Chapter 7: Stress

Positive Emotions

Joy, love, surprise; result from reaction to desired events

Organizational Approaches to Managing Stress

Make expectations clear, Give employees autonomy, Create fair work environments

Physiological

Nervousness, tension, headaches, anger, irritability, wrinkles, bad complexion, high blood pressure, ulcers, illness

Work-Family Conflict

Occurs when demands from work and family are negatively affecting one another

Burnout

Ongoing negative emotional state resulting from dissatisfaction

Role Conflict

Facing contradictory demands at work

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Hans Selye's hypothesis that stress plays a general role in disease by exhausting the body's immune system

Role Overload

Having insufficient time and resources to complete a job

Individual Stress-Management Techniques

Healthy Diet, Exercise, Sleep, Create a social support network

Type A Personalities

High levels of speed/impatience, job involvement, and hard-driving competitiveness. Major concern in terms of stress and negative organizational outcomes

Emotional Intelligence

How people can understand each other more completely by developing an increased awareness of their own and others' emotions

Genuine Acting

Individuals are asked to display emotions that are aligned with their own

Information Overload

Information processing demands exceeds the amount of time a person has to process such things

Flow

State of consciousness in which a person is totally absorbed in an activity

Telecommuting

Working remotely

Cognitive Dissonance

A mismatch between your emotions/beliefs and your behavior

Persona

A professional role that involves acting out feelings that may not be real as part of their job

Emotion

A short, intense feeling resulting from some event

Deep Acting

Actively trying to experience the emotion that you are required to reflect

Alarm Phase

An outside stressor jolts an individual, insisting that something must be done

Negative Emotions

Anger, fear, sadness; result from undesired events

Surface Acting

Behavior requiring individuals to exhibit physical signs, such as smiles, that reflect emotions they don't feel

Affect-Driven Behavior

Behavior that occurs when emotions trigger you to respond in a particular way

Self-Management

Being able to direct your emotions in a positive way when necessary

Relationship Management

Being able to help others manage their own emotions and truly establish supportive relationships with others

Self-Awareness

Being able to perceive, evaluate, and display appropriate emotions

Social Awareness

Being able to understand how others feel

Emotional Contagion

Both positive and negative emotions have an effect on others in the workplace, especially in team settings

Type B Personalities

Calmer -- think through situations, and experience lower levels of stress

Psychological

Depression, anxiety

"Corporate Athlete" Approach to Stress

Eating better, exercising more, and developing a positive attitude turns distress into eustress

Emotions at Work

Emotions shape an individual's belief about the value of a job, company, or team, Also affect behaviors at work

Stressors

Events or contexts that cause a stress reaction by elevating levels of adrenaline and forcing a physical or mental response

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)

Outsides sources of emotional counseling as an adjunct to a company-provided health care plan

Sabbaticals

Paid time off from the normal routine at work

Outcomes of Stress

Physiological, psychological and work outcomes

Amygdala

The area of the limbic system that control fear type responses

Resistance Phase

The body begins to release cortisol and draws on reserves of fats and sugars to find a way to adjust to the demands of stress

Work Outcomes

Worse job attitudes, higher turnover, decrease in performance and organizational commitment

Exhaustion Phase

The body has depleted its stores of sugars and fats and the prolonged release of cortisol has caused the stressor to significantly weaken the individual, resulting in disease or sometimes death

Stress

The body's reaction to a change that requires a physical, mental, or emotional adjustment or response

Time Management

The development of tools/techniques that help to make us more productive when we work

Emotional Labor

The regulation of feelings and expressions for organizational purposes

Affective Events Theory (AET)

The specific events on the job cause different kinds of people to feel different emotions, which inspires actions that either benefit or impede others

Role ambiguity

The vagueness in relation to what our responsibilities are