Stress in Organizations (Sonnentag & Frese 2012) PDF

10. Stress in Organizations – Sonnentag & Frese (2012) The paper deals with the general concept of stress and strain in organizations. It specifically defines these constructs, elaborates different theories on organizational stress (models focusing on the stress process and models focusing on the re...

10. Stress in Organizations – Sonnentag & Frese (2012) The paper deals with the general concept of stress and strain in organizations. It specifically defines these constructs, elaborates different theories on organizational stress (models focusing on the stress process and models focusing on the relationship between stressful situations and strains), gives empirical evidence on the topic (negative effects of stress on health and well-being; also, on objective measures of stress), and explains how stress can be reduced (resources, coping strategies) and what different techniques of stress interventions there are (stressor reduction, resource increase, strain reduction, and lifestyle changes on individual and organizational level). The most important resources for an individual´s health and well-being are job control, social support and core self-evaluations. Introduction • • • • “work” one of major causes of stress Experiencing organizational stress is related to health problems & their associated costs Organization stress related to increased absenteeism (and therefore with high costs for organization and society) Review of research on stress in organizations o What are processes and consequences associated with organizational stress (e.g., health & well-being; job performance, organizational commitment, absenteeism)? The Stress Concept Overview of Conceptualizations of Stress: • Four stress concepts: 1. Stimulus concept: focus on situational conditions / events, certain stimuli considered stressful (e.g., high time pressure, interpersonal conflict at work, accidents) Problematic: not all individuals react in a uniform manner to the same stressor 2. Response concept: physiological reactions as crucial constituent of stress, stress exists if an individual shows a specific reaction pattern, irrespective of situational characteristics Problematic: does not take into account that very different situations can result in the same physiological responses and individual´s coping effects may have an effect on hir/her reactions, thus altering the stress response 3. Transactional concept: interplay between person and situation, including individual´s perceptions, expectations, interpretations, and coping responses 4. Discrepancy concept: stress as incongruence between what an individual desires and what the environment provides Stressors: • Stressors = conditions and events that evoke strain (= stress reations) can be.. o Single events (e.g., critical life events, traumatic experiences) o Chronic problems (e.g., micro stressors (=daily hassles)) • Stressors can be grouped into categories: Stressors Explanation / Examples Physical stressors Aversive physical working conditions: noise, dirt, heat, vibrations, chemical or toxic substances; poor ergonomic conditions at the workplace, safety hazards Task-related job stressors Appear while doing a task, include high time pressure & work overload, high complexity at work, monotonous work, interruptions, situational constraints Role stressors Role overload (occurs when individuals have to do too Social stressors Work-schedule related stressors Career-related stressors Traumatic events Stressful change processes much), role conflict (conflicting role expectations) , role ambiguity (unclear role expectations) Poor / bad social interactions (interpersonal conflicts at work, (sexual) harassment, mobbing, bullying, other kinds of aggression; having to deal with difficult customers Working time arrangements (night- and shiftwork), long working hours, overtime Job-insecurity, underemployment, poor career opportunities Single events (exposure to disasters, major accidents, extremely dangerous activities) Organizational change (mergers, downsizing, implementation of new technologies) → may result in other stressors (job insecurity, overtime, social conflicts) Stress Reactions: • Stress in organizations affects both: individual & organization • Individual psychological responses: cardiovascular system (high blood pressure, increased levels of cholesterol and other metabolic and hemostatic risk factors, headache, eye strain, gastrointestinal problems)) • Cardiovascular system partly affected by hormones (stress affects excretion of hormones – catecholamines (adrenaline and noradrenaline) & corticosteroids (e.g., cortisol) → increases as stress increases • Physiological reactions may contribute to the development of illness, incl. coronary heart diseases • Stress is associated with increased risk of physical illnesses in the long run (→ immune functioning) • Effect on affective reactions (increase in negative affective states) → well-being and mental health suffer, stressful work situations are associated with increased level of depressive symptoms, psychosomatic complaints, burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization (cynism), reduced personal accomplishment, other distress symptoms • Stressors can have negative effects on the behavioral level → attention narrowed, working memory capacity reduced, also related to violence (e.g., sabotage), interpersonal aggression, hostility, unsafe behaviors, accidents, injuries • Individuals who experience stressors (particularly role stressors and