JOB STRESS:Distress and Eustress, Burnout, General Adaptation Syndrome

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Organizational Psychology (PSY510)

LESSON 31

JOB STRESS

Many people today work long hours, face constant deadlines, and are subject to pressure to produce more

and more. Organizations and the people who run them are under constant pressure to increase income

while keeping costs in check. To do things faster and better-but with fewer people-is the goal of many

companies today. An unfortunate effect of this trend to put too much pressure on people--operational

employees, other managers, and oneself is stress. The results can indeed be increased performance, higher

profits, and faster growth. But stress, burnout, turnover, aggression, and other unpleasant side effects can

also occur.

Many people think of stress as a simple problem. In reality, however, stress is complex and often

misunderstood. In order to understand job stress, we must first define it and then describe the process

through with it develops.

Stress has been defined in many ways, but most definitions say that stress is caused by a stimulus, that the

stimulus can be either physical or psychological, and that the individual responds to the stimulus in some

way. Here, then, we define stress as a person's adaptive response to a stimulus that places excessive

psychological or physical demands on him or her.

Given the underlying complexities of this definition, we need to examine its components carefully. First is

the notion of adaptation. As we discuss presently, people may adapt to stressful circumstances in any of

several ways. Second is the role of the stimulus. This stimulus, generally called a stressor, is anything that

induces stress. Third, stressors can be either psychological or physical. Finally,, the demands the stressor

places on the individual must be excessive for stress to result. Of course what is excessive for one person

may be perfectly tolerable for another. The point is simply that a person must perceive that demands as

excessive or stress will not result.

This also leads us to a simpler definition of stress, i.e. "excessive physical and psychological demands on a

person."

According to an estimate, job stress costs American economy 200/300 billion dollars every year. People in

American organizations face situations of overburdening and stress and have to be counselled. Often

people leave the organizations due to excessive work load. Therefore, job stress is a cause of massive

financial loss to these organizations and the economy as a whole. Not to mention the worldwide economy.

Other countries also face the problems related to job stress in organizations.

Distress and Eustress

Hans Selye is recognized as the father of stress who discovered that tissue damage results from stress. Selye

also pointed out that the sources of stress need not be bad. For example, receiving a bonus ant then having

to decide what to do with the money can be stressful. So can getting a promotion, gaining recognition,

getting married and similar "good" things. Selye called this type of stress eustress. Eustress can lead to a

number of positive outcomes for the individual.

Of course, there is also negative stress. Called distress, this is what most people think of when they hear the

word stress. Excessive pressure, unreasonable demands on our time, and band news all fall into this

category. As the term suggests, this form of stress generally results in negative consequences for the

individual.

Burnout

A consequence of stress, burnout, has clear implications for both people and organizations. Burnout is

general feeling of exhaustion that develops when a person simultaneously experiences too much pressure

and has too few sources of satisfaction.

In other words it is the stage of losing sense of direction and control. Burnout generally develops in the

following way:

First people with high aspirations and strong motivation to get things done are prime candidates for

burnout under certain conditions. They are especially vulnerable when the organization suppresses or limits

their initiative while constantly demanding that they serve the organization's own needs.

In such a situation, the individual is likely to put too much of himself or herself into the job. In other words,

the person may well keep trying to meet his or her own agenda while simultaneously trying to fulfil the

organization's expectations. The most likely effects of this situation are prolonged stress, fatigue, frustration

and helplessness under the burden of overwhelming demands. The person literally exhausts hir or her

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aspirations and motivation, much as a candle burns itself out. Loss of self-confidence and psychological

withdrawal follow. Ultimately, burnout results. At this point, the individual may start dreading going to

work in the morning, may put in longer hours but accomplish less than before, and may generally display

mental and physical exhaustion.

General Adaptation Syndrome

Much of what we know about stress today can be traced back to the pioneering work of Dr. Hans Selye.

Among Selye's most important contributions were his indent faction of the general adaptation syndrome

and the concepts of eustress and distress.

According to this model, each of us has a normal level of resistance to stressful events. Some of us can

tolerate a great deal of stress and other much less, but we al have a threshold at which stress starts to affect

us.

The GAS begins when a person first encounters a stressor. The first stage is called "alarm." At this point,

the person may feel some degree of panic and begin to wonder how to cope. The individual may also have

to resolve a "fight-or-flight" question: Can I deal with this, or should I run away? For example, suppose a

manger is assigned to wire a lengthy report overnight. His or her first reaction be "How will I ever get this

done by tomorrow?"

