These two experiments both demonstrate that stress, over a number of years causes medical consequences to those exposed to it. The first experiment demonstrates changes in health to professionals in certain industries, during stressful periods, and emphasises how the levels of stress are dependant on the surroundings that the subjects are exposed to. The second experiment makes a point that every individual will be effected by stress differently, because of the differences between their medical, and physical condition.
Social
The next article that we will look at is titled “Should stress be viewed as an occupational hazard?” from a New York Magazine “Nation’s Business” by Christine Noroowzki. The article highlights how organisations should approach the issues of stress with more attention, as in certain professions, it can lead to occupational disasters. The first profession that the article focuses on is truck driving. Professional drivers consider stress to be the number one threat to highway safety and their personal health. Christine Noroowzki demonstrates the dangers of stress on the job and safety of civilians. Stress on the road, when combined with alcohol or drug can have catastrophic results.
Stress is a well known issue in most modern businesses, as they have recognized that it can have an adverse effect on the efficiency of their employees. A study has been carried out by IACP (International Association of Chiefs of Police), which reports that there are essentially three psychological reactions to consistently high stress levels: withholding of emotion, anger, and isolation. Withholding of emotions occur often in human service professionals such as policemen or accountants. Their roles demand that they suppress their emotions when interacting with clients. Thus, when the stress levels begin to rise as they deal with more and more clients, they would put up an even greater resistance to their own emotions . Over time, they may not be able to relax the emotional resistance. Their emotions would be kept within themselves, resulting ultimately in mental and emotional disorders. In stressful times, employees are often displeased or angry with something. However, there are usually limited channels in which employees can express their views. Since opinions, views, and feelings cannot always be expressed to anyone to change the current situation, there would be an accumulation of anger and frustration within the individual. Up to a certain point, the anger would be released, usually at the wrong person or time, such as colleagues, clients, or even their own family members. This symptom has an impact on society because there is a potential that it may hurt other people. Many cases of spousal abuse, child abuse, alcohol abuse, are a result of overstressed employees unable to diffuse or cope with the anger and frustration building up within them.
The IACP’s report stated that isolation is a common side effect of working under stress. For many service practitioners, the clients that they serve do not always welcome them. A prime example would be policemen who are shunned often by the public. Over time, a feeling of isolation and rejection would get to the person. The natural thing to do would be to withdraw from others who do not understand their plight, resulting in profound human loneliness. The symptoms mentioned above are usually long-term effects. There are many other short term, psychological effects of stress that can be readily seen or felt.
Organisational effects
During my investigation into this topic, I have come across an eastern edition of a Wall Street journal, which talks about a study carried out in Japan by Chiyoda Mutual Life Insurance Company. They have proven that there is a high correlation between stress and job performance. In moderate levels, stress is beneficial in that it can cause individuals to perform their jobs better and attain higher job performance. However, at high levels, stress can decrease productivity. This is the case often seen in employees at many organizations . Furthermore, aside from costs associated with lost productivity, there are costs with respect to stress-related absenteeism and organizational medical expenses. Specifically, these include costs of lost company time, increases in work-related accidents, disrupting production, increases in health care costs and health insurance premiums, and most importantly, decreases in productivity . There are numerous methods that organizations could adopt to reduce undue stress in their employees. This is discussed in the final article. However, measures taken to counter this problem are usually tailored specifically for the particular organization.
Chiyoda Mutual Life Insurance Company have combined efforts with JMA (Japan medical Association), and produced a repport, which serves as a guide to how organisations can reduce stress. First step any organization should take to help its employees reduce and cope with stress is to incorporate into the company policies a positive intent on reducing stress. This would indicate that top management is committed to such a stress reduction program. Furthermore, the amendment to the policies should also include recognition that this will benefit the achievement of other organizational goals by enhancing the productivity of employees through lowered stress levels. After the inclusion of the broad mission goal of reducing employee stress, management should draft out plans, which specifically lays out the visions to accomplish that goal.