hindrance stressors) are less committed to the organization, and show higher turnover intentions and actual turnover • Stress also influences outside of work settings → spillover in the family domain, adrenaline excretion rates remained elevated during leisure time in the evening, people find it difficult to detach mentally from work and engage in effortful leisure activities (sports & exercise), impaired marital relationships, poor quality of parent-child interactions Theories on organizational stress Two kinds of models: 1. Models that describe the stress process itself ▪ What happens when an individual is 2. Models that explain stress reactions (relationship between stressors and strains) exposed to a stressor (during the stress process) ▪ ▪ Specifies configurations of stressors that are associated with strains Typically neglects process aspects 1. Theoretical models focusing on the Stress Process Transactional Stress Model (Lazarus) • Psychological stress = “a particular relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding his or her resources and endangering his/ her well-being” • Cognitive appraisals: individual´s categorization and evaluation of an encounter with respect to this individual´s well-being o primary appraisal: categorization of irrelevant, benign-positive, stressful (stress appraisals comprise harm/loss, threat, challenge) o secondary appraisal: evaluation of what can be done in the face of the stressful encounter (coping options) • individuals start their coping processes, which can stimulate reappraisal processes Cybernetic Model (Edwards) • stress = “a discrepancy between an employee´s perceived state and desired state, provided that the presence of this discrepancy is considered important by the employee” • stress occurs when an individual´s perception and his/her desire results in a discrepancy • perception assumed to be influenced by the physical and social environment, personal characteristics of the individual, the individual´s cognitive construction of reality, social information • affects two outcomes: individual´s well-being & their coping efforts (reciprocal effects between these two) • moderated by importance of discrepancy and its duration 2. Theoretical models on the Relationship between stressful situations and strains Person-Environment Fit Theory • Stress = occurs because of a misfit between the individuals and the environment (it is neither the person nor the situation alone that causes stress experiences and strains) • Two types of misfit: o Demands-abilities fit (demands of environment, abilities of persons) o Needs-supplies fit (needs of the person, supplies from the environment) • Objective person and objective environment → refer to individual needs, abilities, competencies, environmental supplies and demands (independently of person´s perceptions) • Subjective person and subjective environment → refer to individual´s perceptions • Congruence between a) Objective environment and objective person b) Subjective environment and subjective person c) Subjective and objective environment (i.e., contact with reality) d) Subjective and objective person (i.e., accuracy of self-assessment) • Misfit between the subjective environment and the subjective person produces strain • Strain increases as demands exceed abilities and as needs exceed supplies • P-E misfit associated with psychological, physical and biological strains • Strain increases when fit between the person and his/her work environment decreases Job Demand – Job Control Model • Differentiates between two basic dimensions of workplace factors: • • • • • • • • • • • • o Job demands: work load demands put on the employee o Job decision latitude: employee´s decision authority and his/her skill discretion 2x2 matrix Stress: combination of high demands and low decision latitude in high-strain jobs most detrimental for people´s health and well-being Model assumes that high decision latitude attenuates negative effects of high demands More general job demands- job resource model: feedback, rewards, participation, supervisor support can buffer the negative effects of job demands on strain reactions and poor health Vitamin Model Non-linear relationships between work characteristics and individual outcomes Two types: o Constant effect on individual ▪ Positive outcomes increase as work characteristic increase, but only to certain point (after: no further effect, like vitamin C) ▪ Examples: salary, safety, task significance o Curvilinear relationship with well-being (like vitamin D) ▪ Positive to certain degree, but then every further increase has a negative effect ▪ Examples: job autonomy, social support, skill utilization Stress: implies that specific amount of job autonomy, job demands, social support, skill utilization, skill variety, and task feedback is beneficial for individual, but a very high level of these job characteristics creates a stressful situation Effort-Reward Imbalance Model Lack of reciprocity between costs and rewards experienced as stressful and results in strains The degree to which an individual´s efforts at work are rewarded or not is crucial for this person´s health and well-being Effort may be response to extrinsic and intrinsic demands Rewards comprise money, esteem, status control, job stability, status consistency, career advancement Situations in which high efforts do not correspond to high rewards result in distress situations and high arousal (→ increased risk of poor health) Empirical Evidence Main effects of stressful situations on individual well-being