Job stress and its effects on employee well-being

¶ … American today, works more that an American worker of even a generation ago. A 1999 Government report stated that workers worked 8% more hours than the previous generation. This translates to an average workweek of 47 hours. Twenty percent of workers today work more than 49 hours. The work place has been constantly changing -- the revolution from agronomies to industrialization having had its origins in the industrial revolution. Most of the industrialized regions of the world have attained better standards with significant improvements in quality of life as a result of the industrial revolution. In turn, however, the workplace became more formal and restrictive. Any personal skills of an individual worker were generally ignored. These abilities were not essential a worker's role in the "new" work environment.

Mass production was the next phase of change in the workplace. It made standardization the norm. Greater emphasis was placed on conforming to acceptable standards and rules than to the workers' actual skill and potential in the workplace. America has always been the land of dreams. It is a place where a common man can strike it rich if he can work hard enough, be smart enough, and work longer hours. This has resulted in the average American worker putting in more hours than any off his counterparts anywhere in the world for the same level of work. Competitiveness and profit seeking tend to create a society of insecure individuals. They are forever interested in climbing the next hill and crossing the next sea. While this has helped America stay at the top of most of the research and development now being carried out in the world, it has also made the society more stress and less interactive.

Literature Review

In the pre-industrial era, workers lived and worked in isolation (as dictated by the work environments of those days); they crafted goods required at their homes and farms. Artisans produced non-agricultural goods. These workers brought their completed goods to the market or the town-fairs. These market days were special: the exchanges of goods were sometimes monetary, but mostly based on a system of barter. After the advent and establishment of the industrial revolution, industrialization brought people closer together in central locations to work. These areas were pre-determined by the locations of factories and industries. The new worker was often taught a single skill. This skill was used repetitively in mass production -- in an assembly-line setup. The newly created commodities were sold by the factory in a larger market -- the size of the market determined by the worth of the product.

The workplace is always changing. Change is good. The environment in which an organization operates and functions in today's dynamic market is also constantly changing. (Mukherjee and Mukherjee, 2001) Competition will and must exist at all levels for an organization or individual to be successful. Competition does exist even at the most basic level -- the family. And it is also necessary to keep an organization growing. A few will and must get rich over the poverty of a larger number of the population; the need to become one of the few rich will fuel the drive from the larger poor ensuring that competition in its very basic form will always be in existence in society.

Job stress has become very common in the work place. Most workers think they are victims of job stress. Unfortunately, very few know what they can do to minimize stressful conditions. In the past, most careers required that a worker, possessed of relevant skills and abilities, complete a job in a reasonable amount of time. Today, however, competition forces big decision-making and quick reaction times. Workers are forced to make quick, or even instant, decisions based on either extensive or insufficient information. These decisions may not always be the right ones. The employee is often aware of that; he or she makes a wrong decision, nonetheless. As a result of the above, and also due to several other reasons that will be discussed, workers experience job stress.

In a nutshell, therefore, job stress is defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses to job requirements that do not match the abilities, resources, or needs of the worker. Occupational stress is a perceived imbalance between occupational demands and the individual's ability to perform when the consequences of failure are thought to be important. (Orris et al., 1993) Epictetus believed that, "People are disturbed not by things, but by their perception of things...." This makes the entire concept of job stress a very personal and psychological matter where perception also plays and important role. Newsweek, Time, and U.S. News and World Reports have all run features and cover stories on stress in the workplace and its effect on the average worker.

Reasons for Job-Stress

Challenges are good. They can help many workers prove themselves by accomplishing these difficult tasks. (Stress at work (webpage), 1999) Challenges energize workers psychologically and physically. They motivate workers to learn new skills. They enable workers to keep constantly abreast of the evolution in their fields of expertise. Unfortunately, in many cases, the problems and challenges may be beyond the capacities and expertise of the employee. (OSHAnswers, 2002) With no job security in today's workplace, the worker who cannot accomplish the task often get laid off or fired from the job. This constant fear of being fired coupled with the feeling of incompetence can seriously affect the performance on the job.

