Factors contributing to work related stress
Work stress is unconstructively being associated to performance level whereby greater level of work stress result to lower level of performance. Workplace stress identified as an unconstructive physical and emotional responses tend to emerge when job requirements do not justify employees’ potentials, resources, demands and expectations (Khamisa et al. 2015). These factors are identified as fundamental challenge to individual’s mental, physical as well as organizational health. Highly stressed employees exhibit greater level of detrimental, less productive and low level of enthusiasm at workplace further resulting organizations to develop elevate level of ineptitude in attaining competitive advantages (Petrou, Demerouti and Schaufeli 2015). Work related attributes have undergone drastic developments over the past century and still has been evolving at a rapid speed. Job stress is regarded as a unremitting disease caused by conditions in the workplace which negatively impact employees’ performance and generalized welfare of organization (Wang, Lu and Siu 2015). The following paper evaluates factors or work related stress that result employees to exhibit lower level of job performance and development.
Modern organizations are becoming increasingly complex and these intricacies and challenges are giving rise to substantial level of stress to the employees. Studies reveal that employees exhibit a tendency towards elevated rate of stress in terms of time, long working hours which further condenses employees’ enthusiasm and keenness towards performing the roles and responsibilities which are assigned to them (Breevaart et al. 2016). One important source of work related stress and complexities are related to job strain. Portela et al. (2015) state that the Job Demand Control Model by Robert Karasek states that factors related to work strain or stress are largely determined by the interactions and relation between psychological demands and decision latitude. The first dimension stated on this model reveals psychological demands on the employee, in relation to rapidity and intensity; skills needed as well as the capability of uphold employee sustainability (Francioli et al. 2016). The second dimension is in relation to the level of ingenuity and creativity in opposition to repetition and the degree of autonomy and accountability to decide what role to perform and at what time. Four work environments can be derived high-stressed jobs, low-strain or relaxed jobs and passive jobs (Leroy et al. 2015). However through simple recognition of low and high stress jobs may be perceived as highly significant whereby the divergence between job regulation and psychological demands must be essentially retained. This maintenance is required as each category may possess diverse impacts on employees and their organizations (Baron, Franklin and Hmieleski 2016). It is further to be noted that when both job regulation and psychological demands are high, knowledge development and progress are identified as employee behavioural outcomes. Furthermore, considerable level of energy emerged by job intricacies can be interpreted into direct action such as productive problem solving techniques (Francioli et al. 2016). However on the other hand, diminutive level of demand and job control typically results to highly apathetic job environment that further leads to a gradual loss of previously attained capabilities.
The impact of work stress on employees’ job performance
Substantial level has proved that significant lack of appropriate working conditions and work settings tend to condense the performance level of employees. Stress oriented hazards at workplaces have been explained by Heffernan and Dundon (2016) into situations of work content as well as work context. Work contents primarily involves factors related to working durations such as inflexible or strenuous and unpredictable working conditions as well as unconstructively implemented shift systems (Whitfield and Cachia 2018). Employee engagement and regulation can further be comprehended as not being integrated to process of decision making, mechanisms and deficit of work variations. Work contexts primarily incorporate factors related to job insecurity such as career enhancement, status and compensation. Furthermore, cultural aspects of organizations have been identified from unacceptable communication, unconstructive leadership techniques and structures as well as strategies. Several studies have shed light on the increasing level of deleterious outcomes of high rate of work pressures or extensive workload (Francioli et al. 2016). It has been noted that Francioli et al. (2016) work overloads along with time restrictions have been identified as vital contributors to work stress among employees. Work oriented strain can typically been identified as reluctance or disinclination towards job roles or a feeling of unvarying pressure which is often been accompanied by generalized forms of physiological, mental, psychological and behavioural strain or anxiety indicators (Leroy et al. 2015).
