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HEALTH IN THE WORK PLACE

One of the health issue that is of great importance is stress.
Stress Definition: This is psychological and physical reaction to certain life events or situations
that make us feel threatened. The life event are known as stressors eg weddings, job interviews,
dentist appointment, a game competition, deadlines, meeting targets, traffic jams, having a new
born, transfers, medical test, exams etc.
Our bodies respond to these events in different ways such as; elevated blood pressure, increased
heart rate, muscle tension, and perspirations. If stress is too high, it may lead to strain.
Not: not all stress is bad.
Eustress – stress that results in positive energy and improvements in performance and health.
Distress – stress that results in negative energy and decrease in performance and health. It
occurs in situations or events that are given great importance eg interview for a job, or what puts
great demand on one and what eventually perceives to have little or no control over. Stress may
arise due to pressure in work, nature of work and attitude of the colleagues, supervisors, team
members, team leader, project manager, director and managing directors and even employers.

Reasons for stress at workplace may include:

1. Employees’ roles not defined clearly – employee not sue of his/her work and role in an
organization.
2. Improper responsibility
3. Conflict in workplace
4. Self-interests – goal of an individual employee and employer of an enterprise. It leads to
conflicts, quarrels, and politics to get positions, management and administration.
5. Lack of knowledge- unskilled workers
6. Lack of power and position
7. Noncooperation
8. Autocratic leadership
9. Poor communication
10. Workload
11. Bad management practice
12. Organizational change policies
13. Environment
14. Work amenities
15. Unrealistic demands
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The optimal level of arousal

Performance

Amount of Stress

Predisposition to Stress
Some people are more susceptible to stress or are predisposed to be more tolerant to stressors
than others. Factors that determine tolerance are:
(a) Personalities for example
(i) Type A personality; achievement striving, impatient, time urgency, high levels of
anger, hostility, tend to do many things at ago. These people have higher chances
of being stressed.
(ii) Type B personality: non-stress prone persons who are relaxed and agreeable.
(b) Gender, ethnicity and race. Women have more chances of being stressed than men
because they experience certain stressors more than men eg. sexual harassment as well as
work/family conflicts.
Members of minority groups have higher levels of stress than do nonminority.
Certain ethnic groups experience stress-related complications than others due cultural
practices and socialization.
(c) Stress sensitization; the amount of stress one has experienced in life affects how one will
handle future stress.
Sources of stress
1. Personal stressors (non-work issues): These include;
Family, marriages, divorce, health issues, financial problems, raising children, life
change, insufficient opportunities for social contact while at work due to the unremitting
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nature of tasks, sexism and sexual harassment, racism and racial harassment, divided
loyalties between one’s own needs and organizational demands, housing costs, job
stability, concern about family health, personal safety.
2. Occupational stressors
– job characteristics eg role ambiguity, role conflict, too little responsibility, lack of
senior management support, particularly in the case of disciplinary matters dealt with by
junior managers such as supervisors, and responsibility for people and things which some
junior mangers may not have been adequately trained to deal with.

-Organizational stressors such as person-organization fit, change, relation with others,

organizational politics, poor relations with the boss, poor relations with colleagues
and subordinates, difficulties in delegating responsibility,
3. Stressors in the physical work environment
- Noise
- Unsuitable temperature and lighting
- Insufficient space to operate comfortably, safely and in the most efficient manner
- Lack of privacy which may be disconcerting for some people
- Open plan office layouts resulting in distractions and interruptions
- Inhuman workplace layouts requiring excessive bending, stretching and manual
handling of materials
- Humidity
- Inadequate ventilation
4. Stress caused by work schedules
- Shift work
- Fixed shift
5. Stress caused by the way the organization is managed
- Inconsistency in style and approach by different managers
- Emphasis on competitiveness, often at the expense of safe and healthy working
procedures
- Crisis management all the time, due to lack of proper planning
- Information being seen as power by some people resulting in intentional withholding
of key information.
- Procedures always being changed due to a failure by management

Major symptoms include:

(a) Extreme anger
(b) Frustration
(c) Depression
(d) Absenteeism
(e) Loss of mental concentration
(f) Substance abuse
(g) Insomnia (sleeplessness)
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(h) Escaping from work responsibility

(i) Arriving late and leaving early
(j) Work dissatisfaction, reduced productivity
(k) Over-reacting, arguing, getting irritated, anxiety,
(l) Deteriorating health, improper eating habits, excessive smoking and drinking
(m)Loss of interest in work
(n) Stomach problem, chronic health problems
It is estimated that up to 40 per cent of all sickness absence from work is due to stress-related
symptoms and this is costing employers and health insurance companies billions of pounds each
year in lost productivity and health insurance claims.

Effects of organizational stress

1. Increased complaints from clients
2. Employees losing commitment to the success of the organization
3. Increased accidents
4. Increased staff turnover
5. Increased levels of absenteeism
6. Reduced performance by the workforce
7. A substantial increase in civil claims for stress-induced injury resulting in increased
employers’ liability insurance premiums

Assignment
Identify 6 ways of reducing stress in workplace.