Concept of Work Stress

• Stress refers to some kind of dissatisfaction with the

self or the situation one is in. Stress is situational.
• A person may be in stress at one point of time and
not at the other.
• Stress is more a perception of the mind rather than
a manifestation of conditions of life.
• The same condition or situation may be perceived
by someone as a threat, while other may take it as
an opportunity. Also, stress may not always be bad
and undesirable.
• Stress may be defined as “the harmful
physical and emotional responses that occur
when job requirements do not match the
worker’s capabilities, resources, and needs of
the worker.
• Job stress can lead to poor health and even
injury
• Stress is a state of mind. Stress can be
converted into mental illness if it becomes
prolonged and extreme.
• Stress can be positive or negative. Positive
stress could arise with increased responsibility,
challenges to complete a task in a given time,
high quality task which gives the employee
recognition in the organization, etc.
• If stress is positive, it is called eustress. It can act as
a motivator and result in the best performance by
the individual.
• If it is negative stress, it is called distress. It creates
emotional, organizational or social problems. Some
examples of negative stress or distress at work
could be:
• use of power and influence against employees,
biased opinion in promotion, favoritism, autocratic
leadership approach.
• A situation or condition may be stressful for one person
and not for the other. Stress is largely in the mind and in
less in the situation. So, the level of stress experienced by
an individual depends to a great extent on the personality
of the individual. However, there may be situations that
lead to stressful conditions. For example,
• illness or death in the family, loss of job,
• failure to achieve goals set for oneself,
• loss of stamina to work or poor health,
• overload of task,
• high expectations of others from self and like.
 Types of Stress

• Stress could be of various types. Stress could

be related to organization or job of a person;
factors in the external environment; the
norms, work style, methods or targets laid by
teams or groups of which an individual is a
member; or due to individual’s personality
traits.
 Organizational Stress

• Stressors within the organization have the most

negative effect on the stress level of an employee. The
factors leading to organizational stress could be
responsibility without authority, no role in the decision
making, authoritative leadership, job insecurity,
favoritism, bad working conditions and many more.
The recent trend of downsizing or restructuring has
increased the threat for employees to remain in the
job. It becomes very stressful for the employees to
handle the pressure of downsizing as their livelihood is
at stake.
 Extraorganizational Stress

• Work stress in not always associated with events happening

within the organization. Extraorganizational stressors are the
external forces such as globalization, technological or societal
change, family problems, financial crises, personal health,
etc., that can increase stress for an employee. Studies have
showed that things happening outside the work place
negatively affect the job performance. The modern living
style has increased the stress level and decreased the
personal health of people. The routine life of the people is
becoming so fast day by day with urbanization that the
chances of increased stress and the impact of negative stress
on work, have expanded.
 Group Stress

• In every organization, an employee has to work as a team or in a

group. Differences in opinion of individuals in the group,
individual interests, politics within the group, acceptance or
rejection by the group etc., leads to stress for an individual.
Employees need social support so that they can share views, joys
or sorrows with the other members while working in a group. If
such social support is lacking in the group, the employee’s stress
level rises as he is not able to share his feelings with anyone
during his working hours. This can lead to dissatisfaction and
irritation which can cause health issues. The group leader should
keep in mind the togetherness of the group as it plays the most
important role in order to achieve the desired goals.
 Individual Stress

• All the types of stress discussed above

(extraorganizational, organizational and group)
ultimately affect an individual’s stress level. Individual
stress is the one that differs depending upon the
personality traits of a person like, tolerance, rigidity,
supportiveness, anxiety, dedication, commitment to
work etc. A situation may become a threat for one
individual and an opportunity for another individual
depending upon his perception, personality,
experience and social support.
However, some common factors that cause
stress at work for the employees are discussed
below.
Work environment :The working environment of
an organization encompasses the type of
leadership adopted by the management, relation
among the departments and employees of the
organization, communication pattern followed in
the organization, the synergy of employees and
management, etc. It is stressful for an employee to
work in the organizations where the congenial
environment within all departments and
employees is missing.
• Unclear role and responsibility
• In many job profiles the role and responsibility of the employee
are not defined properly. The un-spelt role and responsibility of
the employee will create chaos and confusion with regard to the
expected outcome. Such a confusion may lead him to be
accountable at multiple levels or individuals which is not a
recommended principle of management and the distorted unity
of command does disturb the harmony of the organization and
causes stress to the employee, since he will not be able to satisfy
anyone as different people will have different expectations from
the post for which he has been hired. Such situations result in
work stress.
• Working conditions
• Bad working conditions like unhygienic sanitation
facilities, poor lighting and ventilation, too much
dust, insufficient safety measures etc, leads to
dissatisfaction among employee. Such
dissatisfaction have impact on employee
performance adversely. It causes psychological
stress of doing his duties and assignments in
unwanted or unpleasant conditions.
 Long working hours
• Increased trend of working for longer hours in
order to complete the overload of work is
another major reason of stress. Employees
work for continuous and endless hours to
complete their work commitments that in turn
disturb their personal life and reduce their
efficiency.
 Volume of workload

