STRESS DI TEMPAT KERJA Pertemuan 19 & 20 Matakuliah: L0064 / Psikologi Industri & Organisasi 1 Tahun: 2007 / 2008.

STRESS DI TEMPAT KERJAPertemuan 19 & 20

Matakuliah : L0064 / Psikologi Industri & Organisasi 1Tahun : 2007 / 2008

Learning ObjectivesAfter reading this chapter, you should be able to1. Describe the physiological effects of stress2. Identify the contributions of individual differences

in stress responses3. Understand the nature of work-family conflicts4. Identify the causes and effects of stress in the

workplace5. Describe the various approaches to treating stress

in the workplace

What is Stress?

• Stress physiological and psychological responses to excessive and usually unpleasant stimulation and to threatening events in the environment

• Stress effects all levels of employees• Stress is costly to employers and correlates

positively with health care claims and costs• Up to half of all physician visits are

precipitated by stress– Many physical complaints may be

psychosomatic

Stress-Related Physical Problems• High blood pressure• Ulcers• Colitis• Heart disease• Arthritis• Skin diseases• Allergies• Headaches• Neck and lower back pain• Increase in infectious diseases

Occupational Health Psychology

• The field of study dealing with the health effects of job stress and other aspects of well-being

• Proposed as a name in 1990 by Jonathan Raymond

• Focus group in the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management

• APA launched formal development of the field with NIOSH– Started Journal of Occupational Health Psychology

Physiological Effects of Stress• Adrenaline is released, blood pressure rises, heart

rate increases, extra sugar is discharged into the bloodstream

• Males and females respond differently to stress– Male - fight-or-flight response – Female - tend-and-befriend response

• Prolonged exposure to stress leads to physical and psychosomatic illness

• Stress doesn’t affect everyone the same way

Job Satisfaction and Feelings of Control

• Those with high job satisfaction suffer few harmful effects of stress

• Those with high levels of job dissatisfaction show considerable stress-related effects

• Challenge-related stress includes time pressure and high levels of responsibility– Leads to fulfillment and achievement

• Hindrance-related stress includes excessive job demands and constraints– Leads to frustration and low satisfaction

• Top executives seem to handle stress better than middle managers – have 40% fewer heart attacks

Coping with Stress

• High job satisfaction and control over working conditions reduce a person’s susceptibility stress

• Social support helps coping with stress and a lack of social support correlates with heart disease

• Employees with high levels of skills and abilities are more resistant to stress

• Those in good general physical health suffer fewer negative effects from stressful working conditions

Individual Differences in Stress Responses

• Type A and Type B personalities• Hardiness• Self-efficacy• Locus of control• Self-esteem• Negative affectivity• Type of occupation• Sex characteristics

The Type A and B Personalities• Type A personality is characterized by high

competitive drive and a constant sense of time urgency

• Friedman and Rosenham (1974) found that Type A personalities have been associated with heart disease, anger, hostility, time urgency, competitiveness, and depression

• Type B personalities are more relaxed, rarely have heart attacks before age 70, and experience less stress

Hardiness

• Hardiness is a personality variable based on the idea of control that may explain individual differences in vulnerability to stress.

• Components:– Control– Commitment– Challenge

• Hardy persons develop fewer physical complaints under highly stressful conditions than those who are not hardy

• How does this differ from locus of control?

Self-Efficacy

• Self-efficacy is our belief in our ability to accomplish a specific task

• It is our sense of how adequate, efficient, and competent we feel about coping with life’s demands

• Two levels of self-efficacy: – traditional - individual-focused– collective - group-focused

• Those with high levels of self-efficacy feel more control and are more stress resistant

Locus of Control• Locus of control (LOC) refers to belief

about how much influence individuals have on the forces and events that shape their lives

• Internal locus of control – Those who believe that job performance, pay, and

promotions are under their control and dependent on their own behavior

• External locus of control – Those who believe that life is outside their control

• High Internal LOC correlates with less stress

Self-Esteem• Self-esteem refers to how we feel about

ourselves• Organization-based self-esteem (OBSE)

is a personality dimension relating to our assessment of our adequacy and worth with regard to our place in the employing organization

• High OBSE see themselves as important, effective and worthwhile

• People low in OBSE are more affected by stress and are more passive in coping with it

Negative Affectivity• Negative affectivity (NA)

– A “Big 5” personality dimension characterized by a generalized life and job dissatisfaction and by a focus on negative aspects of events

• Closely related to neuroticism• People high in NA are likely to experience

distress and dissatisfaction in all areas of life• Research results are mixed

Type of Occupation• High stress jobs include laborer, secretary,

clinical laboratory technician, nurse, first-line supervisor, restaurant server, machine operator, farm worker, and miner

