Industrial and organization psychology

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Topic 8 – Occupational stress

MGMT341 – Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Summary of topic 7

Industrial psychologists attracted to Lewin’s force field theory have sought to explain behaviour at work in terms of causes, called social forces or group pressure

Although experiments are advanced to support these views, it is possible to re-interpret their results as evidence that people choose their behaviour rather than being forced into it

Another field where psychologists have sought to apply Lewin’s ideas is occupational stress, loosely defined as the opposite of well-being at work

Ill-health issues linked to work such as depression, suicide, etc. make headlines regularly

Occupational stress is now daily news; managers ignore it at their perils, for they expose their organisations to lawsuits and hefty compensation payments

Topic 8: Agenda

The concept of stress

Stress and performance

Repetitive Strain Injury

NB: the content of this lecture has been extracted from Chapter 10 of Lansbury, R. & Spillane, R. 1991. Organisational Behaviour: The Australian Context 2nd ed. Southbank: Longman Cheshire (cf. myGust)

Growing concerns

The focus on productivity at work, combined with the rise of automation, has been accompanied by concerns about employee health and safety

Score of studies have confirmed that work effectiveness and employee well-being are deeply linked

People who report being dissatisfied with their work are more likely to suffer from physical disorders than people whose work is described as challenging and interesting

The incidence of sleep problems and use of medication are highest among people with monotonous jobs with little or no opportunity to learn or develop basic skills

People with constrained jobs are less likely to participate social or cultural activities outside their job

These matters have received considerable attention from industrial psychologists

Most countries have now adopted occupational health and safety legislation

More and more cases are brought before the courts for arbitration; compensation payments have been at times very high

The concept of stress

Stress means different things to different people

To engineers, stress is a force which deforms bodies, ultimately to the point of breakdown

To managers, stress makes employees work harder

To physiologists, stress is the release of chemicals in the body when it prepares itself for action

To sociologists, stress is the reaction of people to unfavourable social conditions like poverty, unemployment or war

To psychologists, stress refers to the psycho-physiological changes which occur when people try to cope with demands on them and which can lead to breakdown

Although psychologists have modelled their definition of stress on that of engineers, important differences exist

There is no tangible entity or force called ‘psychological stress’; only its effects on people can be observed and these have to be communicated before they can be known

Psychological stress is therefore a relational term: it is a metaphor employed to describe particular interactions between individuals and their environment

Unlike physical objects, different people respond to psychological stress differently; video here

Stress and stressors

Demands placed on people that produce physiological and psychological reactions are called stressors

Shiftwork, night work or work on a fast-paced assembly line increases heart rate and flow of hormones in most individuals; a general fatigue and feeling of frustration are also often reported but different people respond differently

Importantly, stressors can only be identified by their effects on people: there is no such thing as a stressor in itself

For instance, loud noise is not in itself a stressor because of the meaning that is attached to it: while for some people, noise is stressful because associated with the possibility of danger, for others it is pleasurable stimulation

If noise is understood as part and parcel of one’s job that is otherwise valued, then people typically decide to put up with it

Stress and stressors are therefore subjective matters

Psychologists have therefore tried to measure stress through questionnaires called ‘attitude surveys’, which try to capture general feelings toward work, working conditions and employer

Physiological aspects

To assess the physiological cost of stress, researchers have used biochemical techniques to measure hormonal levels in blood, urine and saliva, as well as heart rate and blood pressure

Many animal and human studies have established that intensity of stressors and hormonal levels correlate

Arousing (exciting) stimuli increase adrenaline levels

Efforts to reach a goal are associated with noradrenaline release (‘fight’ response)

Cortisol secretion is associated with feelings of hopelessness and despair

Adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisol, heart rate and blood pressure increase when performance is maintained under difficult conditions

While it is not possible to say that hormonal secretion is by itself indicator of stress that is harmful to present or future well-being, it has been established that elevated hormonal levels are associated with degenerative diseases like cancer

Which is the cause and which is the effect is not known, however

Distress

Stressful situations for which there is no solution generate chronic stress, or distress

The long term effects of distress can be serious

Being stressed, the body is prepared for action through the release of hormones and other chemicals, which does not eventuate

These chemicals, being unused, have a detrimental effect on some organs

Because its effects are usually difficult to discern in the short term but are serious when finally detected, occupational (di)stress has been called in the media ‘the silent killer’

Commonly cited consequences of stress

Physical

Heart diseases and strokes

Digestive problems

Back pain, headaches

Increased blood pressure and heart rate

Psychological

Feelings of exhaustion and burnout

Anxiety

Sleep problems

Family issues

Behavioural

Absence

Lateness

Drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse

Accidents

Poor performance

Turnover

A loaded issue

The interest for occupational stress has had two faces

Managers are interested in ensuring that employees remain engaged, committed and productive at work

Unions want to protect employees’ health (psychological and physiological) for its own sake yet realise that a stressed employee is more likely to join a union

