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Stress Management Initiatives at Multilink

Introduction

[B N Bahdur Institute of Management Science] Page


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Significance of stress Management Initiatives

Stress management is an essential step for you to take once you have determined

you are facing stressful situations in your life, regardless of the cause. Although there are

helpful types of stress that enables you to cater this added burst of energy into something

positive and productive, it is not recommended for your body. Long term stress can

specifically produce negative impacts on your health and is recognized to deteriorate your

health faster than some other diseases.

Furthermore, stress can reduce your capacity to perform and function well, either at

school or in the workplace. Therefore, stress isnt something to be dismissed. Aside from

the personal impacts you can e!perience from stress, it also affects how you deal with the

environment and the people in your lives.

". #mproves overall health status.

$. %ou are able to assume a more positive attitude and outlook in life.

&. #t increases productivity since employees are able to focus clearly on tasks.

'. (etter control over emotions .). And more importantly, reduce or eliminate stress in life.



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Stress Management Initiatives at MULTILINK,

Stress is a fact of life, wherever you are and whatever you are doing. %ou cannot

avoid stress, but you can learn to manage it so it doesnt manage you. *hanges in our lives

such as going to college, getting married, changing +obs, or illness is freuent sources of

stress. -eep in mind that changes that cause stress can also benefit you. oving away

from home to attend college, for e!ample, creates personal/development opportunities new

challenges, friends, and living arrangements. That is why its important to know you and

carefully consider the causes of stress. Learning to do this takes time, and although you

cannot avoid stress, the good news is that you can minimize the harmful effects of stress,

such as depression or hypertension. The key is to develop an awareness of how you

interpret, and react to, circumstances. This awareness will help you develop coping

techniues for managing stress.

Although we all talk about stress, it often isnt clear what stress is really about. any

people consider stress to be something that happens to them, an event such as an in+ury or a

+ob loss. 0thers think that stress is what happens to our body, mind, and behaviour in

response to an event 12.g. heart pounding, an!iety, or nail biting3. 4hile stress does involve

events and our response to then, these are not the most important factors. 0ur thoughts

about the situations in which we find ourselves are the critical factor. 4hen something

happens to us, we automatically evaluate the situation mentally. 4e decide if it is

threatening to us, how we need to deal with the situation, and what skills we can use. #f we

decide that the demands of the situation outweigh the skills we have, then we label the

situation as 5stressful6 and react with the classic 5stress response.6 #f we decide that our

coping skills outweigh the demands of the situation, then we dont see it as 5stressful.6

Stress can come from any situation or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry,

or an!ious. 2veryone sees situations differently and has different coping skills. For this

reason, no two people will respond e!actly the same way to a given situation. Additionally,

not all situations that are labelled 5stressful6 are negative. The birth of a child, being

promoted at work, or moving to a new home may not be perceived as threatening.

7owever, we may feel that situations are 5stressful6 because we dont feel fully prepared to

deal with them.



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Stress is a normal part of life. #n small uantities, stress is good8 it can motivate you

and help you become more productive. 7owever, too much stress, or a strong response to

stress can be harmful. 7ow we perceive a stress provoking event and how we react to it

determines its impact on our health. 4e may be motivated and invigorated by the events in

our lives, or we may see some as 5stressful6 and respond in a manner that may have a

negative effect on our physical, mental, and social well/being. #f we always respond in a

negative way, our health and happiness may suffer. (y understanding ourselves and our

reaction to stress/provoking situations, we can learn to handle stress more effectively. #n

the most accurate meaning, stress management is not about learning how to avoid or escape

the pressures and turbulence of modern living8 it is about learning to appreciate how the

body reacts to these pressures, and about learning how to develop skills which enhance the

bodys ad+ustment. To learn stress management is to learn about the mind/body connection

and to the degree to which we can control our health in a positive sense.

Causes of Stress

The most freuent reasons for 5stressing out6 fall into three main categories9

". The unsettling effects of change

$. The feeling that an outside force is challenging or threatening you

&. The feeling that you have lost personal control.

Life events such as marriage, changing +obs, divorce, or the death of a

relative or friend are the most common causes of stress. Although life/threatening

events are less common, they can be the most physiologically and psychologically

acute. They are usually associated with public service career fields in which people

e!perience intense stress levels because of imminent danger and a high degree of

uncertainty:police officer, fire and rescue worker, emergency relief worker, and

the military.

%ou may not plan to enter a high/stress career, but as a college student, you may

find that the demands of college life can create stressful situations. The ;ational



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#nstitute of ental 7ealth 1;#73 notes some of the more common stressors for

college students9

< #ncreased academic demands

< (eing on your own in a new environment

< *hanges in family relations

< Financial responsibilities

< *hanges in your social life

< 2!posure to new people, ideas, and temptations

< Awareness of your se!ual identity and orientation

< =reparing for life after graduation.

Symptoms of Distress

Symptoms of stress fall into three general, but interrelated, categories:

physical, mental, and emotional. >eview this list carefully. #f you find yourself

freuently e!periencing these symptoms, you are likely feeling distressed9

< 7eadaches

< Fatigue

< ?astrointestinal problems

< 7ypertension 1high blood pressure3

< 7eart problems, such as palpitations

< #nability to [email protected] of concentration

< Sleep disturbances, whether its sleeping too much or an inability to sleep

< Sweating [email protected] hands

< An!iety

< Se!ual problems.



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ffects of stress

2ven when you dont realize it, stress can cause or contribute to serious

physical disorders. That can lead to increases in your heart rate, respiration, blood

pressure, and physical demands on your internal organs. (ehavioural changes are

also e!pressions of stress. They can include9

< #rritability

< isruptive eating patterns 1overeating or under eating3

< 7arsh treatment of others

< #ncreased smoking or alcohol consumption



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Significance of stress management initiatives

Stress management is an essential step for you to take once you have determined you

are facing stressful situations in your life, regardless of the cause. Although there are helpful

types of stress that enables you to cater this added burst of energy into something positive and

productive, it is not recommended for your body. Long term stress can specifically produce

negative impacts on your health and is recognized to deteriorate your health faster than some

other diseases. Furthermore, stress can reduce your capacity to perform and function well,

either at school or in the workplace. Therefore, stress isnt something to be dismissed. Aside

from the personal impacts you can e!perience from stress, it also affects how you deal with

the environment and the people in your lives.

4hen it comes to stress management, determining the source of stress is often not

enough. For people who are often stressed, keeping a stress +ournal is highly recommended in

order for you to monitor the different levels of stress you are e!periencing and what effects it

produced. This is an effective way for you to closely study your levels of stress, its triggers,

and for you to pinpoint e!actly what you can do to relieve yourself from it. Starting on Stress

anagement now that you know the effects that stress can do to you, getting started on a

stress management method is necessary. anaging your stress helps you regain control over

your life, instead of being consumed by the amount of stress you had to deal with. 7eres

how you can get started.

< etermine what causes stress in your life.

< Think of ways that you can reduce that stress. Formulate your stress management

techniue for relieving stress.

Steps on Stress Management

0ne thing you need to keep in mind is that you cannot e!pect to totally get rid of

stress. #t is a process wherein your initial goal would be to reduce the amount of stress in your

life until you eventually get rid of it. The following ideas will help you establish a stress

management method that could work9

< #mprove your time management skills. ost of your stress in life is a result of your inability

to sueeze in your plans within the time available to you. So, creating your schedule will

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enable you to achieve more in less time. 4hen creating your schedule, put the most important

items on top of your list.

< Study the way you react with stress. This reuires your honesty to determine whether your

own coping mechanisms are effective or not. #f not, then look for other means.

< Take care of your body. This is often the most neglected aspect of stress management. ?et

enough rest and eat well. %our health is the most vital factor in stress management.

< *hange your mind/set. 0ftentimes, stress is produced only by your mind. So, if that is the

case with you, then adopting a new perspective might reduce your stress levels.

