Management of Work-Related Stress Who Is Responsible

Management of Work-Related Stress

Who is responsible for the management of work-related stress? While there are those who are convinced that the responsibility of managing work-related stress lies primarily with the management of an organization, others are of the opinion that individual employees have the primary responsibility for managing work-related stress. In this text, I not only state but also substantiate my position on these divergent points-of-view.

The Management of Work Related Stress

In basic terms, "stress is the experience of opportunities or threats that people perceive as important and also perceive they might not be able to handle or deal with effectively" (George & Jones, 2010, p. 245). It is important to note from the onset that although stress related to work is somewhat normal, excessive stress on this front could be counterproductive. This is more so the case in those instances where it affects both the emotional and the physical health and well-being of employees. In that regard therefore, the relevance of handling work related stress appropriately cannot be overstated.

Both individual employees and the organization have a certain degree of responsibility when it comes to the management of work-related stress. It is however important to note that to a large extent, it is the organization that is primarily responsible for the management of work-related stress. Those central to not only the prevention but also the minimization of stress at the workplace include but they are not limited to the human resource managers, supervisors, and line managers. These individuals should ideally work closely with the relevant departments such as the Health and Safety department in an attempt to ensure that work-related stress does not interfere with the employees' effective execution of duties and responsibilities. On this front, it is the holders of the offices mentioned above that are in a better position to investigate and eliminate the key triggers of stress at the workplace. This is more so the case given that in a study conducted several years ago, pressure deadlines, work overload, and threats of job loss were the most common sources of stress (Hawkins, 2003). It is also the aforementioned departments that have the resources and knowhow to develop and implement the most appropriate stress management policies and measures, embrace management standards that are likely to minimize work-related stress, etc. Essentially, the organization should also acquaint itself with workers' non-work-related sources of stress. This is more so the case given that "an employer's awareness of the employee's non-work-related stressors and problems facilitates good management" (Hawkins, 2003, p. 216).