In the current job market, resizing and downsizing are becoming increasingly familiar. The need to increase profits and revenues has forced many establishments to try to optimize their resources and do more with a fewer number of employees. This in turn has forced many employees to multi-task. Even well qualified employees are limited by the amount and the variability in jobs that they can perform. Many workers initially starting at a new job or task may consider this wearing of many hats a challenge; they may use the opportunity to prove themselves and further their careers. In the long run, however, this constant juggling can get to them. It affects their overall performance in each of their required responsibilities. While multitasking is a much sort after quality, it can burnout many good and very productive employees.

Often people are stressed out from job related task that may not even be the primary job that they perform. For example, replying and tracking faxes, e-mails, voice mails and attending pointless meetings and briefings. Cheap and easy methods of communication, transportation and manufacturing increase the volume of mail both from within the company and from external clients. The market for goods and services is also constantly becoming global in nature. Often, communication can become tedious and difficult if every one does not speak the same language or use similar terminology.

With the advent of cell phones and email communications, employees are available instantly if needed. Formerly, only people holding very sensitive and high decision-making jobs were expected to be on call and available when required. In return for this level of dedication to the job, they were very adequately compensated for their services. In addition, the nature of their jobs ensured that they had ample job security for as long as they wished to work. At present times, however, all employees are expected to provide this high level of dedication. The privileges of job security or the high paycheck as compensation are not forthcoming. This often results in low morale, low self-esteem and job-dissatisfaction among lower or mid level employees. In addition, many workers may not see the opportunity for advancement in the company in which they work; they may be looking for other opportunities for personal advancements. It may also affect their current job. Workers may experience the stress of constantly walking the fine line between loyalty to their current employers and the pursuit of something better.

Personal behavior and habits also greatly impact the stress patterns that people experience. What may be stressful and challenging for one person, may be a motivator for another. Such workplace characteristics make it very difficult to set baselines for job-stress. Individuals that maintain a good balance between their personal lives and their work, those that have good social interactions with friends and family tend to be less affected by work stress. Employees who also have good and healthy interactions with their co-workers also have better control over the extent that they allow the work to affect them. An office environment which fosters honest and open interaction between the management and the worker helps the workers relate better to their job. It improves their esteem about their work and their role in the organization.

Many companies are also increasingly outsourcing their requirements. Companies outsource for a number of reasons: cost reduction and to increase the reliability and performance of the company. By outsourcing, the management expects to have more time and resources to spend on new product-development thereby increasing the organizations' market-share. Outsourcing helps reduce capital expenditure, thereby increasing profits. (Kontsevoi, 1999). However, by outsourcing, high productivity jobs can sometimes be lost to foreign rivals; and, the long time economic prosperity of a country may be compromised. Outsourcing, especially in America, has resulted in most of the manufacturing and production jobs leaving the country for location in Latin America and the Far East. This has resulted in the blue-collar worker facing the increased risk of losing his livelihood for no personal fault. (Gilpin and Gilpin, 2000)

Many experts that analyze work-related stress believe that workers should be trained better in order to help them identify and recognize their own individual limits. This they feel will help reduce stress better than any other method. In other situations, the work itself is stressful. It may not be easy to accomplish. Excessive workloads and poor design factors may also cause work stress.

Constant "risk assessment" is also important and can help the company keep their employees happy, improve performance, and ultimately ensure that the company's talent stays loyal. The employees should be made aware that employee loyalty is more critical to the welfare of the company that any new technology -- "people are more important than machines." The management as an enforcement tool should not use risk-assessment. Rather, it should be used as a tool used to evaluate workers' interactions with the task at hand and the required input that the management can provide to enable the worker accomplish this task.

Mechanics and effects of Stress on individuals

Stress is a dynamic condition. It consists of a unique set of emotional, intellectual and physiological responses to a stimulus. The human body reacts to threatening and dangerous situations by releasing hormones that sharpen the senses. They make the mind and the nervous system more sensitive to the changes in the individual's surroundings. In short, when the human body perceives a threat, the brain takes over. It sensitizes the entire body. (NIOSH, 1999)

This heightening of the senses, however, is not a normal condition. Sooner or later, the body is expected to return to normalcy and stability. In cases where the body and mind is at such a level of alertness -- quickened pulse and tense muscles for too long -- stress invariably sets in. No matter what the cause for the high state of awareness, the basic reaction in the human body is the same. Some people may have a higher tolerance for a longer duration but there is eventually everyone reaches a threshold. Many organizations intentionally put their personnel through high levels of stress; it helps determine whether they are fit for the job. It is a determinant to the responsiveness of the employees under these stresses. A good example of testing personal stress levels is the regimen that astronauts and military personnel undergo. (About.com Webpage, 1999)

Everybody, at some point or another, undergoes short periods of stress. When the stress is repetitive and chronic with little or no breaks, the body suffers damage. Subsequently, the body also loses it ability of self-repairs. Often, a prolonged period of fatigue causes damage to the nervous system. The harmful consequences are long-term.