!enefits of Stress Management

#f you cannot fully understand the importance of stress management, then try thinking

in reverse. #magine yourself not suffering from the negative impacts of stress. 4ithout the

negative results of stress in your life, then a person is able to en+oy a more satisfying and

stress/free life. To sum it up, here are the benefits that can be derived with practicing an

efficient stress management method9

". #t improves your overall health status.

$. %ou are able to assume a more positive attitude and outlook in life.

&. #t increases your productivity since you are able to focus clearly on your tasks.

'. %ou have better control over your emotions and how you respond to it.

). And more importantly, you reduce or eliminate stress in your life



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Statement of t"e pro#$em

The study designed an effective stress management program for BLT#L#;-

2mployees. Specifically, it answered the following problems9

". 4hat is the level of stress e!perienced by the

a3 iddle anagement, and

b3 Low Level anagementC

$. 4hat is the correlation of +ob position and level of stressC and8

&. 4hat is the stress management program that could be designed which suits the needs of

BLT#L#;- employeesC

%"at "appens &"en you are stressed'

Stress is what you feel when you have to handle more than you are used to. 4hen you

are stressed, your body responds as though you are in danger. #t makes hormones that speed

up your heart, make you breathe faster, and give you a burst of energy. This is called the

fight/or/flight stress response. Some stress is normal and even useful. Stress can help if you

need to work hard or react uickly. For e!ample, it can help you win a race or finish an

important +ob on time.

(ut if stress happens too often or lasts too long, it can have bad effects. #t can be

linked toheadaches, an upset stomach,back pain, and trouble sleeping. #t can weaken your

immune system, making it harder to fight off disease. #f you already have a health problem,

stress may make it worse. #t can make you moody, tense, or depressed. %our relationships

may suffer, and you may not do well at work or school.

http://www.webmd.com/heart/picture-of-the-hearthttp://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/default.htmhttp://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/default.htmhttp://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/digestive-diseases-nausea-vomitinghttp://www.webmd.com/back-pain/default.htmhttp://www.webmd.com/back-pain/default.htmhttp://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/default.htmhttp://www.webmd.com/hw-popup/immune-system-7922http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/default.htmhttp://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/default.htmhttp://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/digestive-diseases-nausea-vomitinghttp://www.webmd.com/back-pain/default.htmhttp://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/default.htmhttp://www.webmd.com/hw-popup/immune-system-7922http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/default.htmhttp://www.webmd.com/heart/picture-of-the-heart


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%"at can you do a#out stress'

The good news is that you can learn ways to manage stress. To get stress under control9

Find out what is causing stress in your life.

Look for ways to reduce the amount of stress in your life.

Learn healthy ways to relieve stress and reduce its harmful effects.

(o& do you measure your stress $eve$'

Sometimes it is clear where stress is coming from. %ou can count on stress during a

ma+or life change such as the death of a loved one, getting married, or having a baby. (ut

other times it may not be so clear why you feel stressed.

#tDs important to figure out what causes stress for you. 2veryone feels and responds to

stress differently. Tracking your stress may help. ?et a notebook, and write down when

something makes you feel stressed. Then write how you reacted and what you did to deal

with the stress. Tracking your stress can help you find out what is causing your stress and

how much stress you feel. Then you can take steps to reduce the stress or handle it better.

http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/stress-management-relieving-stresshttp://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/stress-management-relieving-stress


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)#*ectives of t"e study

The broader ob+ective of the study is to understand the uniueness of stressmanagement strategies to manage the stress effectively, to improve the productivity,

sustainability and achieve competitive advantage. T"e specific o#*ectives are

"3 To assess *urrent stress level of employees at BLT#L#;-.

$3 To measure the impact of stress on work and life.

&3 To assess the stress management initiative at BLT#L#;-.

'3 To suggest a model to reduce stress level of employees and manage it in an efficient

manner.



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Scope of t"e study

The scope of this study is e!tended only to the 2mployees working in BLT#L#;-.

#t does not cover employees working in other branches of BLT#L#;-. To fulfil the

ob+ectives of this research, the study will be undertaken to analyze the stress management at

BLT#L#;-, &E, 72((AL #;BST>#AL A>2A, 72((AL ysore/)GEE"H, -arnataka,

#ndia.

Stress management #nitiatives involves finding ways to deal with the effects of stress,

this can be done either psychologically or physiologically. #t refers to a range of techniues to

help reduce our stress levels. This study concentrating on the psychological methods, which

include stress inoculation and increasing hardiness. Stress inoculation is a form of cognitive

restructuring. #t aims to change the way people think about their lives and themselves, in

effect, changing their emotional responses and also their behaviour. #ncreasing hardiness is

simply learning people to become tougher, and therefore less susceptible to stress.

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+S+C( MT()D)L)-./

The study of this pro+ect is based on both ualitative and uantitative approach, which

will give the benefits of both ualitative as well as uantitative researches. The data

collection will be done through both ualitative and uantitative sources of data. The research

approach will be deductive to critically investigate and analyze the views of women

employees on work/life balance. The research philosophy of positive will be most useful for

this study because it will comprehensively described the ob+ective aspects of research.

The steps in which the pro+ect would be carried out is by collecting both the primary

and the secondary data. The secondary data will be collected first. This collection of data will

be done by means of reading various materials such as books, +ournals, magazines,

newspaper articles, etc.8 looking for similar content online 1i.e., on the #nternet3. Then a

structured uestionnaire and survey would be used as a primary data collecting tool which

will be filled by the employees of organizations using convenience sampling.

Type of +esearc"

Descriptive typeThe descriptive research attempts to describe, e!plain and interpret conditions of the

present i.e. 5what is. The purpose of a descriptive research is to e!amine a phenomenon that

is occurring at a specific place and time. A descriptive research is concerned with conditions,

practices, structures, differences or relationships that e!ist, opinions held processes that are

going on or trends that are evident.

DT S)U+CS/

"3 =rimary source$3 Secondary source

(oth types of the data are will be use in the current study.

0+IM+. DT/ The primary data will be collected from the respondents by

administering a structured, Iuestionnaire and also through 0bservation, interview and

discussion with the management and team.

SC)ND+. DT/ Apart from primary data the secondary data will be collected through

te!t books, records of the company, +ournals, from library, academic reports, and internet

sources.SM0LIN-

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Samp$e popu$ation/ there are 1number of employees in the company 3 employees working

in the company.

Samp$e si1e/out the total population, the sample will be taken amongst employees i.e., )E

respondents.

Samp$ing area/The research will be conducted at BLTL#;-Samp$ing met"od/The research will be made by the survey in accordance to the

convenience of the employees.

So the sample type is convenience sampling.

T))LS 2)+ NL.SIS/

=rimary data will be collected through the uestionnaire by distributing the

uestionnaires8 uestionnaire with both close ended and open ended uestions will be

used as sample respondents. 0n the basis of the tables, the facts are presented in the

form of (A>, =#2 charts and tables by using programs of icrosoft office.

0LN )2 NL.SIS/

The data will be collected and classified in an organized and systematic manner.

The data will be collected and classified by random sampling methods.

The classified data will be tabulated and calculated into percentages.

The data will be Analyzed and then interpreted for getting results reuired for

the study.

The tabulated data will be shown in the form of Tables, (A> and =#2 charts

for better understanding.

LIMITTI)N )2 T( STUD.

The present study is limited to many aspects. =roviding information about Stress

anagement is the outcome of various variables. #t is not possible to take into *onsideration

each and every [email protected] in this study.

The research study is limited to a small size.

Some of the information which will be given by the respondents may not be reliable

1bias3.

# wont be able to collect the information from all of the employees of the

organization because of the busy schedule of employees.

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The study is confined only to the employees of BLT#L#;- therefore the results and

conclusions of this study may not be applicable to other organizations.

Some 2mployees will hesitate to answer the uestions correctly.

The analysis will be done assuming that the respondents have given correct answers

through uestionnaire.