and health • Most studies cross-sectional (based on self-reports) → no inference about causality, empirical relationships between stressors and strains might be caused by third variables • Drift hypotheses: individuals with poor health are unable to retain favorable working conditions in the long run, while healthier individuals are promoted into better (less stressful) job • Health and well-being might also affect the perception of stressors, as individuals with poor health overestimate the stressfulness of their jobs Evidence from studies with objective measures of stressors: • Job stressors are related to poor health and well-being – even when objective stressor measures are used (like observation or occupational titles) Evidence from longitudinal studies • Coded empirical relationship between specific job stressor (e.g., workload) and specific strain outcome (e.g., psychosomatic complaints) was significant Overall findings from longitudinal studies testing lagged relationships from job stressors on strains and from strains on job stressors • It is more likely to find a significant relationship within time lags of 1 year and shorter, most probably because job stressors unfold their negative effects within a relatively short period of time Breakdown of longitudinal findings by stressor type • Differential reactions to job stressors: o for some persons, high job demands might be associated with an increase in emotional exhaustion o for others: development of physical health problems as a reaction to high job demands The Role of Resources • Stressors do not necessarily have a negative effect on the individual • Resources refer to conditions within the work situation (job and personal resources) • Do resources butter (e.g., moderate) the effects of stressors and strains? Job Control • Job control = one´s opportunities to influence one´s activities in relation to a higher order goal • Findings support idea of Karasek´s model (job demand – job control model) o When job demands are high and job control is low it is more likely that employees experience symptoms of poor mental health and impaired well-being • Strong empirical evidence for additive main effect of job demands and low job control • However, interaction effect has received far less support Social Support and Work Group Factors • Social support = “resources provided by others”, important for protecting an individual´s health and well-being; comprises emotional, information and instrumental support • Social support is negatively associated with strains, also to all three burnout indicators (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, reduced personal accomplishment) • Social support has the potential to buffer the negative effects of stressors • Social support functions as a buffer in the stressor-strain relationship when the support available matches the “specific need elicited by a stressful event” • Social support sometimes might have negative effects • Group work factors also play important role when it comes to stress in organizations (but also emotional contagion occurs in work groups= Coping Styles • A favorable coping style can be a core resource for bolstering an individual´s health and wellbeing o Problem-focused coping: problem solving behavior that aim directly at changing the stressor, other aspects of the environment, or one´s own behavior ▪ Pos. related to mental health and well being o Emotion-focused coping: attempts to manage cognitions or emotions directly ▪ Avoidance coping often found to be associated with poor well-being • Many studies did no find hypothesized moderator effects of coping Core Self-Evaluations • Core self-evaluations (comprising: internal locus of control, high self-esteem, high selfefficacy, emotional stability) neg. related to a broad range of strain symptoms (incl. burnout) • Less support for potential moderator effects (but: moderator effects for self-efficacy and emotional stability) Recovery Processes • For maintaining health and well-being important to unwind and recuperate from stress experience • When people engage in leisure activities, psychologically detach from work and relax during their free time, they enjoy more favourable affective states + better health and well-being • Psychological detachment from work during leisure time has the potential to alleviate the negative impact of job stressors on health and well-being Other Factors • Examples: type A individuals (competitive, hostile, impatient, hard-driving); hardiness, sense of coherence (main effects but no moderators) Conclusions about moderator effects • Resources need to match the stressors they should buffer; organizational and personal factors that are irrelevant for dealing with specific stressors cannot function as moderators • Has to be taken into account that not all potential resources might be equally important for all persons • Research on resources has revealed main effects of resources on health and well-being → implies that the availability of resources is helpful and beneficial in itself and across a wide range of situations (pays off to increase resources!) • Certain resources can even attenuate the negative effects of stressors on health and wellbeing Stress and Performance • Performance = individual´s actions that are relevant for organizational goals o Task performance = in-role behaviors that contribute to the organization´s technical core o Contextual performance = extrarole, discretionary behaviors that do not directly contribute to an organization´s technical core but are assumed to