MGT3320 Ch.12

OSHA

(Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 or Occupational Safety and Health Administration) Is both the act that authorized the US government to create various standards regarding occupational safety and health and the administrative agency that enforces those standards. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which operates within the Department of Labor, is responsible for enforcing.

Role Demands

A set of expected behaviors associated with a position in a group or organization. Ex: employee who is feeling pressure from boss to work longer hours and pressure from family to spend more time at home.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

Agency within the Department of Health. Conducts research to help establish appropriate safety and health criteria. These criteria are then communicated to OSHA in the Department of Labor for administration and enforcement.

Circadian Rhythms

All human beings are subject to this. Tells our bodies when to eat and sleep. Major issue with shift work.

Hardiness

An individual difference that allows some individuals to experience less stress when dealing with stressful events, and that makes them more effective in dealing with the stress they do experience.

Consequences of Stress at Work: Individual

Behavioral, psychological, and medical

Type A Personality

Characterized by being highly competitive and highly focused on work with few interests outside of work.

Conflicting Personalities

Conflict may occur when two or more people must work together even though their personalities, attitudes, and behaviors differ.

Burnout

Consequence of stress. A general feeling of exhaustion that develops when an individual simultaneously experiences too much pressure and too few sources of satisfaction.

Consequences of Stress at Work: Organizational

Decline in performance and attitude related

Leadership Style

Ex: Employee needs a great deal of social support from his leader. T leader is quite brusque and shows no concern or compassion for the employee. Employee will likely feel stressed.

Safety Engineers

Experts who carefully study the workplace, try to identify and isolate particularly dangerous situations, and recommend solutions for dealing with those situations. Design more safety into the workplace.

Institutional Programs

For managing stress are undertaken through established organizational mechanisms. Ex: Properly designed work schedules and jobs can help ease stress.

Interpersonal Demands

Group Pressures, Leadership Style, Conflicting Personalities

Medical Consequences of Stress

Heart disease, stroke, and other illnesses like headaches, backaches, and ulcers

Group Pressures

Pressure to restrict output, conform to the groups norms, etc. Common for a work group to arrive at an informal agreement about how much each member will produce. Member producing too much or too little will be pressured to get in line with the rest of the group.

Turnover

Refers to people leaving their jobs, whether voluntarily or involuntarily through layoffs, firing, etc.

Psychological Consequences of Stress

Relate to an individual's mental health and well-being. Ex: depression, sleep loss, family problems, sexual difficulties.

Physical Demands

Relate to the job setting. Ex. Working in extreme temperature or even office design (Too much isolation, too much interaction)

Workplace Security

Safe and secure environment is a driver to human behavior. Announcing layoffs are likely to increase feelings of insecurity concerning employment. Insurance programs are designed to provide security in various forms. Threat if bombings or kidnappings is a different type of security issue experienced after 9/11/01

Task Demands

Stressors associated with the specific job a person performs.

Safety Climate

The perception of the importance and priority an organization gives to safety. Should influence employees' behavior because they perceive a relationship between their safety behavior and the rewards and punishments meted out by the company.

Occupational Illnesses

US Department of labor has identified seven of these: 1. Occupational skin diseases or disorders, 2. dust diseases of the lungs, 3. respiratory conditions because of toxic agents, 4. poisoning, 5. Disorders resulting from physical agents, 6. Disorders associated with repeated trauma, 7. Other categories of occupational illness.

Overload

When a person has more work to do than he or she can handle. The opposite of overload is also undesirable. Low task demands can result in boredom and apathy.

Stress

a persons adaptive response to a stimulus that places excessive psychological or physical demands on him or her. Stimuli that cause stress are called stressors. Ex: Task Demands.

Health Hazards

are characteristics of the work environment that more slowly and systematically, and perhaps cumulatively, result in damage to an employee's health. Ex. Toxic fumes which could cause health problems after prolonged exposure.

Type B Personality

characterized by being less aggressive, more patient, and more easygoing. In general, these individuals experience less stress and are less likely to suffer some type of illness because of stress than Type A.

Safety Hazards

conditions in the work environment that have potential to cause harm to an employee. Ex. Metal steps that frequently get wet and slippery.

Collateral Stress Programs

organizational programs created specifically to help employees deal with stress. Ex: stress-management programs, health-promotion programs.

Dysfunctional Behavior

refers to any behavior at work that is counterproductive. These behaviors may include theft and sabotage, as well as sexual and racial harassment.

Behavioral Consequences of Stress

responses that may harm the person under stress or others. Ex: Accident tendencies, violence, appetite disorders