Chapter 5- Organizational Behavior

stressors

The demands that cause people to experience stress.

strains

The negative consequences that occur when demands tax or exceed a person's capacity or resources.

financial uncertainty

This type of stressor refers to conditions that create uncertainties with regard to the loss of livelihood, savings, or the ability to pay expenses.

Type A Behavior Pattern

Type A people have a strong sense of time urgency and tend to be impatient, hard-driving, competitive, controlling, aggressive, and even hostile.

negative life events

a number of life events that are perceived as quite stressful

work-family conflict

a special form of role conflict in which the demands of a work role hinder the fulfillment of the demands of a family role or vice versa

time pressure

a strong sense that the amount of time you have to do a task is not quite enough.

personal development

activities include participation in formal education programs, music lessons, sports related training, hobby-related self education, participation in local government, or volunteer work.

positive life events

are sources of nonwork challenge stressors.

burnout

can be denied as the emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion that results from having to cope with stressful demands on an ongoing basis.

secondary appraisal

center on the issue of how people cope with various stressors they face.

behavioral coping

involves the set of physical activities that are used to deal with a stressful situation.

One type of strain-reducing practice

involves training in relaxation techniques, such progressive muscle relaxation, meditation and miscellaneous calming activities like talking walks, writing in a journal, and deep breathing

Stress

is defined as a psychological response to demands that possess certain stakes for the person and that tax or exceed the person's capacity or resources.

social support

it refers to the help that people receive when they're confronted with stressful demands ,and there are at least two major types.

benign job demands

job demands that tend not to be appraised as stressful

stress audit

managers can begin by asking themselves questions about the nature of the jobs in their organization to estimate whether high stress levels may be a problem.

Hindrance stressors such as role ambiguity, conflict, and overload

not only cause strain, but also decrease commitment and job performance.

primary appraisal

occurs as people evaluate the significance and the meaning of the stressor they're confronting.

role overload

occurs when the number of demanding roles a person holds is so high that the person simply cannot perform some or all of the roles effectively.

A second way that organizations

provide resources to employees so that they can cope more effectively is through supportive practices that help employees manages and balance the demands that exist in the different roles they have.

Family time demands

refer to the time that a person commits to participate in an array of family activities and responsibilities.

role ambiguity

refers to a lack of information about what needs to be done in a role, as well as unpredictability regarding the consequences of performance in that role.

problem-solving coping

refers to behaviors and cognitions intended to manage the stressful situation itself.

role conflict

refers to conflicting expectations that other people may have of us.

Coping

refers to the behaviors and thoughts that people use to manage both the stressful demands they face and the emotions associated with those stressful demands

work complexity

refers to the degree to which the requirements of the work--in terms of knowledge, skills, and abilities--tax or exceed the capabilities of the person who is responsible for performing the work.

emotional support

refers to the help people receive in addressing the emotional distress that accompanies stressful demands.

instrumental support

refers to the help people receive that can be used to address the stressful demand directly.

work responsibility

refers to the nature of the obligations that a person has toward others.

daily hassles

refers to the relatively minor day-to-day demands that get in the way of accomplishing the things that we really want to accomplish.

emotion-focused coping

refers to the various ways in which people manage their own emotional reactions to stressful demands

Psychological strains

result from stressors include depression, anxiety, anger, hostility, reduce self-confidence, irritability, inability to think clearly, forgetfulness, lack of creativity, memory loss, and (not surprising, given the rest of the list) a loss of sense of humor.

One type of work-related hindrance stressor is

role conflict

hindrance stressors

stressful demands that people tend to perceive as hindering their progress toward personal accomplishments or goal attainment.

challenge stressors

stressful demands that people tend to perceive as opportunities for learning, growth, and achievement.

Physiological strains

that result from stressors occur in at least four systems of the human body.

transactional theory of stress

the theory explains how stressors are perceive and appraised, as well as how people respond to those perceptions and appraisals.

Although challenge stressors can be exhausting,

they often trigger positive emotions such as pride and enthusiasm

One way that organizations provide resources to employees is through

training interventions aimed at increasing job-related competencies and skills.