• Also stressful: police officer, firefighter, computer programmer, computer programmer, electrician, plumber, and social worker

• College professor is one of the least stressful

Sex Differences• Women consistently report higher levels of

stress than men– Also more headaches, anxiety, depression, sleep

disturbances, and eating disorders– Also more likely to smoke, drink and use drugs in

response to workplace stress– But more likely to use social support networks to cope

• Women in highly stressful jobs more prone to spontaneous abortion and shorter menstrual cycles

• Women homemakers experience higher levels of stress than those in paid positions

Work-Family Conflicts• Both men and women report conflicts, but the

difficulties are usually greater for women• Stresses of work-family conflict are independent

of type of job and working conditions• Employed women enjoy better health than those

who stay at home• Presence of women managers increases

organizational responsiveness to work-family conflicts: flexible scheduling, supportive supervisors, FMLA absence and maternity leave

Causes of Stress in the Workplace• Work overload and work underload

• Organizational change

• Role ambiguity and role conflict

• Other stressors

Work Overload and Underload• Work overload results if there is too much work

to perform in the time available (quantitative), or work that is too difficult for the employee to perform (qualitative)

• Work underload results from work that is too simple or insufficiently challenging for one’s abilities

• Both conditions are positively correlated with stress

Organizational Change• Organizational change is stressful• Those who view change as exciting and a

challenge are less vulnerable than those who resist change or view it as a threat

• Older workers experience increased stress with the increase in younger worker and ethnic diversity which brings to the workplace unfamiliar habits and cultural values

• Introduction of employee participation in decision making can be stressful for higher-level managers

Role Ambiguity and Role Conflict

• Role ambiguity results when job responsibilities are unstructured or poorly defined

• Components of role ambiguity– Performance criteria– Work method– Scheduling

• Role conflict results when there is a disparity between job demands and the employee’s personal standards

Other Stressors• Supervisors and managers• Problems of career development• Taking responsibility for subordinates• Working under a deadline• Having to fire a subordinate• Other stress carriers• Assembly line work• Computer-controlled performance

monitoring• Cataclysmic events (e.g., September 11)

Effects of Stress in the Workplace• Research has linked stress to long-term

psychological and behavioral consequences, including tension, depression, anxiety, spousal and child abuse, and overt hostility in the workplace

• Other effects include– Mass psychogenic illness– Burnout– Workaholism

Mass Psychogenic Illness

• Mass psychogenic illness is a stress-related disorder manifested in a variety of physical symptoms

• Popularly called “assembly-line hysteria”• Typically afflicts more women than men,

strikes suddenly and spreads swiftly• Dizziness, nausea, trouble breathing• Social isolation,work-related stress, and

poor working conditions may be factors

Burnout• Burnout is a condition of job stress that results

from overwork– Emotional exhaustion– Depersonalization– Reduced sense of accomplishment

• Burnout victims tend to become rigid about their work, following rules and procedures compulsively

• Characterized by exhaustion, apathy, depression, irritation, and boredom; work quality deteriorates but not necessarily quantity

Burnout• Measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory

– Emotional exhaustion– Depersonalization– Sense of accomplishment– Personal involvement

• Women managers show more intense effects than men

• Those under 40 more likely to experience burnout• Burnout victims may feel insecure and have

unfulfilling personal lives, and lack self-esteem and personal recognition off the job

• Higher among Type A’s, external LOCs and those low in hardiness and self-esteem

Workaholism• A workaholic is an employee who is addicted to

work stemming from anxiety and insecurity, or because of a genuine liking for the job

• Workaholics can be a source of stress to others• Healthy workaholics are said to be high in Job

Engagement• Unhealthy workaholics are highly involved but

derive little satisfaction from their work• Compulsive addiction to work can lead to negative

situations (e.g., too controlling, rigid thinking, and hard on colleagues and subordinates)

Treating Stress in the Workplace• Organizational techniques

– Alter the organizational climate– Provide treatment under employee assistance

programs (EAP)

• Individual techniques– Relaxation training – relax one part of body

after another– Biofeedback – monitor physiological responses

to stress and use results to control responses– Behavior modification involving the

conditioning of positive emotional responses to stressful events

Organizational Techniques• Controlling the organizational climate by

allowing for participation• Providing control• Defining employee roles• Eliminating work overload and underload• Providing for social support• Bringing pets to work• Providing stress-management programs• Providing fitness programs

Key Terms• Biofeedback• Burnout• Hardiness• Job engagement• Locus of control• Mass psychogenic illness• Negative affectivity• Occupational heal

psychology• Organization-based self

esteem

• Relaxation training• Role ambiguity• Role conflict• Stress• Type A & Type B

personalities• Work overload• Work underload• Workaholism

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