Some symptoms of job stress are very easy to observe and detect. Aching and sore muscles, loss of appetite, restless sleep and a continuous feeling of exhaustion are some of the initial symptoms. Mental disorders documented to be associated with "job stress" include anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders, maladaptive behavioral and life-style patterns, chemical dependencies, alcohol abuse, and sleep disorders. (Sauter, 1990 and Cahill, 1990) In some cases, job stress may intensify the progression of a preexisting disease and medical condition. The human body may mimic stress. The interaction between job stress and diabetes, thyroid conditions, coronary diseases, and other common medical problems may further exacerbate these existing conditions.

If left unchecked, these symptoms can escalate to more serious problems that can endanger the health and well being of the employee. Some of the causes of job stress: heavy workloads, infrequent rest breaks, long work hours, poorly designed work spaces, a complex mix between hectic and routine unrelated tasks and improper utilization of workers' skills may all create varying levels of job stress. Many afflicted people turn to alcohol or drugs for "relief" from job stress due to their inability to adequately explain the problem to their supervisors, doctors or families.

A survey by the Families and Work Institution established that nearly 26% of the working population experienced some form of stress. They reported a feeling of being burned out. (Bond, Galinsky and Swanberg, 1998) It is being increasingly observed that work stress affects family and personal social relationships, especially, since most current families have both partners working either full-time or part-time. Children and dependent parents can also be directly affected by the stress experienced by the financial provider. In some cases, one parent often chooses to give up a job or career so that there is less stress at home and in personal relationships. Sometimes, a family stressful situation may further exacerbate a work-problem. It creates a situation where an employee cannot resolve one problem without seriously affecting the other aspect of his or her life.

Recently, many research studies have been carried out to identify and determine the physical, emotional and mental effects of work-related stress. Many of the physical symptoms: muscle fatigue, sleeplessness, inability to concentrate or retain information for long periods of time, stomach aches and ulcers are easy to identify. The long-term emotional and mental effects are more difficult to identify and resolve. New research is being carried out in this field, but no conclusive evidence has been arrived at till date. The evidence so far does indicate some of the long-term effects of job stress on society as a whole. Hospitals and clinics are seeing an increased number of patients with more psychological, emotional and social problems than with the previously seen physical problems. In addition, the percentage of workers suffering from cardio-vascular problems has also been steadily increasing. Other related problems like high blood pressure, hypertension, musculoskeletal disorders and depression have also been on the rise in recent times.

The physical, emotional and mental problems eventually affect the productivity of the individual and the company as a whole. The overall productivity drops. It becomes increasingly difficult to motivate an individual to maintain a basic level of productivity. While many organizations try fix-it operations like motivational speakers, employee-training and benefits, basic needs are often not met. Policies that benefit workers' health also benefit the bottom line of an organization. A low incidence of illness, injury, and disability among the workforce helps identify the organization as a healthy, vibrant and high-producing.

Abraham H. Maslow and Douglas M. McGregor both believed that in order for people to work to their full potential, they're basic needs have to be satisfied. (Herzberg, 1964) If all these basic needs are satisfied, the average employee will be more satisfied and happy with his job and will, in all probability, experience a lower job related stress.

The unseen effects of jobs stress can also affect the quality of life for the worker and his family. This in turn will increase incidents of worker injury and poor work-output. Increase in the incidents of worker injury will drive up the cost of works compensation, disability insurance and health insurance for both the employer and the worker.

Statistics on Stress survey and report completed by Ellen Galinsky, Stacy S. Kim and James T. Bond titled 'Feeling Overworked: When work becomes too much' from the Families and Work Institute reveled how wide spread the problem of job related stress really is. 28% of all employees "felt overworked" often or very often in the past three months and 28% also felt "overwhelmed by how much work they had to do." The same study also went on to state that the average American worker experienced some measure of work related stress at some point in their working career span.