C"apter3 4

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Literature revie&

Literature +evie&

Literature review is the study of e!isting researches relevant to the current research

pro+ect. The attempts are made to show how published information relates to my research

work. This part will give an understanding of the previous researches and can be as an

overview to the current research work. The literature review will help readers in

understanding and evaluating the topic in more depth while assists me in finding answers to

some of the uestions unanswered.

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A review on the previous studies on stress among the employees is necessary to know

the areas already covered. This will help to find our new areas uncovered and to study them

in depth. The earlier studies made on stress among the employees are briefly reviewed here.

The research study of Jamal. finds that +ob stressors were significantly related to

employees psychosomatic problems, +ob satisfaction, unproductive time at the +ob, and

absenteeism. Type A behaviour was found to be an important moderator of the stress outcome

relationship. (rief. A. =. and J. . Atieh argues that it is not safe to assume that +ob

conditions that have an adverse impact on affective reactions to the +ob will also have a high

level of e!perienced an!iety or tension. >ecent research into the interaction between the mind

and body shows that we may place our body on stress Kalert uite unconsciously, because of

our psychological and emotional attitudes to stress.

Anticipatory emotions like impatience, an!iety, and anger can produce the same nerve

impulses and chemical reactions as being faced with a concrete challenge. So when faced

with a stressful situation, we must either use up the energy created by the body to challenge

or learn how to 5turn off6, the response using a conscious rela!ation techniue . 7ans Seyle,

the endocrinologist, whose negative impact on overall sub+ective wellbeing. Fienmann &M

views stress as a psychological response state of negative effect characterized by a persistent

and a research on ?eneral Adaptation Syndrome 1?AS3, for the first time, revealed how

human beings adapt themselves to emotional strives and strains in their lives. According to

him emotional stress occurs in three important stages.

". Alarm reaction stage

$. >esistance stage

&. 2!haustion stage.

Alarm reaction is caused by physical or psychological stressors. 2!haustion follows

when A*T7 dwindles as a result of continual stress. According to Stephen .=. >obbins,

5stress related headaches are the leading cause of loss of work time in B. S. industry6.

*ooper and arshallN visualize stress as characteristics of both the focal individual and his

environment. They designate the internal and e!ternal convulsive forces as Kpressures or

Kstressors and the resulting stalk of the organism on stress.



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?eeta -umari and -..=andey'M worked on Job Satisfaction in =ublic Sector and

=rivate Sector9 A *omparison. Their main findings are given below9 =ublic Sector versus

=rivate Sector comparisons are a debate which seems to be a never ending topic. #t is very

difficult to take stand for either of these two forms of administration. The reason behind that

is not unknown but obvious as both provide scopes in different ways. Job satisfaction

describes how content an individual is with his or her +ob. The happier people are within their

+ob, the more satisfied they are said to be. This paper surveys both the sectors in most of the

aspects of analysis..

As the current findings show, +obholders vary regarding the e!tent of ambivalence

e!perienced with respect to their attitude toward their +ob. The current findings also open up

opportunities for further research regarding the conseuences of +ob ambivalence. For

instance, the present findings imply that +ob performance of individuals with high versus low

+ob ambivalence may fluctuate such that +ob performance is comparatively high when

positive beliefs and affective e!periences are salient and thus predominate at a certain point

in time but that their performance may be comparatively low at other times when negative

beliefs and affective e!periences are salient and predominate. #n this respect, research could,

for instance, collect manager perceptions of performance consistency. Future research should

aim to replicate the present findings with larger and more diverse samples as well as profit

from the use of multiple/item scales to measure +ob performance.

ayoAkintayo 1$E"$3 found that working environment is significantly related to

workersK morale and also working environment is significantly correlated with perceived

workersK productivity. r. -. *handrasekar 1$E"'3 found that environmental factors are

conducive to work and he also found that factors that affect attitude of employees to work

are/ interpersonal relationships control over environment, shift, emotional factors, +ob

assignment, overtime duty, e!tended work. L.S. -ang and >.S. Sandhu 1$E"'3 in their article

said that Stress is an individuals state of mind in an encounter of a demanding situation or

any constraint in the organization which [email protected] feels harmful or threatening for [email protected]

Stress emerges from various energy seeping conditions in the working environment.

According to =ratibha ?arg 1$E"&3 Job or occupational stress is mismatch between the

individual capabilities and organizational demands. 2mployees often e!perience stress

because of work overload, an e!pected work pace, difficult work schedules, role conflict,

uncertainty regarding +ob security, poor interpersonal relationships and unpleasant working



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conditions. This stress manifests in conflict, depression, headaches, hypertension, alcoholism

and other conditions. The organizations do not only lose money by paying medical bills but

there is a loss of productivity. > ;eelamegam and S Asrafi 1$E"&3 in their article said that

Stress is a general term applied to the pressures felt in life. Stress at work is almost

inevitable in many +obs. #t has become a ma+or buzzword and a legitimate concern of the

time. According to ; -athirvel 1$EE3 Stress is the reaction that people take due to e!cessive

pressure or other types of demand placed on them. #t arises when they worry that they cannot

cope. Stress is a demand made upon the adaptive capacities of the mind and body. -ulkarni

1$EEH3in an article (urnout said that rapid change of the modern working life is associated

with increasing demands of learning new skills, need to adopt to new types of work, pressure

of higher productivity and uality of work, time pressure and hectic +obs are increasing stress

among the workforce.

Further he added that privatization and globalization have ignited mergers,

acuisitions and precarious employment. Anne arie (erg et al6N in study in $EEH of

;orwegian police said that the prevalence of sub+ective health complaints was relatively high

and was mainly associated to +ob pressure and lack of support. ales showed more

depressive symptoms than females. All stress factors on freuency were positively associated

to the burnout dimensions depersonalization and emotional e!haustion e!cept work in+uries.

Sharma, -hera and -handekar 1$EEH3 *omputer >elated 7ealth =roblems among

#nformation Technology =rofessionals in elhi O A publication in #ndian Journal of

*ommunity edicine in January $EEH found more on visual stress and musculoskeletal

symptoms, initially being mild and temporary and later with increasing years assuming more

intense and permanent nature. #t also found that computer related morbidity had become an

important occupational health problem and of great concern. #t suggested an immediate need

for the concerned authorities to collaborate and enforce suitable preventive measures. (arhem

et al 1$EE'3 define stress as an e!traordinary state affecting individual human functions as an

outcome of internal and e!ternal factors which differ ualitatively1having different types of

stressors3 and uantitatively1having different numbers of stressors3 from individual

performance, due to individual differences. *obb 1"G)3has the opinion that, 5The

responsibility load creates severe stress among workers and managers.6 #f the individual

manager cannot cope with the increased responsibilities it may lead to several physical and

psychological disorders among them. (rook 1"G&3reported that ualitative changes in the



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+ob create ad+ust mental problem among employees. The interpersonal relationships within

the department and between the departments create ualitative difficulties within the

organisation to a great e!tent.

A literature review conducted by ichieP 4illiams in $EE$, indicated that key work

factors associated with psychological ill health and sickness absence in staff were long H

hours worked, work overload and pressure, and the effects of these on personal lives 1riscoll

et al., ")8 Frone et al., ")8 -arasek, "G8 ;iedhammer et al., "Q8 =ayne P Fletcher,

"Q&8 >eifman et al., ""8 Stansfeld et al., ")38 conflicting demands 1Stansfeld et al.,

")38 lack of control over work and lack of participation in decision/making 1Frone et al.,

")8 -arasek, "G8 -arasek, "E8 ;iedhammer et al., "Q8 =ayne and Fletcher, "Q&8

Sparks P *ooper, "8 Stansfeld et al., "), "Q38 poor social support at work 1riscoll et

al., ")8 Frese, "8 Fusilier et al., "QG8 La>occo et al., "QE8 ;iedhammer et al., "Q8

>eifman et al., ""8 Stansfeld et al., "), "Q38 unclear management and work role

1(acharach et al., ""8 *arayon et al., ")8 Frone et al.,")8 La>occo et al., "E8

>eifman et al., ""38 interpersonal conflict 1Sparks P *ooper, "8 >omanov et al., "H38

and conflict between work and family demands 1Sparks P *ooper, "3.