support its broader organizational, social, and psychological environment; it included behaviors that support the status quo (e.g., OCBs) and behaviors that intend to bring about change • Contradictory assumptions about how stressors in organizations affect performance But overall: negative association between job stressors and job performance • Plausible: stressors have a negative linear effect on performance: o Direct effect: stressors (particularly situational constraints) make task accomplishment more difficult, if not impossible o Indirect effect: decreasing alertness or motivation, narrowed attention, reduced working memory capacity • Differentiation between challenge and hindrance stressors particularly relevant when examining performance effects on stressors o Challenge stressors: (e.g., workload, high time pressure) are expected to increase performance o Hindrance stressors: (e.g., situational constraints, social conflicts) are expected to decrease performance • job stressors may impair not only task performance, but also OCB (low job satisfaction as mediator between job stressors and low levels of OCB) Stress and other aspects of organizational behavior • job stress is related to counterproductive work behavior, low organizational commitment, high turnover rates and – under specific conditions – increased levels of absenteeism • CWB (counterproductive work behavior) = behavior that intends to harm other people at work or the organization as a whole (includes: aggression, hostile behavior, theft, sabotage, and other destructive types of behavior) → negative emotions are mediator • Organizational commitment = refers to an individual´s bond or link to the organization (includes: attitudinal, normative, continuance aspects) → individuals perceiving more stressful work situations reported lower organizational commitment • Work-related strains and poor physical and psychological health are pos. related to absence behavior BUT does not imply that job stressors are related to absenteeism • Job stressors are positively related to intentions to quit the organization and to job search behavior; mainly hindrance stressors pos. related to turnover Stress interventions Overview stress interventions in organizations: Stressor Reduction • Individual stressor reduction often a consequence of stress management programs that alert employees to the fact that they can change certain aspects in their work environment o Presupposes certain degree of control over work • Organizational stressor reduction – examples: reduction of noise, reduction of interruptions at work • General stressor reduction approach: decrease number of working hours o Careful: don’t reduce resources and challenges as well (only stressors!) o Research to slow to tell us which stressors are particularly problematic and need to be taken care of • Reduction of stressors should be accompanied by an increase in resources Increase in Resources • Individual level resources: coping skills, efficacy beliefs, individual competencies → can be increased during stress intervention programs • Organizational stress interventions that aim at an increase in job control and an increase employee participation in decision making are promising approaches to reduce the effects of job stress Strain Reduction Individually oriented strain reduction programs: • Clear and positive effects of individually oriented strain reduction programs (interpret a situation not as stressful but as challenge, improve coping strategies, and reducing strain by stress immunization and relaxation techniques) • Two techniques mainly used: o Relaxation techniques: progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, biofeedback o Cognitive-behavioral techniques: based on cognitive therapy for depression (Rational-Emotional Therapy) and on stress immunization or stress inoculation → cognitive-behavioral programs are powerful intervention method • Stress management programs probably less useful for blue-collar workers than white-collar workers and managers (they have a higher degree of job control and higher job status) Organizational approach to reducing strain • Provide rest periods (also during work) • Rest periods should be organizationally prescribed and monitored because people tend to take less frequent and too short rest periods when left to their own decisions • Organizations could support rest activities such as relaxation, meditation, or even napping by providing “silent rooms” Lifestyle Changes Individually oriented lifestyle change programs • Attempt to improve diet, support healthy living (e.g., by reducing alcohol and tobacco consumption) • Encourage exercise Organizational approaches • Have not been studied extensively as potential stress interventions • Encouraging light sports already great influence (e.g., encouraging employees to use the stairs) Conclusions on Stress Interventions • Best developed areas of stress interventions refer to stress management techniques, lifestyle changes and rest periods (individual level) Overall conclusions • • Organizational stress has detrimental effects on individual health and well-being Investigation of objective stressors (not just the perception of stressors) are related to indicators of poor health and well-being • Stressors have a causal effect on health and well-being (increase in strain levels over time, also the other way around but weak) • Resources are important for an individual´s health and well-being (e.g., job control, social support and core self-evaluations) Many suggestions for future research