Relationship between Workplace Stress and Organizational Productivity in Competitive Environment – A case study of IT sector
Abstract
Stress is fast becoming a universal phenomenon in every field of life, especially life. IT industry has evolved in the last two decades in the phenomenal manner. There is a growing need to understand the impact of this change in work environment on the employees working in this industry.
Method: A questionnaire based survey is being done on a sample size of 204 in Delhi NCR area in IT industry.
Originality/Value: Dynamism in the IT industry has led to change in work environment and expectations and capabilities of employees, hence a study is being done to find the new factors entered in the arena and its impact
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Stress is desirable to generate enthusiasm, creativity, and productivity to certain extent. However, they believe that stress can become counterproductive if the level of stress is higher than needed in a particular situation. These two researchers also state that it is the responsibility of the organization to develop the ability of its own employees to control the intensity of stress (Victor Rojas et.al, 2000).
Han Selye, the leading authority on the concept of stress, described it as, “the role of all wear and tear caused by life”. Charles J. Givens in his book Super Self says, “Stress is a mental and physical condition about which there seems to be little that is positive, productive or desirable. Stress is a condition that seems to creep in to life uninvited and unwanted, and is often unnoticed for a time.
According to American Heritage Dictionary, stress is a state of extreme difficulty, pressure or strain. Increased stress may result in increased productivity up to a point, which may again vary from person to
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Otherwise the outcome will be loss of productive hours due to absenteeism, turn over, total cost of work-related accidents and work that is not up to the standards. Basically short bursts of stress may help the employees to realize their true potential and boost the organizational productivity, but prolonged exposure to stressful environment becomes counterproductive and reduces productivity.
An individual has to manage the stress at optimum level and use different coping mechanisms to convert bad stress to positive one. Exercise, time management, prioritizing and diary management are the keywords that buzz around your life to make it more satisfying and fulfilling.
In an organizational context, Empowerment is defined as a multi-dimensional social process that helps employees gain control over their own activities by fostering power in employees. In that perspective, it has been promoted as a general recipe for enhancing work performance as it is considered to give employees the power to be involved in decisions and hence develop greater commitment to their organization (Brewer, 1996; Janssen, 2004; Niehoff et al, 2001; Seibert, Silver & Randolph, 2004; Tjosvold & Sun, 2006; Ugboro, 2006; Moye & Henkin, 2006; Chen et al, 2008). Empowerment is considered as an integral part of positive psychology which offers scope for enhancing positive work attitudes in the workplace (Alexander,
Unit 2 Assignment: Diagnostic Writer’s Response Whether it is a little or a lot, everyone experiences stress at some point. Stress does not always have a negative effect, most of the time the effects can be positive. On the other hand stress is associated with the development of most major mental health problems such as depression, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and pathological aging (Marin, 2011). It has also been linked to all leading physical causes of death such as heart disease, cancer and stroke (Cohen, Janicki-Deverts, & Miller, 2007).
All that we do, we are bound to encounter stress. Stress can be defined as a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances. Whenever one is facing difficulty ,suffering anxiety, or feeling worried,stress will immediately take over. Stress has been, and will remain to be, a natural part of our daily routine. This causes many to underestimate its overall effects.
According to National Institute of Health, stress is an internal state that people experience as they encounter changes throughout their lives. III. I have learned about the effects of stress due to my personal experience such as dealing with depression, weight gain, and being antisocial. IV. Today I will explain the physical, mental, and emotional effects of stress.