Some salient observations were made as a result of these studies:

Worker who worked more hours (paid and unpaid) on their primary/only job felt more stress. This fact could be attributed to the cause that these workers had no fall back in case they lost their jobs or were unable to perform the job.

Workers also worked more hours that they liked to work -- this had no relation to the actual number of hours they worked on reality. No matter how many hours a person worked, they felt that they could have worked for lesser hours. For example, a person working for 40 hours felt they preferred working 35 hours and a person working 50 hours felt they would have preferred working 45 hours.

People who worked more days in the week also experienced high job stress. It was seen that workers who worked 6-7 days a week, had more work related stress than those who worked 5 days a week.

Workers who worked more hours or days per week and who did it just because they were expected to do it by their supervisors also experience more job stress than people who worked longer because they were personally motivated to do it. Self-motivation was more important in combating work stress than any other form of motivation

Personal and financial reasons for working more did not cause any additional work stress and the effect of this additional work is not considered to be the primary cause of the work stress.

Workers with more rigid and fixed work hours also experience higher levels of job stress than those with more flexible work schedules. Workers who had the personal option of changing their work schedules and more job autonomy also experienced less work stress than workers who had no control over their work.

Workers who were expected to be constantly maintaining a predefined level of work output and who were expected to complete a task in a fixed duration of time also experience more work related stress. Less frequent breaks also increased the level of stress experienced.

Workers who have to constantly multitask with higher job-concentration also state that they often or very often experience high levels of stress. They also claim to have difficulty in focusing their attention on any single task and the constant switch between tasks, in effect, hamper their productivity.

Constant wearing of too many hats also results in frequent work interruptions and more time lost in starting and stopping jobs to accomplish more time bound task. Multitasking can also increase the related learning curves that are experienced by workers who are not as well versed with the task and this learning time may overall increase the duration of the task, than if the task was completed at a stretch.

Employees who use cellular/mobile phones, beepers, pagers, computers, email and fax for their jobs during typical nonworking hours or days also experienced more work related stress. Often, these "gadgets" create the feeling of always being on call and never really being afforded the opportunity to unwind and relax at leisure. Employees who are more accessible to their employers during nonworking hours and days feel more overworked

Workers in fields of strategic importance and in information technology sectors also experience a high level of job stress than those who are not in the similar type of fields. High levels of job related stresses and personal difficulties experienced by law enforcement official, people in the defense forces and people involved with monitoring and controlling very strategic facilities and operations, are good examples. (Gelman, 2000)

Workers who realize that being on call and the reality that they will be called only in cases of emergencies are less stressed than workers who feel that the management cannot differentiate between emergencies and routine problems and take the smallest excuses to intrude on their personal time feel more stressed.

Workers who take fewer vacation days than they are entitled to per year due to demands of their job also experience higher levels of working stress. Workers who use their vacation time stand a better chance of being more rested and refreshed than workers who do not.

Workers in companies that have downsized or have had difficulty hiring new employees feel more overworked. They generally have a low opinion of their managements and supervisors. The prevalence of such an attitude leads to lower productivity.

Employees who have poorer quality jobs -- less job-autonomy, more wasted time, fewer learning opportunities, less job security -- feel more overworked. People who feel that their work time is wasted due to the completion of wasteful or unnecessary jobs feel a higher level of job stress. Workers who are allowed to exercise their individual judgment -- "think" also have less work stress. Management shouldn't control people; it should control processes. (Briggs, 2001)

Workers who have less supportive workplaces: either in the form of inadequate materials and equipment, inadequate support from people at work, inadequate flexibility to manage work and family responsibilities, inadequate support from supervisors and lack of respect also experience more job stress that workers who have a safe and well equipped work place.

Gender also plays an important role in workplace stress -- women feel more stress than men. The nature of work that women do and the level of authority that they can command also plays a significant part on the work related stress. Although men work longer hours and more days than women do the social aspects of society affect the work output expected from women. Women often have to work to a higher level of quality for the same comparable jobs but often earn less than their male counterparts. Differences between men and women with respect to primary responsibilities for family work might also help to explain why women feel more overworked than men.