Although both parties have commissioned industrial psychologists to investigate stress-related matters, for reasons exposed in week 1, most research on occupational stress has been conducted on behalf of management

Very few independent studies exist

Limitations of ‘attitude surveys’

One important problem with ‘attitude surveys’ (a better name would be ‘perception surveys’) is that questions bear heavily on answers

For instance, questions like ‘are you satisfied with your present job?’ or ‘do you feel accepted by people in your group’ attract highly positive responses

Conversely, questions such as ‘do you receive enough information about your career prospects?’ or ‘do you receive enough information about organizational change?’ typically attract negative answers

People are therefore unreliable instruments for measuring the general fitness of the work environment

More generally, attitude research focuses on employees’ response to work, not to the adequacy of work itself

Quite naturally, managers have tended to attribute high levels of stress to incompetent or socially maladjusted employees, not to the work environment

Stress and performance

Stress is necessary to performance, even to life, because stress is a form and source of energy

Without the stimulation of stress, people become bored, apathetic and inactive, physically as well as psychologically; in many professions, people look actively for stress

Without stress no one would be able to survive difficult conditions: it is because people experience stress that they defend themselves against a threat

The only place where one can find people who are not stressed at all is a cemetery

Conversely, too much stress flowing from too many problems leads to physical and psychological exhaustion, lack of focus, irritability, poor performance and ultimately withdrawal or breakdown

Although some people require more stimulation than others and respond to it with energy and determination, there is a point beyond which performance deteriorates

There is therefore a level of stress at which performance is maximised: this is the Yerkes-Dodson Law, discovered in 1908

This is why ‘job satisfaction’ (however defined or measured) is not a relevant indicator and should not even be taken into account

A level of job dissatisfaction is required for employees to try harder; in other words, job dissatisfaction is another (if unfortunate) name for the desire to improve

The Yerkes-Dodson Law

A central concept: controllability

Workload has quantitative and qualitative aspects

Quantitative aspects refer to the amount of work to be performed

Qualitative aspects refer to the complexity of the tasks involved

Occupational stress can therefore come from

Quantitative overload: too much to do, not enough time

Qualitative overload: tasks too complex, new job, too much accountability with too little authority

Quantitative underload: too little to do, too little variation in tasks

Qualitative underload: too simple job in relation to personal resources

To perform, people at work therefore need to have a moderately varied flow of experience and events as well as authority and accountability

In order to do this, they need to be able to exercise sufficient control over the stimulation in their jobs

The essential aspect to effective coping with stress (and to performance) is thus controllability, the control people have over job-related decisions

People faced with an environment they cannot control in some important aspects often call their situation ‘stressful’, irrespective of the nature of their job

Robert Karasek’s stress model (1979)

		Job demands on workers
		Low	High
Control over job	Low (unskilled or semi-skilled jobs)	Passive People losing ability to make judgements, solve problems and accept challenges; feelings of monotony and coercion (ex: janitor, night watchman)	High stress Highest frequency of stress symptoms; feelings of exhaustion and depression (ex: mail worker, cashier)
	High (professional or managerial jobs)	Low stress High levels of participation in social activity (ex: dentist, architect)	Active High levels of participation in social activity (ex: actor, physiotherapist)

Executives and line workers report stressful jobs, but executives declare higher job satisfaction.

Findings based on studies on bus drivers, hospital employees and white-collar workers.

Other findings

Among those involved in low-control and machine-paced jobs, feelings of monotony are more intense among young and better-educated workers

Income differences do not matter on reported stress levels

Workplace accidents are more frequent when remuneration is based on hourly rates

Shift-work and irregular working hours are detrimental to health and family life

Passive jobs lead to non-participation in active and creative leisure activities (‘carry over’ effect)

Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)

RSI is a general term used to describe pain felt in muscles, nerves and tendons attributed to repetitive movement and overuse

Unknown until the late 1970s, incidences of RSI exploded in the 1980s (five-fold increase between 1979 and 1984 in Australia; comparable statistics for the USA)

Even if numbers have plateaued or fallen since, RSI cases have led to very high increases in insurance premiums and compensation payments (more than $20bn in 2000 for the USA alone); it is estimated that RSI cost US employers over $80bn in 1993

February 28 is Repetitive Strain Injury Awareness Day in Canada

Although RSI has been attributed to automation (including the rapid computerization of the office throughout the 1980s) and productivity gains, how can a global ‘epidemic’ of such proportions be explained?