• Over load of work is one of the main reasons

of work stress amongst the employees these
days. Management often sets unrealistic
targets to be achieved by individuals, which
leads to a stressful situation for the employee,
as it may be beyond the capability of the
individual or too many activities are to be
performed in the defined time frame.
 Job insecurity

• The major difference in a public and a private

sector is the job security that is lacking in the
private sector. It puts the employees in the race
of exhibiting excellence every time. Employees
feel insecure and pressurized at work, as they are
not assured any permanency of job. Recession in
the recent time has added to the stress and
insecurity amongst the employees due to
downsizing and restructuring by the
organizations.
 Consequences of Stress
• Although, it is argued that some amount of
stress is necessary for an employee’s better
job performance, but long-term stress can
lead to serious health problems.The matter if
the mild stress would lead to improvement in
the performance or create undue pressure in
fact depends on the nature of the job.
 Physical Problems
• Chronic stress disturbs the whole system of the body. It can lead
to heart disease high blood pressure, digestive problems, obesity,
etc. Stress also weakens the immune system leading to a low
ability of fighting with illness and infections. It also leads to
problems like headaches, depression, sleep disorders, anxiety, etc.
Long term stress leads to such musculoskeletal system problems,
where the employee takes time to recover and it also affects the
employee’s personal relationships. There is enough evidence that
increasing level of stress in today’s corporate world is majorly
deteriorating physical health of employees. Professionals like stock
investors and brokers are more likely to have cardiovascular
system problems as their level of work stress is too high due to the
level of uncertainty involved.
 Psychological Problems

• Just as physical health is impacted by the stress levels at the

work place, psychological health is equally affected by it.
Constant and high level of stress generates anger, anxiety,
aggression, depression, irritation, tension, etc. An employee
facing any of these mental problems is more likely to be
dissatisfied and/or jealous. Consequently he is likely to get
into aggressive arguments, and/or complaints. Even the
managers on the key positions suffer from these
psychological problems. The higher stress that comes along
with the position, may even change the working style of the
manager. For example, he may become moody, and may over
react with the subordinates at times.
 Behavioral Problems

• Another set of problems that arise due to high level of

work stress is the behavioral problems. These
problems could be smoking, consumption of alcohol,
taking drugs, overeating or under eating, etc. Stress
also leads to absenteeism and labor turnover. A highly
stressed person tends to take an off from his work too
frequently and even ends at giving up the job when he
thinks he is not able to handle the pressure any more.
A number of researches have been conducted to study
the stress-performance relationship.
 Conflict
• Conflict can be defined as a mental struggle
resulting from incompatible or opposing needs,
drives, wishes, and external or internal demands.
Where there are people, there is conflict.
• They are usually taken in a negative association.
However, this is inaccurate as conflicts are
necessary for healthy relationships. It all depends
on the approach we use to resolve the conflict.
 Classification of Conflict

• Classification of Conflict
• When we think of the different types of conflict, we might
instantly think of the ones referred to in literature,
especially in fiction. They can be applied to real life, of
course. However, in contemporary times, types of conflict
which are easily identifiable are classified into four different
types −
• Intrapersonal
• Intragroup
• Interpersonal
• Intergroup
 Intrapersonal Conflict

• Intrapersonal conflict takes place within an individual.

The person experiences it in his own mind. Thus, it is a
type of conflict that is psychological involving the
individual’s thoughts, values, principles and emotions.
Intrapersonal conflict may come in different forms, from
the simple mundane ones like deciding whether or not
to go vegan for lunch to ones that can affect major
decisions such as choosing a career path.
• However, this type of conflict can be quite difficult to
handle, if you find it hard to decipher your inner
struggles.
 Intragroup Conflict

• Intragroup Conflict
• Intragroup conflict occurs among individuals within a
team. The incompatibilities and misunderstandings
between team members leads to intragroup conflict.
It starts from interpersonal disagreements like team
members have different personalities which may lead
to tension or differences in views and ideas. Say for
example, during a presentation, members of the team
might find the notions presented by the one presiding
to be erroneous due to their differences in opinion.
 Interpersonal Conflict