Workers aged 36-54 work significantly longer hours and are more likely to prefer to work fewer hours than either younger or older workers. This has created a situation where their workers feel highly stressed. The opinions that arise are that they could work lesser hours if they had a choice.

Managers and professionals feel more overworked than the other working population. Constant competition and upper management demands force many of these worker to put in longer hours and shoulder higher levels of risk taking that an average worker would. (The results of this study were consistent with similar type of studies carried out by Northwestern National Life and Yale University to evaluate the levels of stress experience by workers. Barsade and Wiesenfeld, 1997)

What workers Say About Stress on the Job

Effects of stress on productivity

High levels of work related stress reduces the overall levels of productivity of the employees. It also makes the workers more prone to making mistakes in the workplace. Mistakes among blue-collar employees may result in serious injuries to the worker himself and other workers in the vicinity. This in turn is increases the number of workers' compensation claims, and other liabilities. (Armour, 2002)

Often, overworked workers have a higher level of resentment against their supervisors and managers. A very serious problem of this nature was observed in the 1980's in the United States: A few cases were reported where disgruntled workers in the postal services held hostages, injured and killed several co-workers. One would assume, typically, that letter carrying in all its routine would appear stress free. However, the monotonous nature of the work, the routine, boredom and dissatisfaction can lead to breakdowns from job stress. There were also several other working conditions that were unsafe and unhealthy for postal employees around the country. Some of the common existing problems, in addition to job stress, were muscle and skeletal disorders due to bad design and poor ergonomics of the sorting machines and Respiratory problems due to paper dust. (Kloberdanz, 2000)

Often, workers who are overworked tend to resent coworkers who they may perceive as not working as hard or as efficiently as themselves. This may result in low office morale. Higher levels of jobs stress also result in higher turn over in the staff. High turnover in a labor workforce makes the company have to spend more money on training and educating a constantly changing workforce. Most workers who feel overstressed believe that they need to find a job that is not as stressful and demanding; often they are willing to take a pay cut in order to have less work related stress.

In addition, the higher the work conflicts and problems at work that the worker may have, the more likely he will ignore its effects on his personal and social life. Work stress can affect the workers relationships with his family and friends and make him less likely to unwind and interact with others. This self-imposed isolation can sometimes be disastrous; especially, if the worker takes to alcohol and substance abuse. Personal health neglect can also compound the problem -- with workers having a higher level of incidents of coronary disease.

Other factors like: loss of sleep, constant frayed nerves and low reaction times can also be a more serious liability. The increase in violent crimes in the U.S. In recent years is often attributed to overworked individuals who 'just snap.' Increasing number of accidents due to people falling asleep at the wheel and sometimes even being preoccupied with the job situation is also being observed. Road rage is also on the rise, which may have serious consequences for the general public.

Coping with Stress

Often, the sources of stress cannot be avoided. The only option a worker may have is to learn an efficient and effective way of coping with it. Government agencies like the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) may have to step in to help define the limits to which an employer can push a worker in the name of productivity and competition. Government does not and cannot control an organization's competitive advantage. The government can however influence the direction and the type of support the company can play in helping to resolve these work stress.

An organization can provide the most advanced education and training to its managers and supervisors. It can make them highly qualified to deal with the most challenging situations that they might face in day-to-day operations. At the same time, the company should also provide basic training to their fill. It should rank employees (using discretion) to help them determine their capability and work capacities. Universities and schools should have the means to provide students with the expertise to deal with these real life situation and job stress by addressing the problem and the possible solutions that can be implemented. The resources that are spent by the government in research and development can also help identify the root cause for many problems that result in job-stress. Commercial and private organizations should also be encouraged to fund their own research and can work with the universities in developing ideas and innovations can help boost the productivity of the country.

Workers should also be encouraged to take frequent shorter breaks than one long break. Breaks can help relax the mind and prevent stress build up. (About.com, 2002) Changes in the workplace culture can sometimes increase work stress. For example, when the head of the chain of command is an individual with radical different work ethics and communication styles that his predecessor the workers can be let with an uncertain feeling as to the required output they need to provide. The manner in which evaluations and/or criticism delivered either in periodic formal reports, or offhand comments may also impact the worker. If the boss is intimidating, disrespectful or demeaning under normal circumstance it is very difficult for the workers to remain calm and stress free.