Several e!planations have been put forward in the literature for the high levels of ill

health in the health care environment, including the nature of the work, organisational

changes, and the large amounts and pressure of work 1*o! ")3. *ommonly identified

sources of stress are workload, patient care, interpersonal relationships with colleagues,

knowledge of nursing and nursing skills, type of nursing, and bureaucratic/political

constraints 1(ailey, "Q)3. A comparison across B- hospitals in the public sector found that

rates of psychological ill health varied from "GR to &&R with lower rate in hospitals

characterised by smaller size, greater cooperation, better communication, more performance

monitoring, a stronger emphasis on training, and allowing staff more control and fle!ibility in

their work 14all, "G3. This supports the notion that organisational factors may contribute ot

the level of psychological ill health e!perienced by staff.

According to a study conducted by c?rath and colleagues 1$EE&3 amongst "G"

nurses, on occupational stress in nursing, the most commonly cited stressor by nurses was too

little time to perform duties to the persons satisfaction and rationing of scarce resources or

services. ;early half of the respondents mentioned the meeting of imposed deadlines G as a

source of stress, and over a third found counteracting, unhelpful views others held of their +ob

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a cause of stress. A significant finding from this study was that nurses tried to alleviate stress

in their +obs through avoidance behaviours. The study clearly suggests that nurses are

avoiding the emotional demands of patients as evidenced by $GR who report this as a cause

of stress. #t is suggested that a coping mechanism specific to nursing may be that nurses

unconsciously reduce stress in their +ob by setting nursing ob+ectives as physical ob+ectives in

their +ob.

#n the conte!t of the transnational nature of the >0S2 pro+ect, ichieP 4illiams

1$EE$3 review on reducing work related psychological ill health and sickness absence was

particularly significant, as it provided an assessment of whether associations between work

factors and psychological ill health were similar across sector and across countries. #n the B-

factors associated with psychological distress, emotional e!haustion, an!iety and depression

in doctors, from +unior to senior grades, were long working hours 1(aldwin et al., "G3, high

workload and pressure at work 1Agiuset al., "H8 earyet al., "H8 Sutherland and *ooper,

"&3, and lack of role clarity 17eyworth et al., "&3. #n a study conducted with ' dentists,

pressure at work was found to be associated with poor mental health 1*ooper et al., "QQ3.

#n a study carried out amongst family doctors, the issues were interruptions during

and outside surgery hours and patients demands 1Sutherland and *ooper, "&3. Among B-

nurses the most freuently reported source of psychological distress was workload pressures

1Tyler and *ushway, "$3. #n a study conducted amongst "H' student nurses, low

involvement in decision making and use of skills, and low social support at work were found

to be associated with an!iety, depression and sickness absence 1=arkes, "Q$3. Two studies

looked at absence from work, one study found a negative association with +ob demands

1=arkes, "Q$3, while the other found no association with control over work 1>ees P *ooper,

"$3. Similar factors were associated with psychological ill health in health care workers in

the rest of 2urope, the BSA, and Australia. The one study of doctors found an association

between work control and social support and psychological distress 1Johnson et al., ")3.

Among nurses, lack of co/worker support 1arshall P (arnett, "$8 =isarskiet al., "Q3,

+ob influence 1=ettersonet al., ")3, and organisation climate and role ambiguity 1>evickiP

ay, "Q3 were associated with psychological distress. Among other hospital workers, work

overload and pressure, role ambiguity, lack of control over work, and lack of participation in

decision making were all found to be associated with distress 1Arsenault et al., ""8 2stryn/

(ehar et al., "E8 artin, "Q'3. Sickness absence was associated with work pressures and

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lack of training 1LandeweerdP(oumans, "$3, unsupportive management style 1?ray/Toft

P Anderson, "Q)3, role ambiguity, tolerance of absenteeism and low pay 1(rooke P =rice,

"Q3.

The studies show that, while level of psychological ill health associations between

work factors and psychological ill health are higher in health care than in non/health care

workers 14all, "G3, the associations between work factors and psychological ill health are

similar. They are also similar across continents. This review suggests that a generic approach

to reducing work related psychological ill/health may be appropriate. The findings from this

review are also consistent with the demand/control model of +ob strain 1-arasek, "G3. They

highlight the H key areas of work design that commonly lead to stress 1i.e. control, demands,

support, relationships, role and change3.

4alter *annon 1"&)3 was the first to consider stress as an Demergency responseD. 7e

proposed that sympathetic arousal in response to a stressor allowed the individual to fight or

flee from danger. #n other words, he considered the response to stress as adaptive and directly

related to survival. *annonDs 1"&)3 work led to the formulation of the ?eneral Adaptation

Syndrome by 7ans Selye 1")H3 7e found from a series of e!periments that when crude

ovarian e!tracts were in+ected into rats, a DtriadD of changes occurred. These included adrenal

cortical enlargement, atrophy of the thymus and other lymphatic structures, and deep

bleeding ulcers of the stomach and duodenal lining.

Selye later found that e!tracts of placenta, pituitary, kidney, spleen, formalin, heat, !/

rays, trauma, pain and many other stimuli also produced the same triad of changes. 7e stated

DG could find no no!ious agent that did not elicit the syndrome 1ason, "G), p. H3 The

?eneral Adaptation Syndrome was divided into three temporal phases, which Selye 1"")H3

called the alarm reaction, the stage of resistance, and the stage of e!haustion. Selye 1")H3believed that during the alarm reaction stage, the individual mobilises the bodyDs resources in

order to fight or flee from danger. Arousal results from the secretion of A*T7 by the pituitary

gland, which in turn causes the release of epinephrine, norepinephrine and cortisol into the

bloodstream by the adrenal glands. #f a strong stressor continues, the second stage of the

?AS, that of resistance occurs. uring this stage, the body attempts to adapt to the situation.

=hysiological arousal is reduced, but is still at a level higher than normal.

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Although the individual may not actually show outward signs of stress, their ability to

cope with new stressors will be impaired, and they will be more likely to suffer from illnesses

related to reduced immune function. The final stage of the ?AS, that of e!haustion, occurs

when a stressor continues over a long period of time. 2nergy reserves are depleted until the

individual may no longer be able to resist the adverse effects of a stressor, and disease and

death are increasingly likely to result.

Selye 1")H3 argued that this syndrome was non/specific, in that all aversive physical

stimuli produced the same physiological response. 7e argued that stress was the sum of all

non/specific changes caused by function or damage 1")H, p. H)3 SelyeDs 1")H3 proposal of

the ?eneral Adaptation Syndrome was at first widely supported. #ndeed, 2ngel reported in the

early ")EDs that =rofessor Selye has presented a concept which is almost breathtaking in its

scope 1ason, "G), p. Q3.