• Interpersonal conflict means a conflict between two

individuals. Basically, this occurs because of some
differences in people. We have varied personalities
which usually lead to incompatible choices and
opinions. So, it is a natural occurrence which can
eventually help in personal growth or developing our
relationships with others.
• In addition, adjustments are necessary for managing
this type of conflict. However, when interpersonal
conflict becomes too destructive, calling in a mediator
helps so as to have the issue resolved.
 Intergroup Conflict

• Intergroup conflict occurs when a misunderstanding

arises among different teams within an organization. For
example, the marketing department of an organization
can come in conflict with the customer support
department. This is because of the varied sets of goals
and interests of these different groups. In addition to
this, competition also contributes to intergroup conflict.
There are other factors which increase this type of
conflict. Some of these factors may include a rivalry in
resources or the boundaries set by a group to others
which forms their own identity as a team.
 Conflict Resolution

• Conflict resolution is a method by which two or

more parties find a peaceful solution to a
disagreement among them. The disagreement can
be personal, financial, political, or emotional. When
a disagreement arises, often the best course of
action is negotiation to resolve the disagreement.
We all know that when people gather for a
discussion, it is not necessary that what one thinks
is right the other thinks the same way, this
difference in thinking or mentality leads to conflict.
 Conflict Management Techniques

• We get into a conflict when the person opposite to us has a different mindset. It
is very common in a workplace to get into differences of opinion. Sometimes
there is a conflict between two or more employees, sometimes employees have
a conflict with their managers and so on. Now the question is, how can we
manage disagreements in ways that build personal and collegial relationships?
• Here are five strategies from conflict management theory for managing stressful
situations. None of them is a "one-size-fits-all" answer. Which one is the best in
a given situation depends on variety of factors, including an appraisal of the
levels of conflict.
• Collaborating − win/win
• Compromising − win some/lose some
• Accommodating − lose/win
• Competing − win/lose
• Avoiding − no winners/no losers
 Collaborating

• This technique follows the rule "I win, you win". Collaborating means working
together by integrating ideas set out by multiple people. The objective here is to
find a creative solution acceptable to everyone. It calls for a significant time
commitment but is not appropriate for all conflicts.
• This technique is used in situations where −
• There is a high level of trust
• We don't want to take complete responsibility
• We want others to also have "ownership" of solutions
• People involved are willing to change their thinking
• We need to work through animosity and hard feelings
• However, this process takes a lot of time and energy and some may take
advantage of other people's trust and openness.
• Example − A businessman should work collaboratively with the manager to
establish policies, but collaborative decision-making regarding office supplies
wastes time better spent on other activities.
 Compromising

• This technique follows the rule "You bend, I bend". Compromising

means adjusting with each other’s opinions and ideas, and
thinking of a solution where some points of both the parties can
be entertained. Similarly, both the parties need to give up on
some of their ideas and should agree with the other.
• This technique can be used in situations where −
• People of equal levels are equally committed to goals
• Time can be saved by reaching intermediate settlements on
individual parts of complex matters
• Goals are moderately important
• Example − Two friends had a fight and they decide to
compromise with each other through mutual understanding.
 Accommodating

• This technique follows the rule "I lose, you win". Accommodating
means giving up of ideas and thoughts so that the other party wins
and the conflict ends. This technique can be used when −
• An issue is not that important to us as it is to the other person
• We realize we are wrong
• We are willing to let others learn by mistake
• We know we cannot win
• It is not the right time and we would prefer to simply build credit
for the future
• Harmony is extremely important
• What the parties have in common is a good deal more important
than their differences
 Competing

• This technique follows the rule "I win, you lose".

Competing means when there is a dispute a person or
a group is not willing to collaborate or adjust but it
simply wants the opposite party to lose. This
technique can be used when −
• We know you are right.
• Time is short and a quick decision is to be made.
• A strong personality is trying to steamroll us and we
don't want to be taken advantage of.
• We need to stand up for our rights.
 Avoiding
• This technique follows the rule "No winners, no losers". Avoiding means the ideas
suggested by both the parties are rejected and a third person is involved who takes
a decision without favoring any of the parties. This technique can be used when −
• The conflict is small and relationships are at stake
• We are counting to ten to cool off
• More important issues are pressing and we feel we don't have time to deal with this
particular one
• We have no power and we see no chance of getting our concerns met
• We are too emotionally involved and others around us can solve the conflict more
successfully
• Using this technique may lead to postponing the conflict, that may make matters
worse.
• Example − Rahul and Rohit had a fight, their mother came and punished both of
them.