Vol. CXVII •New Series • No. 1-2/2014• Romanian Journal of Military Medicine
Article received on August 12, 2013 and accepted for publishing on October 9 2013.
Stress managementfor optimization oforganizational activity
Iulia a Guiţă – Alexandru1,2
Abstract: Stress is a constant presence in our lives, whether we analyze it in professional, social or family terms. This daily reality creates a state of tension, strain and discomfort, causing significant changes in physical and mental health. Stress at work can affect anyone, at any level, in any sector and in organizations of any size. Stress affects health and safety of individuals and also
o ga izatio s’ elfa e a d atio al e o o ies. The e is a defi ite o elatio et ee the le el of st ess at o k a d the ha ges i o ga izatio ’s p odu ti ity.
Keywords: stress management, organizational optimization, occupational stress, organizational culture, psychological contract
STRESS: DEFINITION, TYPES AND CAUSESOF ITS
OCCURRENCE
We meet every day people who are overworked, overwhelmed or underpaid. We wonder what to do to cope with the stress in our life. Often we forget to put on paper all the endless tasks we have to do during the day, and paradoxically we receive other new tasks to fulfill.
According to Peter Drucker, we have to make a clear distinction regarding those who are accomplishing an intellectual work today, the situation being more complicated for them than for production line workers of the past, who knew what they have to do. Instead, those involved in intellectual work should not only execute the plan, but also to conceive it. This puts an important pressure on the human brain so in ase ou see a do to , o e of the uestio is: Ho st essed a e ou? Ce tai l , stress at work can affect anyone at any level. It is produced in no matter what domain and in organizations of any size. Stress affects the health and safety of individuals and also welfare
of organizations and national economies.
Stress was introduced by Hans Hugo Bruno Selye, professor of histology, who sets up the foundation of International Institute of Stress with Alvin Tofler in
1977. He believes that stress is related to adaptation syndrome as a reaction of individual against environmental aggressions. Hans Selye defines stress as the set of ea tio s of the od to the e te al action of the causative agents (physical, chemical, biological and psychological) consisting in
o phofu tio al ha ges, ost ofte e do i e .
According to the Romanian Language
E pla ato Di tio a , st ess is the a e given toany environmental factor (or set of factors) causingan abnormal reaction to human body; adverse effecton the human body produced by an e i o e talfa to .
According to Terry Looker, Olga Gregson(2009, p.31),
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
1 Milita E e ge Hospital D . Io Jia u , Pitești,
Romania
2
“t ess is see as a ea tio of theo ga is agai st ha ges o u ed i ou e i o e t.
All e tio ed autho s o side that st ess a e defined as the condition that we feel when weperceive a discrepancy between perceived demandsand a ilit to ope ith the .
Laza us a d Folk a defi e st ess as a cognitive and behavioral effort (with obviousemotional expression) to reduce, control or tolerateexternal or internal demands that exceed pe so al esou es.
Ioan Bratu Iamandescu (2002) believes thatmental
stress is a syndrome consisting of
exacerbationbeyond the level of simple homeostaticadjustments, certain psychic reactions and theirsomatic connections (affecting almost all bodycomponents), in connection with external andinternal excitement exerted by triggering factors(stressor factors) acting intense, surprisingly, suddenand/or persistent and having a symbolic nature, th eati g , o , othe ti e, e t e el favorableto the subject (perceived or anticipated by thesubject). In other cases, stressor factors could bepsychical excitants with major affective resonance(positive – eustress or negative – distress) or overloadingfactors of cognitive (attention, thinking,etc) and volitional process, mentioning that mentalstress is mainly based on a major emotional i ol e e t.
The definition given by Golu M. (1981) shouldalso be take i to o side atio : state of te sio ,tight ess, discomfort, caused by affective agentswith negative significance (or positive, in case ofeustress), frustration or repression of some motivations(needs, desires, aspirations – including underloading),the diffi ult o i possi ilit of sol i gp o le s .
Ho e e , Paul Popes u Ne ea u, i the Di tio a of Ps holog ), defines stress interms of two ea i gs: a) situation, stimulus whichputs the body into a state of tension ; b) the specialtension state, itself, of the body as an activation ofall its resources to cope with physical or psychicalaggression (strong emotion) .
“t ess is a i di idual ea tio a d the resultof interaction between environmental demands onone hand and the resources, capabilities and oppo tu itiesof the i di idual o the othe ha d.