The advent of biochemical methods with which to directly measure adrenal cortical

hormones in plasma and urine, gave researchers the opportunity to empirically test SelyeDs

1")H3 theory more accurately than previously, when only indirect methods such as glandular

weight and metabolic effects of hormones were available. The studies found that the levels of

these hormones were often elevated in response to a whole range of aversive stimuli. 1ason,

"G"3 7owever, during the "HEs, the whole concept of non/specificity was uestioned by

many of those working within the area of psycho endocrinology.

ason 1"HQ3 argued that most of SelyeDs 1")H3 e!perimental situations were likely

to involve some degree of emotional reaction. 7e carried out a study whereby the

temperature in a chamber housing a chair/restrained monkey was rapidly increased from

GE""Fto Q)EF within a few minutes. An elevation in the monkeyDs level of "G/

hydro!ycorticosteroid was indeed reported. 7owever, ason 1"HQ3 argued that the rapidincrease in temperature would have evoked e!treme psychological discomfort in the monkey,

and the e!periment was not therefore a valid reflection of the effects of an aversive physical

stimulus on the endocrine system.

ason 1"HQ3 carried out a follow/up study, attempting to eliminate any spurious

psychological variables. This time, the temperature rise was gradual, at a rate of " 0F per

hour. The results showed a suppression of the monkeyDs level of "G/07*S. Although ason

1"G"3 recognised that these and similar results from animal studies must be regarded as

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tentative until evaluated in terms of human sub+ects, he suggested that the primary mediator

underlying the pituitary/adrenal cortical response to Dstress researchDmay simply be the

psychological apparatus involved in emotional or arousal reactions to threatening or

unpleasant factors in life situations as a whole 1p. &$3. ason 1"HQ3 further argued that

this primary mediator may in fact be a behavioural response of emotional arousal or

hyperalerting preparatory to flight or fight a physical stimulus.

Therefore, if a physical stressor was perceived as very threatening, ason 1"HQ3

proposed that psych endocrine responses may occur universally, and would be superimposed

upon the endocrine and other bodily responses to the pure DphysicalD stimulus. >esearch has

since focused on the relationship between and within the behavioural, physiological and

sub+ective response areas under the general assumption that stress response is likely to be

variable across individuals and situations.

ayoAkintayo1$E"$3 found that working environment is significantly related to

workersK morale and also working environment is significantly correlated with perceived

workersK productivity. r. -. *handrasekar 1$E"'3 found that environmental factors are

conducive to work and he also found that factors that affect attitude of employees to work

are/ interpersonal relationships control over environment, shift, emotional factors, +ob

assignment, overtime duty, e!tended work. L.S. -ang and >.S. Sandhu 1$E"'3 in their article

said that Stress is an individuals state of mind in an encounter of a demanding situation or

any constraint in the organization which [email protected] feels harmful or threatening for [email protected]

Stress emerges from various energy seeping conditions in the working environment.

According to =ratibha?arg 1$E"&3 Job or occupational stress is mismatch between the

individual capabilities and organizational demands.

2mployees often e!perience stress because of work overload, an e!pected work pace,difficult work schedules, role conflict, uncertainty regarding +ob security, poor interpersonal

relationships and unpleasant working conditions. This stress manifests in conflict, depression,

headaches, hypertension, alcoholism and other conditions. The organizations do not only lose

money by paying medical bills but there is a loss of productivity. > ;eelamegam and S Asrafi

1$E"&3 in their article said that Stress is a general term applied to the pressures felt in life.

Stress at work is almost inevitable in many +obs. #t has become a ma+or buzzword and a

legitimate concern of the time. According to ; -athirvel 1$EE3 Stress is the reaction that

people take due to e!cessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them. #t arises

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when they worry that they cannot cope. Stress is a demand made upon the adaptive capacities

of the mind and body.

-ulkarni 1$EEH3 in an article (urnout said that rapid change of the modern working

life is associated with increasing demands of learning new skills, need to adopt to new types

of work, pressure of higher productivity and uality of work, time pressure and hectic +obs

are increasing stress among the workforce. Further he added that privatization and

globalization have ignited mergers, acuisitions and precarious employment.

Anne arie (erg et al6N in a study in $EEH of ;orwegian police said that the

prevalence of sub+ective health complaints was relatively high and was mainly associated to

+ob pressure and lack of support. ales showed more depressive symptoms than females. All

stress factors on freuency were positively associated to the burnout dimensions

depersonalization and emotional e!haustion e!cept work in+uries.

Sharma, -hera and -handekar 1$EEH3 *omputer >elated 7ealth =roblems among

#nformation Technology =rofessionals in elhi / A publication in #ndian Journal of

*ommunity edicine in January $EEH found more on visual stress and musculoskeletal

symptoms, initially being mild and temporary and later with increasing years assuming more

intense and permanent nature. #t also found that computer related morbidity had become an

important occupational health problem and of great concern. #t suggested an immediate need

for the concerned authorities to collaborate and enforce suitable preventive measures. (arhem

et al 1$EE'3 define stress as an e!traordinary state affecting individual human functions as an

outcome of internal and e!ternal factors which differ ualitatively 1having different types of

stressors3 and uantitatively 1having different numbers of stressors3 from individual

performance, due to individual differences.

*obb 1"G)3 has the opinion that, 5The responsibility load creates severe stress

among workers and managers.6 #f the individual manager cannot cope with the increased

responsibilities it may lead to several physical and psychological disorders among them.

(rook 1"G&3 reported that ualitative changes in the +ob create ad+ust mental problem among

employees. The interpersonal relationships within the department and between the

departments create ualitative difficulties within the organisation to a great e!tent.

Stress as a stimulus The stimulus/based model of the stress process was aptlydescribed by Sir *harles Symonds in "'G, when discussing psychological disorders in >AF

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flying personnel. 7e stated that, it should be understood once and for all that 1flying3 stress

is that which happens to the man, not that which happens in him8 it is a set of causes, not a set

of symptoms 1#n *o!, "GQ, p. )$3 The model describes stress in terms of stimulus

characteristics of the environment which are recognised as disturbing.

*o! 1"GQ3 compared the model to 7ookeDs Law of 2lectricity, which states that if the

strain produced by a given stress passes beyond the Delastic limitD of the material, then

permanent damage will result. Similarly, if a person e!periences an intolerable amount of

stress, physiological or psychological damage will occur. ason 1"G)3 reported that uite

ironically, Selye originally perceived stress in terms of a stimulus. 7is decision to define

stress as a bodily response is not clear, although ason 1"G)3 suggested that it might have

been as a result of a desire to focus more on the non/specificity response triad which he had

proposed.

The definition of stress as a stimulus is very simplistic, and allows one to determine at

what point damage may occur. 7owever, *o! 1"GQ3 argued that humans are not machines,

and therefore will not react in the same way to all stimuli. #ndeed ason 1"G)3 stated that

knowledge of stimulus conditions does not necessarily allow prediction of psychological or

psycho physiological responses, because of pervasive individual differences with regard to

such factors as past history, threat appraisal and coping or defensive styles 1p. $Q3. #t was

this recognition of the role of specific environmental and individual factors in the stress

response which led to the development of an interactive model of the stress process.

Stress as an interaction between the person and the environmental review of the

literature on stress revealed a growing consensus amongst those working in the field, that

stress should be defined in terms of the interaction between the individual and their

environment. The transactional approach considers aspects of the potentially stressfulenvironment together with the individualDs cognitive and behavioural processes.

#t is this approach which shall be used as a definition of stress in the present research.

Lazarus 1"HH3 was one of the first researchers to e!amine the cognitive and behavioural

processes which are believed to occur upon the onset of a stressor. 7e outlined two processes,

appraisal and coping, which formed the foundations of the interactions model.

=rimary and secondary appraisal 9=rimary appraisal occurs when an individualevaluates a situation, and assesses whether or not it threatens their well/being. Lazarus and

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Launier1"GQ3 described"$primary appraisal as consisting of three basic categories. A

situation could be appraised by the individual as being irrelevant, benign/positive, or as

stressful. #f an event is perceived as being stressful, it is further appraised in terms of harm/

loss, referring to the e!tent of the damage which has already occurred, as a threat, referring to

the e!pectation of future harm/loss, or as a challenge, in which the individual perceives an

opportunity for growth.

uring secondary appraisal, the individual evaluates the resources which are available

to help them to cope with the potentially stressful situation. Sarafino 1"E3 pointed out that

although an individual tends to evaluate the coping resources available to them1secondary

appraisal3 after an event has been perceived as stressful 1primary appraisal3, he acknowledged

that the two processes are highly interrelated 1p. QE3and secondary appraisal of oneDs

limited resources can in fact lead to primary 5appraisals of threat where they would not

otherwise occur 1*oyne and 7olroyd, "Q$,p. "E3 As e!plained by ingerhoets and

arcelissen 1"QQ3 a state of stress will tend to occur when an individual perceives a

discrepancy between the demands of a situation and [email protected] capabilities. #t is therefore not

simply the characteristics of the situation, but also the individualDs appraisal of it, which

determines the response, andwhether or not a state of stress will develop. ingerhoets and

arcelissen 1"QQ3proposed that this e!plains why one manDs poison may be anotherDs food

and drink 1=.$Q'3.