If the stressor is too extreme, the person may simply be unable to cope with it. In most cases, however, the

individual gather his or her strength (physical or emotional) and begins to resist the negative effects of the

stressor. The manager with the long report to write may calm down, call home to tell that he or she would

be working late, roll up the sleeves, order out for dinner, and get to work. Thus at stage two of the GAS,

the person is resisting the effects of the stressor.

Often, the resistance phase ends the GAS. If the manger completes the report earlier than expected, he may

drop it in his briefcase, smile to himself, and feel tired but happy. On the other hand, prolonged exposure

to a stressor without resolution may bring on phase three of the GAS: exhaustion. At this stage, the person

literally gives up and can no longer fight the stressor. For example, the manager may fall asleep at his desk at

3 A.M. and fail to finish the report.

Individual Consequences of Stress

· Physiological

The physiological consequences of stress affect a person's physical well-being. Heart disease and stroke,

among other illness, have been linked to stress. Other common medical problems resulting from too

much stress include headaches, backaches, ulcers and related stomach and intestinal disorders, and skin

conditions such as acne and hives.

· Psychological

The psychological consequences of stress related to a person's mental health and well-being. When

people experience too much stress at work, they may become depressed or find themselves sleeping too

much or not enough. Stress may also lead to family problems and aggression.

· Behavioural

The behavioural consequences of stress may harm the person under stress or others. One such

behaviour is smoking. Research has clearly documented that that people who smoke tend to smoke

more when they experience stress. There is also evidence that alcohol and drug abuse are linked to

stress, though this relationship is less well documented. Other possible behavioural consequences are

accident proneness, violence and appetite disorders.

Causes of Stress

Many things can cause stress. These can be categorized as the following three:

Extra-organizational Stressors

These are stressors which are outside the person's job or organization that he or she works in. Some of the

common extra organizational stressors are:

· Life/Social/Technical Change

A life change is any meaningful change in a person's personal or work situation; too many life changes

can lead to health problem. Further, stress may also be caused due to the lack of ability to adapt to

technical change.

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Organizational Psychology (PSY510)

Economical/Financial Condition of the Country

Economic or financial condition of the country or the individual may also serve as a cause of stress for

people.

· Class Conditions

The feeling of belonging to a class or development of complexes such as inferiority complex may also

be a cause of stress for individuals.

Organizational Stressors

Organizational stressors are various factors in the workplace that can cause stress. Some of them are as

follows:

· Organizational Policies

Organizational policies may be a potential source of stress for individuals. People may feel as treated

unfairly in the organization and perceive the policies not to be adequate to help them.

· Physical Conditions

Physical conditions and working environment in the organizations may also be a potential source of

stress in or the individuals.

· Process

Organizational processes, like organizational policies may also be a cause of stress. For example, poor

communication, inadequate information, etc. may cause stress in the employees.

Group Stressors

Group stressors are factors that cause stress among group members. Following are some of the group

stressors:

· Lack of Cohesiveness

Lack of cohesiveness among group members is a common cause of group stress since people develop

grudges for each other.

· Lack of Social Support

Support from peers and people around out is an important desire. If not provided, it becomes a source

of group stress.

· Conflicts Within and Inter-group

Conflicts among group members among groups are also a common source of stress.

REFERENCES

· Luthans, Fred. (2005). Organizational Behaviour (Tenth Edition). United States: McGraw Hill Irwin.

· Mejia, Gomez. Balkin, David & Cardy, Robert. (2006). Managing Human Resources (Fourth Edition).

India: Dorling Kidersley Pvt. Ltd., licensee of Pearson Education in South Asia.

· Robbins, P., Stephen. (1996). Organizational Behaviour (Seventh Edition). India: Prentice Hall, Delhi.

· Huczynski, Andrzej & Buchanan, David. (1991). Organizational Behaviour: An Introductory Text

(Second Edition). Prentice Hall. New York.

· Moorhead, Gregory & Griffin, Ricky. (2001). Organizational Behaviour (First Edition). A.I.T.B.S.

Publishers & Distributors. Delhi.

FURTHER READING

· Stress: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_%28medicine%29

· Eustress: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eustress

· Hans Selye: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Selye

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