There are many approaches to stress reduction, thus the provisions should detail only the methods specific to the organization. For example, they could specify that employees undergo periodic medical examinations and personnel surveys to obtain current stress levels. The company could also provide personal counselling to employees to identify undue stress levels and then to advise any corrective measures for the individual. In any case, the most important beginning step is a total re-examination and revision of company policies, plans, and procedures to enhance employees’ own methods of coping with stress, and simultaneously, promote an organizational climate, which actively assists employees to minimize their stress.
Reduction of stress
The final article that I have analysed is titled “A healthy cut in costs” by John D. Adams. In this article, Adams speaks of the methods that could be applied to the daily management of a business. One method management can employ to minimise stress is to make them fitter to deal with the everyday pressures of work. There are three basic management techniques that would accomplish this. Managers should be clear about their expectations of employees and explain these expectations to each person. Secondly, management should devise a performance evaluation system such that each employee would be aware of his / her performance level based on the feedback received. Lastly, employees should be fully capable of performing their job tasks. Stress arises when employees do not possess the necessary skills to carry on with the work assigned to them. Therefore, job training programs are essential to reducing anxiety and stress associated when employees feel that they do not possess sufficient skills or knowledge to perform the job that they were hired for.
Adams states that all employees have a clear understanding of their roles they were hired for and the duties expected of them. This is often valid for employees working at the front line, such as workers on an assembly line. Strict procedures dictate the tasks and procedures each worker would assume. However, at higher levels in the chain, an employee’s duties and responsibilities may not be as apparent. A middle manager or team leader’s role could entail many different responsibilities and duties such as managing, coordinating, leading, planning, etc. Despite a detailed job description when the individual was hired, there often exists a cloud of ambiguity as to what the position exactly encompasses given the wide-ranging scope of the position. Work stress arises as a result of this because employees would be distressed over uncertainty of the sufficiency of their tasks in relevance to their position and role.
Furthermore, employees may not be clear as to the amount of work expected of him or her. When employees do not know how much effort they should commit to their jobs in order to satisfy their superior’s expectations, a certain level of employee work stress would arise in that the individual would be constantly worried about the adequacy of his / her level of effort. Employees need to know exactly the tasks expected of them and the level of effort to put into those tasks. The issue here is essentially a communications problem between management and employees. Management should communicate its expectations to employees whether as a group or individually. Adams’s theory is that managers, themselves, should adapt a managing style that is sensitive to employee stress. Communication of management expectations can be achieved by analyzing each role in the organization to clarify priorities and resolve conflict between roles. This approach would first, clarify any ambiguity an employee may have about his/her position. Secondly, it effectively eliminates the stress from not knowing what or how much to do. Informing employees of their role expectations is only the beginning to reducing stress levels . Employee also require feedback from their performance measures.
Conclusion
In most average organisations, stress is taken for granted, and the dealing with it is left to the individual’s own way . Stress levels are high in businesses, and the price associated with it is equally high. Stress is costly to any stakeholder in the business: the owner, the employee, the customer, etc. Small business owners and managers can implement workable strategies to prevent and reduce stress. This paper presents some of these techniques drawn from well-established human resource management methods and practices. I have investigated various aspects of stress, ranging from the physical consequences, to social and organisational stress prevention issues. Studies have proven that mental pressures at work can accumulate into harmful diseases, which in turn prevent job satisfaction, and efficiency. Given the competitive nature of modern businesses and the importance of producing and delivering high quality products and services, it is essential that the businesses take a position to reduce employee stress, identifying the organizational sources and then carrying out techniques to reduce them.
References
Abbot Laboratories UK (http://www.abbott.com/news/press_release.cfm?id=1020)
“Nation’s Business” “Should stress be viewed as an occupational hazard?” by Christine Noroowzki
IACP (International Association of Chiefs of Police) study mentioned in the article above
American Heart Association website
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=45829225&sid=9&Fmt=3&clientId=29708&RQT=309&VName=PQD
“Stress and performance effectiveness” Alluisi, E. A., Fleishman, E. A. (1981).
Anonymous publishing body: “A healthy cut in costs” by John D. Adams.
Japan Medical Association website