*opingThe second of LazarusDs 1"HH3 core processes is that of coping. any

conceptual definitions of coping have been proposed, most of which have e!plained the term

as part of the person/environment interaction which occurs when an individual appraises an

event as being stressful 1Latack and 7avlovic, "$3. For e!ample, a fairly global definition

of coping was suggested by *oyne, Aldwin and Lazarus 1"Q"3 who argued that coping

refers to efforts, both cognitive and behavioural, to manage environmental and internal

demands and conflicts affecting an individual that ta! or e!ceed a persons resources 1p.

''E3.

-ahn, 4olfe, Iuinn, Snoek and >osenthal 1"H'3 proposed a two dimension typology

of coping, namely *lass " *oping, which included problem solving, and *lass $*oping,

which involved dealing with emotional or an!iety reactions. ore recently the terms

problem/focused and emotion/focused coping, which were proposed by Lazarusand Folkman



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1"Q'3 have become widespread. =roblem focused coping is defined in terms of efforts to

manage the stressor, such as seeking medical attention or changing +ob.

2motion/focused coping focuses on ways of dealing with the emotions caused bythe

stressor. This includes activities such as seeking emotional support or using alcohol to try to

forget about the problem. There is evidence to suggest that problem/focused coping may be

more adaptive than emotion/focused strategies. For e!ample, (illings and oos 1"Q'3 found

thatU problem/focused coping was associated with lower levels of depression than emotion

focused coping. 7owever, as pointed out by eichenbaurn 1"Q)3, the key to effective stress

reduction may be in the diversity and fle!ibility of an individualDs coping repertoire.

eichenbaum 1"Q)3 argued that different types of coping strategies maybe reuired

in different situations. For e!ample, he stated that in uncontrollable situations, emotion/

focused coping methods such as acceptance and denial may be most effective. This should be

considered in terms of the techniues offered within a stress management intervention.

=sychosocial factors which moderate an individualDs response to stress. 0ver the last

twenty years, researchers have become interested in e!amining those psychosocial factors

which moderate an individualDs response to a potentially stressful"'event 1*ohen and

Lazarus, "Q&8 -obasa, "QH8 2lliot, Trief and Stein, "QH87ouston, "QH3. These factors

include individual variables such as personal control, hardiness, self/esteem, type [email protected] (

behaviour patterns and social support.

=ersonal control >odin 1"QH3 defined personal control as the feeling that one can

make decisions and take effective action in order to produce desirable outcomes and avoid

undesirable ones. #ndividuals who believe that they have control over events which happen to

them in their lives are described as having an internal locus of control. 7owever, those people

who believe that events which they e!perience are due to luck, chance or fate have an

e!ternal locus of control. 1>otter, "HH3.

The research literature surrounding the mediatory role of locus of control in the

stressor/strain relationship is somewhat contradictory. Johnson and Sarason 1"GQ3found a

correlation between negative life stress and depression and an!iety amongst e!ternally/

oriented individuals only. 7owever, Schill et al 1"Q$3 divided e!ternals into congruentD and

DdefensiveD categories, whereby the former were described as internalising this cognitive styleand the latter used it as a verbal techniue. The authors found that it was the defensive



29/110


e!ternally/oriented individuals who were most vulnerable to stress because, they argued,

defensive e!ternals were less likely to seek social support.

=rospective studies on the role of locus of control on the stressor/strain relationship

do not appear to support the view that e!ternally/oriented individuals are more vulnerable to

stress, however. Sanderman 1"QQ3 considered the effects of locus of control on individualsD

levels of strain, and the interaction effects with life events over the period of the study. #t was

found that there was neither a main effect for locus of control, nor an interaction effect with

life events. #t would therefore appear from this research that locus of control did not have a

moderating effect on individualsD levels of strain throughout the period of the study. 0rmel

and Sanderman 1"Q3 argued that this type of prospective design is a more rigorous test of

the role of locus of control than retrospective or cross/sectional studies. Further prospective

studies are therefore reuired to support the findings of previous research, and to allow a

greater understanding of the role of locus of control on the stressor/strain relationship.

#t would/be particularly interesting to consider the role of locus of control with other

individual variables, in order to determine whether there may be interactive effects between

suchvariables and individualsD levels of stress over time. 7ardiness *riticisms of the research

showing a direct link between stress and illness led -obasa1"G3 to e!amine those factors

which she believed e!plained why some individuals have highly stressful lives, in terms of

the number of potential stressors they encounter, but do not become ill. -obasa 1"G3

proposed that such people have a personality structure differentiating them from persons

who become sick under stress 1p. &3This Dpersonality structure was defined in terms of

hardiness, a broad concept which included the characteristics of control, commitment and

challenge. *ontrol was defined as above, in terms of an individualDs belief that they influence

events in their lives. *ommitment was defined as an active involvement in activities at work,

home and at leisure. Finally, challenge was seen in terms of an individualDs perception of an

event as an opportunity for growth and e!pansion, rather than as a threat.

Bsing a number of standardised tests to measure the components of hardiness, stress and

illness, -obasa 1"G3 found that amongst a group of middle and upper level e!ecutives,

those sub+ects who reported high stress but low illness showed a greater degree of hardiness

than those e!ecutives who reported high stress and high illness.

The former group showed a stronger commitment to self, an attitude of vigorousness

toward the environment, a sense of meaningfulness, and an internal locus of control1-obasa,



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"G, p. "3.A number of studies have considered the effect of hardiness, combined with other

factors, on individualsD health outcomes. For e!ample, -obasa,addi, =uccettiaVola 1"Q)3

e!amined the way in which hardiness, e!ercise and social support protect individuals from

becoming ill. >etrospective and prospective data of e!ecutive menDs scores on scales of

hardiness, and amount of e!ercise and social support revealed protective effects against

illness for all three factors, with hardiness showing the greatest effects. ?entry and -obasa

1"Q'3 pointed out that although research has consistently shown the protective effects of the

control and commitment components of hardiness, the research is much less divisive in terms

of the challenge component.

Furthermore Sarafino 1"E3 highlighted the fact that the research on hardiness has

tended to be based upon white middle/class professionals. 7e argued that hardiness may not

have the same effects on the health outcome of groups of different gender, age, ethnicity and

socio/economic status. Further research into the moderating role of hardiness in the stressor/

strain relationship is clearly reuired.

Se$f3esteem

>ector, >oger and ;ussbaum 1"&3 stated that many of the items relating to the

commitment and challenge components of hardiness were taken from the Alienation Test

1addi, -obasa and 7oover, "G3. They argued that e!amination of these itemssuggested

that a more robust, higher/order factor may underlie the two dimensions1>ector, >oger and

;ussbaum, "&, p. &3. They believed that this higher/order factor was self/esteem.

Self/esteem can be defined as the degree to which a person positively

valueshim"herseff and the e!tent to which they believe they are capable and woithy 1>ector,

>oger and ;ussbaum, "&, p. &3 Although several studies have suggested that self esteem

mediates the stressor/strain relationship 17obfoll and Lieberman, "QG8 >ector, >oger and

;ussbaum, "&3, the ma+ority have used co relational analysis to determine the relationship

between self/esteem and health outcome. 7owever, a study by >ector and >oger 1"'3

manipulated participantsD self/esteem and then e!posed them to a stressful event. They found

that those sub+ects in the high self/esteem group reported less stress, less negative affect and

made fewer errors on a task than those in a neutral self/esteem group.

