MGMT1002 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Design Issues, Shift Work, Learned Helplessness
Week 4 – Workplace Stress
‘eseahes foud a diet liea elatioship etee peoples etal health ad the ualit of
their jobs, with those in well supported, flexible and secure jobs enjoying much better health than
those in jobs lacking such characteristics.
Stress is a perceived substantial imbalance between demands and response capabilities under
conditions where failure to meet demands has important perceived consequences.
Stressor – the person or event that triggers the stress response.
Strain – the negative outcome of the stress process (distress) including burnout, ill health and
negative attitudes.
➢ Negative stress – distress such as anxiety, depression, headache etc.
➢ Positive stress – eustress such as getting a promotion (understanding it is a challenge but
provides an opportunity for growth and development pushing an individual to develop their
capabilities and skills over time.
The stress performance curve
- Note: stress performance curve is characteristic to each
individual. Some perform well at a wide range of stress
levels while others quickly become anxious and self-
doubting even at moderate stress levels.
- The point of optimal stress can change for individuals over
time eg. Following exams an individual may feel they have
insufficient cognitive resources to cope with stressors –
optimal stress is lower than normal.
Stress Approaches
1. Seyle (1936) General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) or stress response – initial hormone
eatio to stessos ie. Fight o flight espose – physical and psychological indicators
respond, heart rate increases, stuttering, stress hormone cortisol released.
2. Lack of Fit [Prevalent approach] – a good person-job/organisation fit occurs when a
pesos skills ad ailities ath a leal defied, osistet set of ole epetatios. This
results in a lack of stress for the person.
3. Lazarus ad Folka 14 Trasactioal Model of Stress ad Copig –
- PRIMARY APPRAISAL – Is this event beneficial, harmful, threatening or challenging?
Emotions are generated by the appraisal such as anxiety, fear, determination etc.
- SECONDARY APPRAISAL – Can I cope with the stress? What are the alternatives?
- Yes I can cope – iiu stess. So I at ope – experience a lot of stress.
- The model suggests whenever an individual is faced with an event in the world they
engage in this unconscious process.
Job Demands – Job Decision Latitude Model [4 Job Types]
Karasek (1979) – Job Demands-Job Decision Latitude Model:
Stress emerges after an individual appraises two independent variables in the workplace:
- Job Demands: such as work overload, role ambiguity -> lack of clear understanding of what
your job entails, time pressures etc.
- Job decision latitude (autonomy) – extent to which employees have potential to control
their tasks/conduct throughout the day ie. Decide when, where and how to do your work.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Esea(cid:396)(cid:272)hes fou(cid:374)d a di(cid:396)e(cid:272)t li(cid:374)ea(cid:396) (cid:396)elatio(cid:374)ship (cid:271)et(cid:449)ee(cid:374) people(cid:859)s (cid:373)e(cid:374)tal health a(cid:374)d the (cid:395)ualit(cid:455) of their jobs, with those in well supported, flexible and secure jobs enjoying much better health than those in jobs lacking such characteristics. Stress is a perceived substantial imbalance between demands and response capabilities under conditions where failure to meet demands has important perceived consequences. Stressor the person or event that triggers the stress response. Strain the negative outcome of the stress process (distress) including burnout, ill health and negative attitudes. Negative stress distress such as anxiety, depression, headache etc. Positive stress eustress such as getting a promotion (understanding it is a challenge but provides an opportunity for growth and development pushing an individual to develop their capabilities and skills over time. Note: stress performance curve is characteristic to each individual. Some perform well at a wide range of stress levels while others quickly become anxious and self- doubting even at moderate stress levels.