It is certain that stress is characterized byintense hormonal changes, massive secretionof adrenaline. There are also morbid changes(hypertension, gastric ulcer etc). Psychical stressis caused by prolonged emotions primarily mainlydue to frustration, conflict and anxiety. There isstress of overload and also stress
of underload. Amoderate stress boosts and stimulates the bodyvitality. The harmful feature of stress occurs whenthe damage is too large, exceeding the i di idualadapti e apa it .
Do to Ioa ţ atu Ia a des u, i his ook Ps hi al st ess a d i te al diseases , elie esthat stress can be positive (eustress) or negative(distress).
Eust ess positi e st ess has e efi ial effe tso the human body, occurring when thestress agents have positive significance for the individual.
These triggers positive emotions (intensejoy, ecstasy, triumph, laugh out loud), and positivelyaffect the od s o ga s a d appa atus. Eust essappea s i the course of positive emotionalstates or coupled with moderate exercise (eg sexor jogging). Eustress is essentially acute. Frequentrepetition of eustress contributes to increase antiinfectionand antitumor immunity, becoming alongevity premise.
Dist ess egati e e tal st ess is widelyrecognized as pathological. It usually produces painand inadaptation as a result of contact with a stressoragent.
Situations generating mental stress:
• the e iste e of u usual i u sta es fo the individual, which find him unpreparedto deal with them
• the sig ifi a e of a e e t
• e gagi g the i di idual i to a e agge ateda tio or relation
• pe ulia ities of the so ial o te t • lack of internal conditions
• su je ti e a of pe ei i g
Vol. CXVII •New Series • No. 1-2/2014• Romanian Journal of Military Medicine
• u de load / o e load
• e isti g o fli tual situatio s i the family,profession or intellectually related
• la k of ti e • isolatio
• the e e ge e of a ph si al o e talo stacle in the way of a goal that leads tofrustration
• distu i g i u sta es a isi g f o ph si al agents (noise, vibration,temperature fluctuations).
STRESS AND HEALTH AT WORKPLACE
MANIFESTATIONS OF STRESS AT WORKPLACE
Stress at work can affect anyone, at any level.
It is produced in every sector and in organizationsof any size. Stress affects the health and safety ofindividuals and also welfare of organizations andnational economies.
Workplace stress occurs when job demandsexceed the available resources of human beings.Stress is not only the result of major adverse events,but also is the result of stress and daily pressures.The latter, by their frequency, have an importantrole in the professional environment and affectmore individuals than major adverse events, whichare rare.
A d ees u A ghel, Li ă Ştefa , statesthat so eti es, p ofessio al st ess is o side edas a positive, beneficial factor on performance.
Thisrefers to eustress which means activation, mobilizationof individual resources. It is important todistinguish between eustress and distress, one as astate of stress with beneficial effects, the other
ithad e se health effe ts.
Toda s o ld, o e d a i i o k fieldperspective, brings in the foreground workers, personnelreductions and services externalization, increasedflexibility in terms of position and competencies,the growth in number of determined timejob contracts, growing uncertainty of jobs and intensity of work (overload and higher pressure), andunstable balance of life and work.
That is why stresscan bring disease and pain to individuals, both atwork and at home.
Stress can compromise safety at work too, thuscontributing to other health issues related to work,such as musculoskeletal disorders.
Stress greatly affects the image of an organization.
Reducing stress associated with work andpsychosocial risks is not only a moral imperativebut also a legal one. It is also an important problemof economic efficiency. The good news is thatstress associated with work can be approached inthe same logical and systematic way as other
healthand safety issues.
There is an abundance of practicalexamples to cope this problem in the area ofEurpean Union countries. Using the appropriatemethod, workers may be stress protected.
Considering the example of a person who feelsgreat pressure meaning job demands (work time, liability)larger than individual capabilities and corroboratedby conflicts with colleagues/leaders, frequentchanges or threats on job security – such asthe possible personnel downsizing; all these couldbe perceived as a stressful situation by someone orchallenging by another. What makes the differencein perception depends on job nature, the psychologicalprofile of individuals, as well as physicalhealth or health, in general.
Manifestations of stress at workplace canlead to: depression, anxiety, feelings of being overwhelmedand unable to cope with them, a
decreasein professional performance, an increase in thenumber of days for sickness treatment, absenteeism,insomnia, cognitive difficulties (reducedability to concentrate or make decisions), fatigue,headache, palpitations, gastrointestinal problems, increased aggressivity, etc.
All these lead to the followingconsequences: • a de ease i p odu ti it
• a i eased isk of ha i g a a ide t atwork • da age i pe so al elatio ships
• a i eased isk of health p o le s a dio as ula disease, digestive problems,cervical pain, etc.)
