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Stress In The Workplace

What is Stress?

Stress is something that we can all relate to. From personal relationships, to school, to work and so on, everyone has experienced some sort of stress in their life. The word stress has many definitions in the English language, but it is tough to pinpoint an exact meaning of the word. Stress is the result of some sort of pressure. This pressure, relating to the workplace, can come from two different areas. It can be work related and from sources outside of work. According to a NIOSH report, “40% of workers reported their job was very or extremely stressful” and “25% view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives.” “Fully one-third seriously considered quitting last year to reduce their stress, and 14 percent actually did quit or change jobs within the past two years because of workplace stress. Furthermore, 35 percent of new employees said they had left their previous jobs because of workplace stress” (Brody). Putting this in perspective, work related stress is a huge issue in our society and organizations today that must be discovered and reduced if people and organizations are to be healthy.

Sources of Stress

“31% cited concerns over job security as the primary cause of increased stress, though 18% pinpointed their pace of work, and 12% blamed a confrontational work environment” (Business Week). Stress from work can come from a variety of sources. As described in Nelson and Quick’s Organizational Behavior, work related stress could come from four main areas: task demands, role demands, interpersonal demands, and physical demands.

Task Demands: These demands focus around the job itself and the duties that the employee must perform. They include change within the workplace, such as a poor economic condition causing large amounts of layoffs, or the restructuring of jobs in the organization. “Downsizing, rapid business expansion, outsourcing -- trends that some have credited with increasing the nation's economic health --...