7owever, in a follow/up study, >ector and >oger 1"'3 found that males in the lower

self/esteem group appeared to actively defend their self/esteem, as demonstrated by

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the results on the manipulation check. efending their self/esteem served to reduce the

physiological arousal which would have otherwise occurred, but caused this group to report

more negative affect during completion of the task. >ector and >oger 1"'3 suggested that

those people with low self/esteem may e!perience increased responsibility to stress initially,

followed by physiological effects associated with anger as they attempt to defend their low

self/esteem. They stated that whilst the female neutral self/esteem group also reported

feelings of anger, the males were more likely to defend their self/esteem. The authors

therefore argued that different e!planations are reuired to account for the stress reactivity of

men and women.

Type 5Type ! #e"aviour patterns

The type A behaviour pattern was developed by Friedman and >osen man 1"G'3 to

describe those individuals who were very competitive, impatient and easily became angry or

hostile. #n contrast, type ( individuals were described as more easy/going, and as less

competitive and hostile. uch research has shown that type A individual react more strongly

in the presence of a stressor than do type ( individuals. For e!ample, several studies have

found that type A individuals show greater increases in blood pressure, heart rate, cortisol,

epinephrine and nor epinephrine than type ( individuals 1anuck, *raft and ?old, "GQ8

4illiams, Lane, -uhn, elosh, 4hite and Schanberg, "Q$3 7owever, research has also

shown that individuals showing the type A behaviour pattern are more likely to encounter

stressful events in their lives. For e!ample, (aker, earborn, 7astings and 7amburger 1"Q'3

found that type individuals were more likely to work in fast/paced, competitive environments

and have higher workloads than type ( individuals. A vicious circle therefore results whereby

type individuals not only react more negatively in stressful situations, but also actively seek

out environments which are potentially stressful.

)ptimism5pessimism

0ver the last decade, research has focused on the role of dispositional optimism as a

moderator in the stressor/strain relationship. ispositional optimism can be defined as

generalised e!pectancies of favourable outcomes, with pessimism clearly being defined as

generalised e!pectancies of unfavourable outcomes. 1Scheier and *arver, "Q)3 #n a study by

Scheier and *arver 1"Q)3, college undergraduates completed a measure of dispositional

optimism and a checklist of physical symptoms at two different times during a stressful

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period in their lives. An inverse relationship between optimism and symptom reporting was

found, suggesting that optimists may respond to stress in a different way than pessimists. This

hypothesis formed the basis of a study by Scheier, 4eintraub and *arver 1"QH3. They

considered the way in which optimists and pessimists cope with stress. The results found

modest positive correlations between optimism and problem/focused coping, seeking of

support and emphasising positive aspects of stressful situations. 4hen the stressor was

uncontrollable, optimism was also associated with [email protected] nation.

=essimism, however, correlated positively with denial, distancing, focusing on

stressful Wfeelings and disengagement from oneDs previous goal with which the stressor was

#nterfering. The authors therefore suggested that optimists tend to partake in more adaptive

coping behaviours than pessimists, and that this can, at least in part, e!plain the higher stress

levels of pessimists. This clearly has implications in terms of the design of stress management

interventions for optimists and pessimists.

motiona$ contro$

*ameron and eichenbaurn 1"Q$3 suggested that the habit of mentally rehearsing

failures and concurrently engaging in self/denigrating thoughts might interfere with at least

some dimension of the unwinding process 1p. GE$3. >oger and ;esshoever 1"QG3 argued

that this type of behaviour is reflected by the personality variable of emotional control. They

defined emotional control as the tendency to inhibit the e!pression of emotional responses

1>oger and ;esshoever, "QG, p. )$G3, and developed a scale with which to measure this

personality variable. This scale consisted of three factors, namely >ehearsal 1r3, 2motional

#nhibition 12#3, Aggression *ontrol 1A*3 and (enign *ontrol 1(*3. Further research found

that >ehearsal in particular provided a moderator role within the stressor/strain relationship.

>oger 1"QQ3 found that individuals who had a tendency to continue to think about

emotionally upsetting events in their lives showed prolonged heart rate recovery, and had

high levels of cortical following a stressful event. >oger 1"QQ3 argued that these findings are

Significant in the light of evidence that prolonged physiological arousal is related to

increased susceptibility to various pathological diseases.

Socia$ support

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Sarafino 1"E3 defined social support as the perceived comfort, caring, esteem, or

help a person receives from other people or groups 1p. "EG3. Sarafino1"E3 suggested that

there were four types of support, namely emotional, esteem, tangible or instrumental and

informational. 2motional support involves the e!pression of empathy and caring toward the

individual, in order to comfort and reassure them.

2steem support was defined in terms of the e!pression of encouragement and

agreement with an individualDs ideas, and positive regard for them. Tangible or instrumental

support involves direct help for the individual such as helping to sort out funeral

arrangements. Finally informational support involves offering advice and suggestions. The

sources of support can vary widely between individuals, from a spouse and family members,

to work colleagues or self/help groups.

>esearch by Sherman and Lieberman 1"Q", #n Lieberman, "Q$3 found that upon the

death of a child, parents sought help from a variety of sources. 0f HH& parents considered in

the study, all but four per cent had sought some kind of help. #n forty/two per cent of cases,

the parents had sought help from multiple sources including both formal and informal

sources, with only eighteen per cent seeking help solely from informal sources such as family

and friends.

The role of social support as a mediating factor within the stressor/strain relationship

has received much attention within the research literature. La>occo, 7ouse and French

1"QE, #n 7ouse, "Q'3 considered the effects of emotional and tangible or instrumental

support on the levels of an!iety, depression and irritation of over $EEE men working in a

variety of white/ and blue/collar environments. The results showed that the greater the social

support available, the less psychological strain was reported by individuals.

>educed +ob stress was found to be more strongly related with the social support

individuals received from their supervisors and colleagues than from their family and friends.

This clearly has implications in terms of stress management within the workplace. Two

theories have been proposed to e!plain the moderating role of social support in the stress/

strain relationship. 1Sarafino, "E3 The buffering hypothesis suggests that social support

protects the individual against the adverse effects of high levels of stress. Sarafino 1"E3

pointed out that the buffering effects of social support appear to be evident only or mainly in

highly stressful situations.

*ohen and 4ills 1"Q)3 proposed that the buffering effects of social support may be

due to the fact that individuals with high levels of social support will be less likely to

perceive a situation as stressful as those with low levels of support. They may find situations

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less threatening because they know that someone will be there to help them. Alternatively,

social support might suffer the effects of stress through their response to a situation after they

have appraised it as stressful. *ohen and 4ills 1"Q)3 argued that people with high levels of

social support might know someone who will help them, and therefore perceive themselves

as having the resources available to cope with a stressful situation.

The second theory proposed to e!plain the moderating effects of social support on

individualsD response to stress, is termed the direct effects hypothesis. This theory suggests

that social support is beneficial to individualsD health both in low and in high stress situations.

*ohen and 4illis 1"Q)3 argued that individuals with high levels of social support might have

high self/esteem due to a feeling of belonging. Their positive outlook on life may then make

them less vulnerable to infection, in either low or high stress situations. Alternatively people

with high levels of social support may try to lead a healthier lifestyle because they feel that

others depend on them and care about them.

Although much work has focused on the moderating role of social support, both at

work and at home, further research is reuired. As highlighted by (urke 1"QG3, unanswered

Iuestions still remain, for e!ample concerning definitions and measures of social support,

and the functions of social support. Social support is a rather global concept, and the author

would suggest that researchers should endeavour to break it down and consider its individual

components in terms of type, source and function.

