Stress

-       Stress: psychological response to to exceeded or taxed capacity with stakes

o   perceptual process ( high variation), physiological and/or psychological,

o   difficult to measure

§  Physiological measures , self reports

o   Short term Effects (reversible) : fight or flight, cortisol, decreased performance/concentration and risky behavior

o   Long term Effects: allostatic shift, substance abuse, bad eating, isolation, aggression

§  Systems affected

·       Nervous

·       Cardiovascular

·       Endocrine

·       Immune

·       Respiratory

·       Musculoskeletal

·       Gastrointestinal

·       Reproductive

o   Challenge Stressors (task itself is stressful)

§  Time pressure, complexity, responsibility  

o   Hindrance Stressors (stuff attached to the task is stressful)

§  role conflicts/ambiguity/overload, daily hassles

o   Work task Stressors

§  Work overload/role overload (requirement for excessive speed/output/concentration)

·       Most common stressor

§  Underutilization (absence of meaning, behavioral constraints, mental underload, monotony)

o   Role Stress

§  Often unavoidable but negative for performance and satisfaction

§  Processes:

·       Cognitive: lack of information to solve conflicting demands

·       Motivational: weakened effort-to-performance and performance-to-reward expectancy

§  Stressors:

·       Job ambiguity,

·       Lack of control,

·       physical working conditions

·       Interpersonal stress (at work) /Harassment

·       Organizational change

·       Work family conflict

-       Strains: negative consequences due to stress

o   Physical: Absenteeism and presenteeism (accidents, poor performance)

o   Mental: Depression, Exaustion  voluntary turnover

o   Increased self focus  inhibits Teamwork

o   Organizational culture impacted

o   Productivity loss/health care costs

-       Structural

o   Organizational (especially work scedule)  vs individual

o   Specific occupations (firefighters, teachers)

§  Tasks with low challenge and high attention (monitoring)

o   Spillover effect (Work hampers private roles)

-       Situational (in work environment or personal life)

-       Social Stressors (Emotional labor/dissonance between felt and emotion that must be displayed)

-       Moderates stress-strain(dysfunctional perf) relationship

-       Women experience more stress and health ailments

o   Unique stressors: conflicting roles, lack of progress, discrimination

o   Dispositional stressors

§  Type A behavior pattern (excessive drive, competitive, urgent, underlying hostility)

·       physiological symptoms relate to behavior type (A=more prone to heart disease but also more likely to survive)

§  Hardiness (resistance to health damaging effect of stress)

§  Self efficacy (Coping, job-related, relationship ect.)

-       Appraisal and coping)

o   Primary Appraisal (is it stressful? -> threat or challenge?)

o   Secondary Appraisal ( How can I cope)

o   Disruption of work role or other life roles (accidents, spouse abuse ??)

o   Counterproductive work behavior

o   Flight from job

o   Self damaging

-       Problem oriented (source) vs emotion oriented (concequences of stress) coping

-       Organizational coping strategies

§  Stuctural (tackeling source) vs behavioral (buffer effects of stressors)

o   Better training/orientation programs

o   Remove hazardous conditions

o   Give workers sense of control

o   Eliminate bad leadership

o   supportive/team oriented work environment

o   organizational communication

o   person-job fit

-       cycle of work and rest (weird model about work bein draing and rest being refueling)

-       Recovery prevents accumulation of strain (transfer from short to long term stress)

o   Needs a delimited undisturbed time period (otherwise a change in activitys)

-       (objective demands should fit with employees characteristics)

o   Negative misfit

o   Positive misfit (may have weaker neutral or similar effects on stress as negative misfit)

o   Independent of individual characteristics -> just job and stressors

§  Regulation hindrances (stop goal attainment and action regulation)

·       In principle avoidable = frustrating

§  Regulation ambiguities  (s.a Role ambiguity)

§  Regulation overload (s.a -> work overload)

Rewards should outweigh the efforts (ERI smaller than 1 = gratification crisis -> stress)

o   Lack of appreciation = potential threat to the self

o   Threats: personal failure vs disrespect by others ( eg. illegitimate tasks = uneccessary/unreasonable)

o   Hindrance demands (typically interpersonal) -> constrain development

o   Challenge stressors (typically time pressure) -> strain but also promote development

o   Highest Risk = High strain Job

o   Stressors can be Neutralized by adding control

§  Adaption  demands- control-support model

·       Social support/isolation strain added to model

o   Resources foster intrinsic (through satifying basic needs) and extrinsic motivation

o   Basic processes: Health impairment and Motivation

-       Engagement: postitive state (vigor dedication and adsorption)

-       Boredom: unpleasant state (low activation, dissatisfaction)

-       Burnout: Syndrome (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, reduced personal accomplishment)

o   Less commited to work

o   Human service professionals = higher risk

o   Signs: not concentrating, guilt, mood changes, isolation, substance abuse

o   Antecedends: high job demands (pressure, number of hours, role conflicts), lack of resources (support, feedback, control, participation)

o   Concequences:

§  Employee health; Anxiety/depression/psychosomatic, cardiovascular, sleep disturbance, common infections

§  Organizational outcomes: poor commitment and performance, absence, turnover

-       Half of all lost work days (absences longer than any other cause)

-       Presenteeism (tuning up when sick -> uneffective)

-       Cost to business and society

-       Mortality risk difference (stress/no stress) higher than hypertension, cholesterol, alcohol ect.)

-       Early retirement

o   When viewed as organizational issue (instead of individual) -> just as manageable as other workplace safety/health risk

-       Fear of being replaced -> perceived job insecurity -> chronic stress/reduced satisfaction

o   User interfaces schud promote trust transparency and sense of user-control

o   Design systems to promote AI collab not competition

-       Technostress (Stress due to usage of new technology)

o   Transactional model of stress: cognitive appraisal of technology events as stressful

o   Linked to burnout symptoms (especially when unreliable or overwhelming tec)

o   Low perceived competence -> stress

o   Poor userexperience/unreliablility -> strain and low motivation