also highlights the fact that reactions to stressful situations are individualized, and
can result in emotional, perceptual, behavioral, and psychological changes. Williams (1986)
defines stress as “a psychological and physical reaction to prolonged internal and or/
environmental conditions in which the individuals capabilities are overextended.” They argue that
stress is an adaptive response to a conscious or unconscious threat. They point out that stress is
ones perception of the situation, not the situation itself. In other words stress is a relativistic
phenomenon.

Stress in the organization can be a real problem for the organization as well as its workers. There
are many factors in the organization that influence the level of stress that may be experienced by
individual employees, some of these factors include the following.

Organizational change is one of the many factor that causes stress in the organization. Change
usually brings about difficulties for an institution and for its employees. There is uncertainty about the
future, about what the organization will look like, and how the employees feel they will fit into the
new structure (Ibid). (Mcgrath, 1976) adds that “change causes employees to question their own ability
to perform in an unknown future”. While some individuals embrace change, most simply accept it and
with widely varying degrees of willingness. There are those, however, who refuse to change. The
subsequent rejection of cooperative progress puts increased stress on supervisors, colleagues, and the
institution as a whole.

In order to minimize or decrease this kind of stress that is caused by organizational change, the
organization should plan ahead so change doesn’t come out of the blue. Consult with employees
so they have a real input, and work together to solve problems (Wikens, 1996 ).

Changes in roles and tasks are yet another factor that may influence the levels of stress experienced
by individual employees in an organization. According to Anderson (1977), as roles and tasks
change, there is the potential for stress-producing ambiguity, placing increased emphasis on the
importance of adequate and timely communication. Stephen (1989), emphasizes the deleterious
effects of role ambiguity, conflict, overload, underload. Role ambiguity is often the result of
mergers, acquisition and restructuring, where employees are unsure of their new job
responsibilities. Role ambiguity produces low role perceptions, it is also a source of stress in a
variety of situations, such as joining an organization or working in a new joint venture, because
task and social expectations are uncertain. Role conflict has been categorized into two types, these
are intersender and intrasender. Intersender role conflict can occur when the workers perceive that
two different sources are generating incompatible demands or expectations. Intersender role
conflict can arise when the workers perceive conflicting demands from the same source. Overload
is frequently created by excessive time pressures, where stress increases as a deadline approaches,
and then rapidly subsides. Under load is a result of an inefficient quantity, or an inadequate variety
of work. Both overload and under load of work can result in low self-esteem and stress related
symptoms, however, under load has been associated with passivity and general feelings of apathy
(Mcgrath, 1989).

In order to minimize the stress that is brought about by changes in roles or tasks, it is important
to have clarity of job descriptions, reporting relationships, and performance standards, it is also
important to maintain a close link between individual targets and organizational goals (Wickens,
1996)

Another factor that influences the level of stress experienced by individual employees in the organisation
is lack of task control. One of the most important findings emerging from stress research is that
employees are more stressed when they lack control over how and when they perform their tasks
as well as over the pace of work activity. Work is potentially more stressful when it is paced by a
machine, involves monitoring equipment, or the work schedule is controlled by someone else. For
example, one study in Canada done by Henderson on 12,000 Canadians reported that the majority
of employees in production, sales, and service jobs have higher psychological stress because of
their lack of work control. Theorell (1993) adds that “employees will be stressed if they lack
control over aspects of the job, lack involvement in decision making, if ideas or suggestions of
staff is not acknowledged, if there is lack of influence over performance targets and so on.”

In order to curb or minimize stress that occurs as a result of lack of task control, it is important to
devise measures to engage the workers more in decision making concerning various aspects of the
duties and functions they execute. It is also important to take into serious acknowledgement the
ideas or suggestions that the workers bring forward, especially if those ideas are good and could
enhance administrative efficiency in the organization

According to (War,1987) demands of the job also have significant influence on the levels of stress
that is experienced by employees in the work situation. When workers have excessive and
otherwise unmanageable pressure they will be stressed. Cooper (1989) posits that employees often
become overloaded if they cannot cope with the amount of work or type of work they are asked to
do. Employees normally tend to receive a lot of stress when they have too much work to do but
with little time, when they have boring or repetitive work or too little work to do. Too much work
load is mostly a repercussion of underemployment in the organization or delays in filling vacant
positions. Stress in the organization is also a result of poor working environment for instance a
working environment that is too hot, too cold, noisy, bad lighting, insufficient oxygen and so on.
The effects of these stressors can be cumulated over time and subsequently increase stress and thus
decrease performance…

Stress that results from demands of the job can be minimized in various ways. Pelletier (1977)
points out that it can be minimized by prioritizing tasks, this involves cutting out unnecessary work
so as to give more attention to executing tasks that are more important. Another way is to make
sure employees fill in job positions for which they are qualified. Another way is to make sure that
work place hazards, such as noise, harmful substances and the threat of violence are properly
controlled. Pritchett (1995) adds that, “shortening the working hours and making better organized
shifts, allowing relaxation for employees after work, may significantly increase the performance
and quality of the work produced.”