Sources of stress and t"eir measurement

Ma*or $ife events

#ntegral to the interactions model of stress, is the primary environmental source of the

stress. A plethora of research has focused on a wide number of stressful environments, both at

home and at work, and considered what it is about these environments which cause the

individual to feel threatened and unable to cope. Life events research has a long and varied

background, including studies of the effects of natural and man/made disasters 1Lindemann,

"''3 to the consideration of discrete events which reuire adaptation or change 17olmes and

>ahe, "HG3. For e!ample, Iuadagno, i!on, enney and (uck 1"QH3 found that the time

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following the birth of a baby can be a very stressful period.. This could be caused by a variety

of factors including lack of sleep, a disordered lifestyle and the taking on of a new role as a

parent. Sarafino 1"E3 also pointed out that the timing of life changes may be important,

particularly if events do not occur as e!pected. 7e argued that this in itself may be stressful,

since people may perceive themselves as failures if events do not occur at the e!pected times,

or they may be denied support from friends in similar situations.

The life events approach to stress formed the basis of the Social >ead+ustment Scale

17olmes and >ahe, "HG3, which consists of a list of ma+or life events which were drawn up

on the basis of cliniciansD e!periences with patients. alues were then assigned to each event,

based on hundreds of sub+ectsD ratings of how much ad+ustment each event would reuire. An

individualDs total stress score is then calculated as the sum of the values assigned to each of

the events they reported as having e!perienced over a specified period of time. The Social

>ead+ustment Scale 17olmes and >ahe, "HG3 has been criticised however for its failure to

recognise the different meanings that an event such as the death of a spouse, assigned the

highest value of "EE, has to the individual.

Some may perceive this event as very stressful, particularly if the death was sudden.

7owever, others may consider such a death as a relief if the person was ill and in pain for a

very long period of time. #f the integrationist approach to stress is used as the model of stress,

as in the present research, one must acknowledge an individualDs own perception of a life

event and what it means to them. Sarason, Johnson and Siegel 1"GQ3 considered this issue in

the construction of their life events scale, the Life 2!periences Survey. To complete this

scale, the individual has to rate each of the fifty/seven items on a seven/point scale from

e!tremely negative to e!tremely positive. A total change score is then calculated as the sum

of the individual scores for each item. This method of measuring the e!tent of life events

e!perienced by individuals therefore incorporates the individualDs appraisal of the event into

its total score.

Dai$y "ass$es

Although the life events approach to stress has received a considerable amount of

support, several researchers have argued that the minor stressors of everyday life are more

likely to have a negative effect on an individualDs psychological health. 1Savery and 4ooden,

"'3 -anner, *oyne, Scheafer and Lazarus 1"Q"3 have found from their research that thefreuency and intensity of such minor events or hassles have a stronger relationship with

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individualsD psychological and somatic health than do life events. They e!plained these

findings in terms of the cumulative effect of these hassles, whereby the individual becomes

unable to adapt to their environment. This approach to stress led to the development of a

measure of minor everyday events called the aily 7assles Scale 1Lazarus and Folkman,

"Q3. The scale consists of a list of ""G items which individuals rate on a four/point scale as

Dnone or did not occur, Dsomewhat severeD, Dmoderately severeD or Ke!tremely severeD. A

freuency score is calculated as the number of items endorsed, with a severity score, being

the average severity rating on the scale.

A study by #vancevich 1"QH3 considered the relationship between daily hassles and

life events, and the health symptoms, absenteeism rates and productivity of "Q) employees of

an organisation. #t was found that the relationship between daily hassles scores, and

symptoms of poor health and absenteeism, were stronger than the relationship between life

events, and poor health and absenteeism. ore recent research by Savery and 4ooden 1"'3

found that there was a stronger relationship between freuency of daily hassles and in+uries in

the workplace than between life events and in+uries. The authors argued that the findings have

implications for stress management. They proposed that interventions should aim to help

people cope better with daily hassles, both at home and at work, in order to reduce their

levels of stress, and stress/related outcomes. #t must be considered however that the

researchers employed their own measures of life events and daily hassles, based upon items

included in previous scales. alidation of these scales is therefore necessary before any firm

conclusions can be drawn from the research.

)ccupationa$ stress

;ewman and (eehr 1"G3 stated that the term Doccupational stressD first appeared as a

key word in =sychological Abstracts in "G&. Since this time, a growing body of research has

focused on stress at work, and e!amined the effects it has on the individualDs physical and

psychological health.

As with models of general stress, the approaches to occupational stress have varied

from stress as an ob+ective physical stressor, to stress as a physiological response, to stress as

an interaction between the individual and their working environment. 1?riffiths, *o! and

(arlow, ")3. There is growing consensus amongst researchers around. The adeuacy of the

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interactive model, whereby stress results from an individualDs perception of an imbalance

between the demands of a +ob and their ability to cope with it.

>esearch has revealed a wide variety of factors that have been found to be stressful

within the working environment. Studies have focused on the effects of e!posure to physical

hazards such as e!treme temperatures and noise 1Iuick and Iuick, "Q'3 and also on more

psychosocial aspects of work, such as perceived lack of control over oneDs +ob 1*ottington

and 7ouse, "QG3, and poor relationships with managers and colleagues 1Iuick and Iuick,

"Q'3. #n a recent report for the B- 7ealth and Safety 2!ecutive, *o! 1"&3 divided

psychosocial stressors into nine broad categories which have been shown to be associated

with stress [email protected] ill/health. These categories include the +ob content, the workload or

workpace, the work schedule, interpersonal relationships at work, control, the organisational

culture and function, the role of the individual in the organisation, career development and

the home/work interface.

The final category in this list, the home/work interface, emphasises the need for a

global perspective to be taken towards the stress process. >esearchers must be aware of the

role of e!tra/organisational stressors on the individualDs response to stressors at work.

?reenhaus and (eutell 1"Q)3 reviewed the literature on [email protected] conflict and concluded

that it e!ists when the time devoted to, the strain resulting from and the behaviour reuired by

one role does not allow one to fulfil the reuirements of the other role. This suggests that

researchers should envisage occupational stress as interaction between factors at work, home

and at leisure.

The effects of stress >esearch has considered the way in which stress effects not only

our physiological system, but also our psychological functioning, including the way we think,

feel and behave. There has been debate centred around the issue of whether a link e!ists

between stress and health, with much research focusing on the role of stress in the

development of illnesses as diverse as asthma, coronary heart disease and cancer.

0"ysio$ogica$ effects of stress

Asterita 1""Q)3 stated that two main physiological pathways, the neural and neurone

doctrine systems, are activated when an individual responds to stress. essages which have

been encoded as threatening are sent to the hypothalamus from cortical and limbic structures.

Those signals with the encoded information which emerge from the posterior section of the

hypothalamus then activate the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system.

Similarly, the signals from the anterior section of the hypothalamus activate the para

sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system. Activation of the sympathetic division

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of the autonomic nervous system causes arousal of the body as a whole. This is reflected in

the bodyDs increased heart rate, circulation, o!ygen supply, metabolism and energy. Asterita

1"Q)3 commented that this overall arousal of the body leads to stimulation of the organs

needed in the Dflight or fightD response, which if prolonged can result in a stress/related

disorder. Activation of the parasympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system results

in effects opposite to those described above. 7eart rate is slowed down, pupils constrict and

blood vessels dilate. #n other words, the body is gradually slowed down.

Asterita 1"Q)3 stated that the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the

autonomic nervous system often work together as a complete unit, and that when part of a

system is activated, all or most of that system is also activated. 7owever there are many

occasions when the systems act independently, and where only individual endorgans, or

multiple groups of organs are stimulated. The ne!t stage of the physiological stress process is

what *annon 1"&)3 described as the Dflight or fightD response.

The response begins in the consommX diala my gdalar comple!, with neural

pathways passing to the lateral and posterior parts of the hypothalamus, down to the thoracic

regions, and on to the adrenal medulla. The catecholamines, epinephrine and nor epinephrine

are then released upon sympathetic stimulation of the adrenal medulla. Secretion of these

hormones can have significant physiological effects upon various bodily systems, including

oneDs respiratory system, cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal system, central nervous

system, and also oneDs blood and metabolism.

The final phase of the stress response is activation of the endocrine a!

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