Who is responsible for managing stress: at work-organisations or employees themselves?

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Who is responsible for managing stress at work-organisations or employees themselves?

The word '' is defined as "a state of affairs involving demand on physical or mental energy". A condition or circumstance (not always adverse), which can disturb the normal physical and mental health of an individual.

Stress is a combination of external stressors and our response or the physical and psychological strain we experience as a result (Selye1936). A number of researchers have however not followed Selye in seeing stress as a response but see stress as a function of an individual’s appraisal of a situation (Tomaka 1997). This shows that certain individual may not classify certain situations as stressful , whereas other individuals may.

It is very hard to clarify the main causes of stress as different individuals react differently to different stress conditions. Extreme stress situations for one individual may prove to be mild for another. In general terms the factors, which can cause or intensify stress, include major  such as a divorce, death, midlife crisis, financial worries, persistent strain of caring for a chronically sick child, nagging health problems or managing a physically or mentally challenged family member can act as potential stressors. Even conditions such as prolonged unemployment or a sudden lay-off from a job can leave you under tremendous stress.

Medically, it has been established that  can crumble our body's immune system. This leads to increased release of stress hormones thus increasing our level of fear, worry or sense of threat. It brings about changes in the body's biochemical state with extra adrenal steroids such as hydrocortisone in the bloodstream. It also increases blood pressure in the body with mental manifestations such as anger, fear, worry or aggression. When the extra chemicals in our bloodstream don't get used up or the stress situation persists, it makes our body prone to mental and physical illnesses. Stress is also proved to increase the risk of developing cancer, increasing the aging process, migraines, headaches and backaches. Stress is known to worsen many immune related medical conditions, including diabetes. Results of a recent research have also shown that stressful life events can hasten the progression of AIDS in HIV-positive patients.  has for long been thought of a preventive measure in helping to reduce stress due to the level caffeine, however although adult smokers state smoking helps them feel relaxed, research shows that a large proportion of smokers report feeling more stressed than nonsmokers. Research shows that nicotine dependency actually increases stress levels in smokers-adults and adolescence alike.

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Effects of stress

Job stress is a chronic disease caused by conditions in the workplace that negatively affect an individual's performance and overall well being of his/her body and mind. One or more of a host of physical and mental illnesses manifests job stress. In some cases, job stress can be disabling. There are a number of related causes for stress within the workplace, one of which is role ambiguity. Role ambiguity occurs when the roles and objectives of an individual within the workplace have not been clearly defined, thus leading to confusion and demotivation (Beehr, 1995). A ...

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