Another stressor that influences the level of stress experienced by employees in the organization
is support. Support in this context refers to the encouragement, sponsorship and resources provided
by the organization, line management and colleagues. If an employee is not receiving support from
management and fellow employees they are likely to be stressed.

Alrecht (1979) points out that “support related stress that is experienced by individual employees
can be minimized by giving employees the opportunity to talk about the issues causing stress,
provide a sympathetic ear and keep them informed”. Support related stress can also be minimized
by supporting and encouraging workers even when things go wrong.

According to Stephen (1989), “the quality of leadership also influences the level of stress
experienced by individual employees in the organization”. The quality of leadership is a critical
factor relative to the stress of the organization. Are organizational leaders viewed as competent,
ethical, strategic, approachable, and fair? Do they have reasonable expectations? Do they clearly
communicate their vision and directions? If not, the organization will experience stress. True
leadership does not come from the position held but rather from creating a vision, setting an
example, and inviting participation. An intelligent leader reads and understands books, but a great
leader reads and understands people.

Anderson (1977) points out that “the best way to minimize the stress that is experienced as a result
of quality of leadership is for leaders to be very ethical, competent and strategic, the leaders should
also be very approachable”. So as to minimize the levels of stress among the employees, the leaders
should also place reasonable demands and expectations on the employees, the leaders also have to
ensure that they clearly communicate their vision and direction for the company.

Another factor that influences the level of stress experienced by individual employees in the
organization is career development. The professional career development is considered to be one
of the most serious stressors relating to planning and career advancement. This includes job
insecurity or job security, desire for promotion, getting higher position in organization, moving to
less attractive position and loss or lack of opportunities for professional career development. The
feeling of job insecurity highly depends on previous experience and personal characteristics of
employees. If employees are not getting any career development they tend to become stressed
(Pelletier, 1977)

Management can minimize this stressor by providing an atmosphere that enables employees to
acquire the right knowledge and skills that enable them to flourish in their careers, this could
involve providing education and training to employees as well as motivation (Ivancevich, 1980).

According to (Theorell, 1993), relationships in the organization also have a major influence on the
levels of stress experienced by employees in the work place. Each employee has certain
professional relationships with his co-workers and subordinates. The relationships and interactions
with others sometimes create a critical organizational environment, and therefore they are very
often potential sources of stress. Good interpersonal relationships help to achieve personal goals
of the individuals and organizational goals of the whole team, while bad interpersonal relationships
are the cause of stress in the organization and affect results of work of the individuals, groups,
departments, work teams and sometimes the whole organization. Relationships with the co-
workers can influence the reactions of employees to the rest of problems within the organization.
In order to minimize stress that comes about as a result of poor relationships, organizations can
provide various training in interpersonal skills, apart from that organizations can also encourage
and support team building. Doing so enhances the relationships among the employees (Warr,
1987).

Stephen (1989) points out that “the culture of an organization also serves as a potential source of
stress that is experienced by employees in an organization”. Generally speaking, the organizational
culture is related to the values and standards shared by the management and employees within the
organization which influence behavior of individuals and the whole group. The employees may
experience stress, if they do not share the values that create a nature of the organization they work
in. Disagreement of an employee with the organizational culture may cause an employee to start
feeling isolated and unable to communicate with other employees.

Management can minimize this kind of stress by ensuring that the organization adopts a good
culture, one that is neutral in the sense that it not repugnant to the beliefs of other members of the
organization. The organization should have a culture that does not negatively affect other
employees.

CONCLUSION
To conclude, this essay has identified and explained the key factors that influence the levels of
stress that may be experienced by employees in the organization. To begin with, the paper
generally defined stress as the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of
demand placed upon them. The essay also identified relationships, organizational change, changes
in roles, demand, support, lack of control and culture of the organization as major factors that lead
to stress in the organization. In this paper, various ways by which organizations can minimize the
level of stress have also been highlighted, some of which include, having clarity of job
descriptions, reporting relationships, and performance standards. Also by devising measures to
engage the workers more in decision making concerning various aspects of the duties and functions
they execute. It is also important to take into serious acknowledgement the ideas or suggestions
that the workers bring forward, especially if those ideas are good and could enhance administrative
efficiency in the organization. Another way to minimize stress is by prioritizing tasks, this involves
cutting out unnecessary work so as to give more attention to executing tasks that are more
important. Another way is to make sure employees fill in job positions for which they are qualified.
Another way is to make sure that work place hazards, such as noise, harmful substances and the
threat of violence are properly controlled.