MGMT363 Chp 5

How does stress relate to job performance and organizational commitment?

1. Hindrance Stressors: - Job Performance: weak negative relationship. - Organizational Commitment: strong negative relationship. 2. Challenge Stressors: - Job Performance: weak positive relationship. - Organizational Commitment: moderate positive relationship.

What are the strains associated with stress?

1. Physiological strain: relate to our physical body. a. Immune system: stress breaks down our immune systems which make us more susceptible to illness. b. Cardiovascular system: stress taxes our heart when causes the heart to race, increase blood pressure, and creates coronary heart disease leading to heart attacks and stroke. c. Musculoskeletal system: creates tension headaches, body aches and back pain. d. Gastrointestinal system: stomachaches, indigestion, diarrhea, and constipation. 2. Psychological strains: relate to our minds a. Depression, anxiety, irritability, forgetfulness, inability to think clearly, lack of creativity, and reduced confidence. b. Burnout: the emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion that results from having to cope with stressful demands on an ongoing basis. 3. Behavioral strains: unhealthy behaviors that result from stress. a. Grinding teeth, being overly critical and bossy, excessive smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, overeating, compulsive behavior of whatever kind.

What are the various ways that people cope with stressors?

a. Behavioral coping: set of physical activities that are used to deal with stressful situation. b. Cognitive coping: thoughts that are involved in trying to deal with the situation. c. Problem-focused coping: behaviors and cognitions intended to manage the stressful situation itself. d. Emotion-focused coping: various ways in which people manage their own emotional reactions to stressful demands.

What are the three individual differences that influence the impact of stress?

Individual differences: Why do some people react better to stress than others? Influence the degree to which stressors lead to strain. 1. Social Support: help that people receive when they're confronted with stressful demands from other people. a. Instrumental support: help with dealing with the stressor itself. b. Emotional support: help people receive in addressing the emotional distress that are created by the stressor. 2. Recovery: the degree to which energies used for coping with work demands are replenished from a period of rest or relief from work. 3. Type A Behavior Pattern: people have a strong sense of time urgency and tend to be impatient, hard-driving, competitive, controlling, aggressive, and even hostile. Very competitive. a. Prone to interpersonal conflict. b. High need for achievement so are constantly striving for more. c. High correlation with heart disease.

What is stress?

STRESS: A psychological response to demands where there is something at stake and where coping with the demands taxes or exceeds a person's capacity or resources

Be familiar with the various types of work/family and challenge/hindrance stressors.

Stressors are individual components that lead to stress. There are 4 types: 1. Work Hindrance Stressors: a. Role conflict: conflicting expectations that other people have. b. Role ambiguity: lack of information about what needs to be done, resources available and when it needs to be done. S c. Role overload: demands are so high that person perceives that they cannot satisfy them all. d. Daily hassles: minor demands that get in the way of accomplishing important tasks. 2. Work Challenge Stressors: a. Time pressure: sense that the amount of time available is not sufficient. Is a challenge because is a goal to be achieved. b. Work complexity: degree to which the requirements of the work in terms of KSAs that tax or exceed the capabilities of the person. c. Work responsibility: importance of the obligations that person has towards others. Air traffic controllers. 3. Family Hindrance Stressors: a. Work-family conflict: demands of work hinder the fulfillment of family obligations or vice versa. b. Financial uncertainty: concern over potential inability to pay for livelihood. c. Negative life events 4. Family Challenge Stressors: a. Family time demands: time that a person commits to participate in an array of family activities and responsibilities. b. Personal development: participation in formal education programs, volunteer work, local government, etc. c. Positive life events: good things including having a child and getting married create potential for stress.

How do organizations manage stress?

This is a 4 step process. A. Assessment: do a stress audit to find out the level and sources of stress. B. Reducing Stressors: once you find out the stressors determine how to eliminate or reduce stressful demands as possible. 1. Job sharing: split the responsibilities of a single job to two employees. 2. Sabbatical: give employees an extended period of time away from the workplace to pursue other interests or volunteer. C. Providing Resources (25): 1. Training and development: increase the job-related competencies which make them better able to deal with work demands. 2. Supportive practices: help employees manage and balance the demands they face at work and home. D. Reducing Strains: decrease the negative impact on the employee. 1. Relaxation techniques: muscle relaxation, meditation or other activities that slow the heart and breathing rates and lower blood pressure. 2. Cognitive-Behavioral Techniques: help people appraise and cope with stressors in a more rational manner. 3. Employee Assistance programs: specifically focused on how to reduce certain strains such as smoking cessation. 4. Wellness/Health programs: comprehensive programs focused on trying to get people healthy.

Be familiar with the Transactional Theory of Stress.

This theory explains how stress is perceived and appraised Primary Appraisal: when people first encounter stressors they determine the significance and meaning of the stressors and determine if they are stressed by them. Secondary Appraisal: Now that a stressor has been identified the person must determine what they will do in response to the stressor. There are 3 categories of stressors: 1. Benign job demands: if the primary appraisal determines that the stressor does not create stress. 2. Hindrance stressors: stressors that prevent people's progress towards goal attainment and trigger negative emotions such as anxiety and anger. 3. Challenge stressors: stressors that people perceive as opportunities for learning, growth, and achievement which usually trigger positive emotions like pride & enthusiasm.