Job Stress

Workplace stress has a negative impact on the business as well as on the individual employee. The increase in job stress creates emotional, financial, and safety concerns for employers and managers. The bottom line: workplace stress management and stress reduction make sense.

Why should employers be concerned about workplace stress?

Stress is a normal occurrence. However, with increasing demands of work and home life, stress on the job is a problem causing physical, mental, and financial consequences for employers as well as employees. Studies show that stressful working conditions are associated with increased absenteeism, tardiness, and intentions by workers to quit their jobsвЂ"all of which have a negative effect on a company’s success. Employers, managers, supervisors, and business owners have many reasons to consider the stress level of their workers:

Financial

• Stressed employees take more sick days and file more disability claims than do contented employees

• Disgruntled employees often quit after extensive investment has been made in their training, and another person has to be trained in their place

• Job stress can result in decreased productivity

• Errors made by stressed workers can result in faulty products that cannot be sold, or worse, that fail after sale and lead to lawsuits

Emotional

• Stressed workers may become depressed or angry

• Alcohol or drug use increases as self-medication for distress, which in turn creates more problems

Safety

• People who are overly stressed are less attentive and can accidentally damage equipment or injure themselves or others

• At the extreme, stress can lead to violence, and management or co-workers can be hurt or killed вЂ" the term “going postal” has become part of the language expressing a murderous rampage as a result of job dissatisfaction

What is job stress?

A survey by St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co. found that problems at work are more strongly associated with health complaints than are any other life stressorвЂ"more so than even financial or family problems. While challenges are a normal and satisfying part of work life, stress is not a necessary evil in the workplace. However, for many people stress has become synonymous with work.

According to The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), early warning signs of job stress include:

• headache

• sleep disturbances

• difficulty in concentrating

• short temper • upset stomach

• job dissatisfaction

• low morale

What causes stress in the workplace?

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is the federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related illness and injury. As part of its mandate, NIOSH is directed by Congress to study the psychological aspects of occupational safety and health, including stress at work. NIOSH works in collaboration with industry, labor, and universities to better understand the stress of modern work, the effects of stress on worker safety and health, and ways to reduce stress in the workplace. Through its research program in job stress and through educational materials, NIOSH is committed to providing organizations with knowledge to reduce this threat. See Stress at WorkвЂ"a report by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

The NIOSH report states that job stress results from both the characteristics of a worker and the working conditions, but that there are differing views as to which set of circumstances is the primary cause of job stress:

• Individual characteristics вЂ" According to one school of thought, differences in personality and coping style of the worker are most important in predicting job stress. Thus, what is stressful for one person may not be a problem for someone else. This viewpoint leads to prevention strategies that focus on workers and ways to help them cope with demanding job conditions.

• Working conditions вЂ" Scientific evidence suggests that certain working conditions are stressful to most people. Evidence from recent studies argues for a greater emphasis on working conditions as the key source of job stress and for job redesign as a primary prevention strategy.

Both viewpoints suggest ways to prevent stress at work, but NIOSH “favors the view that working conditions play a primary role in causing job stress.” The report cites the following job conditions that may lead to stress:

• The design of tasks вЂ" heavy workload; infrequent rest breaks; long hours; and routine tasks that do not utilize workers' skills

• Management style вЂ" poor communication in the organization and a lack of family-friendly policies

• Interpersonal relationships вЂ" an unsupportive social environment

• Work roles вЂ" conflicting or uncertain job expectations; too much responsibility

• Career concerns вЂ" job insecurity; lack of opportunity for advancement or promotion

• Environmental conditions вЂ" unpleasant or dangerous physical conditions such as crowding, noise, air pollution, or ergonomic problems

(For the complete list, see Stress at WorkвЂ"a report by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.)

What are the health effects of job stress?

The nature of work is changing at whirlwind speed. When the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker, harmful physical and emotional responses occur. Perhaps now more than ever before,