Certain contingency factors such as inconsiderate working environments are being related to extensive work strain and low level job performances. The critical influence of work settings is identified as a counterpart requirement of a creative job (Whitfield and Cachia 2018). (Petrou, Demerouti and Schaufeli (2015) observed that elevated rate of job contentment and lower level of inclination and intentions to leave have been found for the employees whose workplace settings have been engaged with creative job demands and expectations. Furthermore, improving creative or inventive performance of employees has been suggested as a crucial dire for sustaining high level of competitiveness in a dynamic work environment and for the progress of generalized innovations of any organization (Heffernan and Dundon 2016). It has been observed that working conditions can be divided into two vital components namely physical and behavioural components. Physical environment primarily comprises of elements which tend to relate to the competence of workplace occupiers in order to physically associate to the workplace setting (Baron, Franklin and Hmieleski 2016). Furthermore, behavioural environment essentially constitutes of factors which primarily relate to the way workplace dwellers connect themselves with each other and the extent to which workplace setting can influence employee conduct. In environments where downscaling and restructuring have been vital factors, several organizations have increased the duration of working hours. Furthermore, specific jobs exhibit the need for long working durations further affecting the improvement of employees (Francioli et al. 2016). Highly inflexible working environment or workplace settings tend to give rise to extensive level of anxiety, exhaustion, and stress among workers which often gives rise to inopportune or adverse conditions (Hyland, Lee and Mills 2015). These unfortunate situations typically involve problems related to work-coordination and scheduling, varying work shifts and increase in labour strain that create critical hindrances to the lives of employees and results to change in culture pattern of the organization.
Contingency factors and work related stress
Author has mentioned that one of the six determinants that reduce employee performance is extensive level of pressure emerging from high level of workload. With the rapid shift in globally network, employees often encounter extensive level of strain and pressure to generate successful organizational outcomes with utmost efficacy and competence. In order to demonstrate high proficiency and expertise, there can be witnessed a significant need and requirement for employees to execute diverse range of tasks in the workplace in order to sustain advanced changing technologies (Petrou, Demerouti and Schaufeli 2015). However, the critical outcomes of this work related strain can be witnessed as one of the vital determinant factors influencing work stress at workplace. Aspects related to role ambiguity have been regarded as other vital factors which influence work stress at workplace (Khamisa et al. 2015). It has been noted that role ambiguity tends to emerge when employees exhibit a deficit of acquiring adequate knowledge about the requirements of the role that has been assigned. Certain level of ambiguity related to the way role demands and requirements are be attained and the evaluative mechanisms and processes accessible to ascertain that the role is being performed in an effective manner (Whitfield and Cachia 2018).
Certain psychological risks and intricacies of wok related stress and strain result to the significant expense for organizations. It has been observed that when employees encounter extensive level of strain along with other forms of psychological issues, organizations tend to lose a lot of working time (Heffernan and Dundon 2016). The issues of coping with work-oriented strain emerge typically from both humanistic as well as economic beneficial perspectives. In generalized form, contesting with strain and stress has been defined complex of cognitive as well as behavioural efforts in order to successfully regulate, condense or endure explicit external and internal demands that tend to intimidate or exceed the resources of employees. Structural framework of coping related to work-oriented strain essentially incorporates vital mechanisms, coping competencies, coping patterns such as strategies and techniques as well as coping resources (Francioli et al. 2016). Furthermore, the direct way of contesting critical forms of work related strains and anxieties is related to alter the source of stress problems that further indicates to eradication of stressors. Studies observe the high rate of possibility to modify critical physical stressors with such an approach that it will not be detrimental to the organization or tend to impact employee performance level (Hyland, Lee and Mills 2015). Significant amount of stressors developing from the content of work can further be condensed by the reallocation of work or by offering transparent roles to employees.
Thus to conclude, it can stated that unrelenting level of stress and anxiety tend to cause chronic mental exhaustion within the workplace, further resulting to diminutive level of organizational growth and productivity. As work related strains possess significant cross-sectional as well longitudinal relation with job performance, considerable rate of social support along with optimistic and encouraging coping mechanisms are considered to be protective aspects for employees. Constructive acknowledgement of defending factors and reduction of unconstructive employee conducts may facilitate organizations lessen the impact of work related anxiety and stress on reduced work performance, disability working durations as well as extensive lack of work engagement.
References
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