Occupational Stress Essay

Stress is stress involving work. Stress is defined in terms of its physical and physiological effects on a person, and can be a mental, physical or emotional strain. It can also be a tension or a situation or factor that can cause stress.[1] Occupational stress occurs when there is a discrepancy between the demands of the environment/workplace and an individual’s ability to carry out and complete these demands.[2] Often a stressor can lead the body to have a physiological reaction which can strain a person physically as well as mentally. One of the main causes of occupational stress is work overload. Occupational stress is a major hazard for many workers. Increased workloads, downsizing, overtime, hostile work environments, and shift work are

• The lack of trade and professional unions in the workplace.

• Inter-company rivalries caused by the efforts of companies to compete globally

• The willingness of companies to swiftly lay off workers to cope with changing business environments.

Bullying in the workplace can also contribute to stress.

Many people think of stress as a simple problem. In reality however, stress is complex and often misunderstood. We all know that stress is the body’s reaction to any demand on it. Perceptions of events, whether positive or negative, activate stress. It is, therefore, a highly individual affair. What is stressful to ‘X’ may not be so to another. But it is fairly easy to conclude that everyone lives under a certain amount of stress. In fact, the only people without stress are dead. At the same time it is certainly wrong to conclude that stress is always bad. Mild stress may improve the productivity. It may force people to focus more sharply on the problem and produce solutions. But if stress is severe and persist for long periods of time, it can be harmful. Stress can be disruptive to an individual as any

Positive reinforcement or previous success in a similar situation can reduce the level of stress that a person experiences under certain circumstances; punishment or past failure under similar conditions can increase stress under the same circumstances.

Social Support: The presence or absence of other people influences how individuals in the workplace experience whether stress and respond to stressors. The presence of co-workers may increase an individual’s confidence, allowing the person to cope more effectively with stress. For example, working alongside someone who performs confidently and competently in a stressed situation may help an employee behave in an identical way. Conversely, the presence of follow workers may irritate some people or make them anxious, reducing their ability to cope with stress.

Individual Differences: Individual Differences in motivation, attitudes, personality and abilities also influence whether employees experience work stress, and if they do, how they respond to it. What one person considers a major source of stress, another may hardly notice