Stress is an internal response to external factors. Any event that causes us to react either physically, emotionally, or mentally is considered stress. Stress events may be pleasant, unpleasant, mild, or intense. The word stress comes from a Latin term meaning “strain, pressure, or force”. In general, EMS encounters
Stress can be something that causes strong feelings of worry or anxiety. “Stress can be a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation” (Merriam-Webster, 2014) A person experiences stress “when a demand exceeds that person’s coping abilities, resulting in reactions such as disturbances of cognition, emotion and behavior” (Huether & McCance, 2012, p. 208) Stress is “a reaction to stressful situations at work that leads to a physiological response manifested by psychosomatic symptoms such as hypertension and headache” (Toh, Ang, & Devi, 2012, p. 127). Stress occurs when the situational demands outpace the individual’s ability to
So what is stress? Gurung explains that a stressor is anything that causes a stress response –i.e. increased heart rate and breathing etc. ,, if a situation does not cause a physiological stress response then it is just an event (p. 103). In earlier times stressors were predominately physical –wild animals, enemy attacks etc., while these certainly still exists today, most of our stressors in modern day America are psychological.
Employee Empowerment Employee empowerment involves the workforce being provided with a greater degree of flexibility and more freedom to make decisions relating to work. Individuals are allowed to take personal responsibility for improving the way they do their jobs and contribute to the achievement of organizational goals. The four dimensions of empowerment in accordance to Spreitzer’s (1995) study are defined as follows: i. Meaning: The value one places on the importance on a given job, based on the individual’s own standards and ideals (Thomas and Velthouse, 1990) ii. Competence: The ability or capability of the individual to perform tasks or responsibilities assigned.
The workplace had become a high stress environment in many organizations cutting across industries. Employees were experiencing high level of stress due to various factors
According to this author, empowerment is the ‘process of challenging existing power relations and of gaining greater control over the sources of power’ (Batliwala, 1994). The conclusion
Specific Purpose: To inform the audience about how stress develops and its effects on the workplace. Tentative Thesis: Though the definition of stress is already well-known among our society, we remain ignorant towards how stress develops everywhere and influences the workplace. Introduction I. Attention
Stress management skills are a good thing to have although most people can not manage it. Finding the cause to your stress will lead you to help managing your stress better. Changing your perception on the stress you are dealing with will give you a different mindset and help you learn to better deal with the stress. Avoiding and altering the situation assist in reducing the amount of stress you have in your life. Many health issues are caused by stress, it is very harmful to your body to have too much stress weighting on your shoulders.
Stress refers to a dynamic interaction between the individual and the environment. In this interaction, demands, limitations and opportunities related to work may be perceived as threatening to surpass the individual's resources and skills. Stress is any physical or psychological stimulus that disturbs the adaptive state and provoked a coping response The increasing interest in stress research is probably because we live in a world that includes many stressful circumstances and stress has been a global phenomenon. It has become an integral part of life and is said to be the price we all pay for the struggle to stay alive.
) There are many different kinds of support given to workers in order to help them deal with stress. Here we will be looking at types of stress support given to employees as well as their stressors, by giving examples of these derived from the case study. Types of support given can include psychological support, cognitive support, employee assistance programs and physical support (Lehrer et al, 1994). Types of stressors that employees face are work overload, work-life balance, emotional and physical labor, job ambiguity and job demands (Danna & Griffin, 1999). Under psychological support there are various mediation and relaxation techniques that are used in order to help support employees suffering from stress.
Stress involves interaction of the person and environment. To quote a definition: “Stress is an adaptive response to an external situation that results in physical, psychological and / or behavioural deviations for organizational participants” (Luthans, 1998). Stress has generally been viewed as a set of neurological and physiological reactions that serves an adaptive function (Franken, 1994). Traditionally, stress research has been oriented toward studies involving the body's reaction to stress and the cognitive processes that influence the perception of stress. However, social perspectives of the stress response have noted that different people experiencing similar life conditions are not necessarily affected in the same manner (Pearlin, 1982).
Stress is a ubiquitous part of everyday life. There is no way to avoid stress but you can learn to manage it. Stress can be caused through distinct ways and distinct reasons such as personal problems, social and job issues, post-traumatic stress and so on. You may have headache, feeling anxiety and depression, and easily irritated if did not handle stress well. Reduce stress in daily life is important to keep overall health since it will let you to have better frame of mind, enhance immunity and longevity so you can be more productive.