PREVENTSTRESS AT WORK
Recent studies of the so- alled health o ga izatio s suggest that policies for employee healthlead to benefits for organizations.
A healthy organizationis defined as an organization with a low rateof illness or disability in working personnel.
Thatmeans an increased competitivity. Researchers haveidentified that a minimum stress at work leads toa higher level of productivity as definition for ahealthy organization.
These relate to:
• ‘e og izi g e plo ee s pe fo a e • Oppo tu ities fo a ee de elop e t • O ga izatio al ultu e that alues e plo ee
• Ma age ial actions in concordance with thevalues of the organization.
Strategies to reduce stress at workinclude:
a) psychological assistance for employees isan occupational health service; that is provided byorganization in order to reduce or eliminate the decreasingperformance at workplace;
b) training services for employees:
performancemanagement, time management, stress management,career management, etc. ;
c) educational workshops: parenting,work
lifebalance, time management, stress
management,emotional control, anger management, decisionmaking and problem solving, alertness, communicationin couple, smoking quittance, weight control, etc.;
d) online educational resources: newsletter, accessto educational information for the employeeand his family (web resources, brochures);
e) career management services;
f) services for managers and professionals inhuman resources departments are:
- management of critical incidents ;
- assistance for enhancing skills in control ofinadequate behaviors of employees;
- assistance and training in management ofemployees capabilities;
- development and implementation of
employeeassistance programs in the company.
STRESS PREVENTION AT WORKPLACE
There is no standardized approach or a manualfor developing stress prevention programs. Designprograms and solutions will be influenced by manyfactors: the size and complexity of the organization,available resources, and in particular the typeof problems the organization faces.
For example, insome companies the main problem is overloadingemployees and others, an inflexible program or lackof communication with the public. In other words,it is not possible to find a universal
prescription forstress prevention in the workplace, but it is possibleto provide some guide lines for the prevention ofstress in organizations.
In all cases, the process of stress preventionprograms
involves three distinct approaches:
problemidentification, intervention and evaluation. Organizationsmust be prepared properly to lead thisprocess successfully.
A minimum level in preparing a stress preventionprogram should include the following: • o kpla e st ess a a e ess auses, osts, o t ol ; • e su i g a ualit a age e t a d suppo tfo the program;
• e plo ee i ol e e t i all phases of thep og a ; • esta lishi g the te h ical capability ofprogram management (specific training formembers or consultants involvement).
Assembling employees or employers and managersin the sa e o ittee o sol i g p o le g oup a be a very useful approach for developinga stress prevention program.
Researches show that these participatory effortswere successfully achieved on ergonomic issuesin the workplace, partialy due to the capitalizationof direct knowledge of employees about theproblems encountered in their workplace.
The ps hologi al o t a t as a ea of preventingand combating stress is today a frequentapproach. In the literature the term ps hologi al o t a t is o o l used i the sense of mutuallyshared set of expectations between
Vol. CXVII •New Series • No. 1-2/2014• Romanian Journal of Military Medicine
The author Denise Rousseau defines the ps hologi al o t a t as i di idual eliefs shaped byan organization, in terms of exchange between theindi idual a d the o ga izatio .
Psychological contractcan be accepted as a mental model that employeesuse to inframe and interpret organizationalphenomena. Its terms shall constitute a referencesystem to which employees report their work andthe attitude of employers towards employees is alsovery important.
Characteristics of the psychologicalcontract:
• ep ese ts, esse tiall , a subjectiveperception that differs from one individualto another;
• ps hologi al o t a t is d a i , that ea s it is changing over time, duringthe relationship between employer andemployee;
• efe s to the utual o ligatio s asedo investment in promises made by bothparties, with the hope of a positive outcomefor each party; • is losel li ked to the o te t of la o elatio ship,
the psychological contract cannot be created by individual or organizationonly.
The main functions of thepsychological contract: • edu es i e titude, e ause ot all possi leaspe ts of the employment relationship maybe covered by a formal written contractbetween the two parts: employer andemployee;
• di tates e plo ee eha io s - like a system,the employee weighs their commitmentto the o ga izatio a d the o ga izatio so ligatio s to themselves and change theirbehavior in relatation with critical companyoutcomes;
• the thi d fu tio of ps hologi al o t a t,gi es to employee a sense of influence onwhat happens to him, in the organization.
To o lude, st ess is a disease of ou ti e, affecting people no matter of their lifestyle.
Stress is found everywhere, more obvious and more frequent in advanced countries. To find theway to manage stressful situations is up to each of us.
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