Another outstanding feature of the debate about RSI is the lack of agreement (indeed, vigorous controversy) among experts about its nature, causes and prevention

Four perspectives have been proposed to explain RSI: biomechanical, psychiatric, malingering and pain-patient

Biomechanical perspective

RSI is a medical condition that can be diagnosed: workers are physically injured

RSI is deemed to be a condition similar to carpal tunnel syndrome

The injury is caused by repetitive movement, inadequate work environment and practices which can and must be corrected

Treatment includes rest and physiotherapy; typical video here

This is by far the dominating perspective, adopted by many National Health & Safety bodies or commissions

On such bases, responsibility lies with the employer

Compensation payments logically follow since duty of care has been breached

Problem: no physical evidence has ever been observed to confirm the biomechanical explanation

Psychiatric perspective

RSI is not a physical condition but a psychiatric problem

Workers unconsciously ‘convert’ psychological issues into apparently physiological ones that are symbolic but not real

Such psychogenic illnesses which closely mimic physical diseases have been know to occur ‘en masse’ in industrial settings

The source of the illness is not to be found in the physical work environment but in psychic or personal conflict

The worker requires psychotherapeutic assistance

The employer is not at fault; compensation payments are unwarranted

The psychiatric perspective has been used by employers’ lawyers to avoid compensation payments, most of the time unsuccessfully

Malingering perspective

RSI is neither a medical condition or a psychiatric problem but faked illness

RSI is a hoax that workers consciously use to obtain compensation payments, sick leaves, special arrangements, etc.

This view has remained marginal

When advanced, it has been met with public furore, since it impugns workers’ motives and medical professionals’ diagnostic skills

The fact remains, however, that no unambiguous physiological sign has ever been associated with RSI

RSI cases are diagnosed solely on the basis of communications (complaints) from the worker

Pain-patient perspective

Workers have always been liable to experience pain

Pain on the job is nothing new and those who experience it are essentially healthy

What is new is the decision to complain about it

The social environment (colleagues, family or friends, union representatives, the media, etc.) has encouraged healthy people experiencing pain to become patients with pain

This is all the more likely to happen that there are incentives (notably sympathetic response from friends and family, compensation payments) to do so

Signs and symptoms: being ill and being a patient

Sign	Symptom	Patient	Example
Yes	Yes	Yes	Patient with symptomatic illness (‘normal’ patient)
Yes	Yes	No	Non-patient with symptomatic illness (‘stoic’ or ‘hardy’ individual)
Yes	No	Yes	Patient with asymptomatic illness (detected through a routine health check)
Yes	No	No	Non-patient with asymptomatic illness (previous case before detection)
No	Yes	Yes	Patient with symptoms but no detectable illness (RSI)
No	Yes	No	Non-patient with symptoms but no signs
No	No	Yes	Patient with neither symptoms nor detectable illness (malingerers)
No	No	No	Healthy person

A medical sign is “an objective indication of some medical fact or characteristic […] detected by a physician during a physical examination of a patient.” (Wikipedia)

A symptom is “a departure from normal function or feeling which is noticed by a patient, indicating the presence of disease or abnormality. A symptom is subjective, observed by the patient and not measured.” (Wikipedia)

The choice of patienthood

Unless one is declared sick for non-medical reasons (for instance, political dissidents were called mentally ill in Soviet Russia), patienthood is a choice

It is not because one is sick that one has to behave as sick: one can decide to conceal pain

The RSI movement captures the fears and prejudices of industrial life and leads to a redefinition of oneself from healthy to sick person

Patient becomes a status, one that is the object of empathy and envy (since compensation payments are normally forthcoming) from friends and peers

Being officially sick, people with no control over their job open themselves the possibility to take the initiative, that of suing their employer and being the object of attention of doctors, lawyers and union representatives

RSI can therefore be understood as a confrontational behavioural strategy adopted to regain some control over one’s situation and ultimately some dignity in one’s job

The pain-patient perspective has not received much attention

This is unfortunate, because it is the only one that offers a comprehensive model of the RSI phenomenon

A remedy worse than the disease?

RSI has been widely considered a biomechanical problem

That is, as a medical condition (first category in the previous table)

In addition to compensation payments to those affected, this view has resulted in widespread reorganisations of the work environment and adjustments of work practices to prevent further occurrences

Restriction of keyboard activities, height of desks and computer screens, forced rotation of workers, mandatory breaks, etc.

Remedial measures have therefore reduced workers’ autonomy and ability to control their workspace and routines

Since those who report suffering from RSI are found mainly among workers who have little control over their job, the remedy will at best be ineffective but can be expected to worsen the incidence of RSI cases

Statistics compiled by the Australian National Occupational Health & Safety Commission have confirmed this analysis

Occupational stress: conclusion

Work effectiveness and efficiency on the one hand and employee well-being on the other are closely related

The quest for productivity must not come at the expense of health and safety

Stress is a relationship between individuals and their environment and cannot be understood outside of that relationship

People exposed to stimuli which they find stressful are more likely to suffer from psychological and physiological problems

These problems are more serious among people with narrow, monotonous jobs which do not allow individuals to learn and expand their skills

In the absence of signs, managers must remain open to the fact that stress claims can be complains about lack of autonomy and control, not about physical working conditions

MGMT341

Questions?