Factors Causing of Work Related Stress - Research Proposal Example

Running Head: WORK RELATED STRESS Factors Causing of Work Related Stress Name Institution Date Abstract The working environment is very important and directly affects the level of productivity. It can result to work related stress which in extreme cases affects the workers health. This study seeks to understand different factors that result to stress in the work place, how they affect the people involved and the coping strategies adopted. To achieve this, a detailed questionnaire was used to collect first hand information. Two respondents were detailed from different working environments. The results were later analyzed and interpreted. There was an evident relationship when some factors were considered. These included education level, age of the worker and flow of communication in the organization. A relationship was identified in regard to workload and stress in the work place. From this research, it is clear that work related stress can be controlled through proper management and stakeholder involvement in decision making process. Factors Resulting to Work Related Stress First hand information has been found to be more objective rather than the use of secondary data in investigating issues that affect human beings. In dealing with stress, it is important to identify the root causes of the problem and the means to solve such problems. An interview was hence conducted to identify different perspectives on work related stress, individual identified causes and to identify if there is any relationship to work related stress and the level of education. This will form a basis to developing possible solutions. Work nature has drastically changed over the past years and hence making work related stress inevitable. This form of stress has not spared any profession though the degree at which it is experienced differs from one form of job to another and with personality traits of the workers. If the conditions that result to the stress are not kept under a check, it can result to failure of the organization. In addition, individuals health may be affected and hence their job performance. What is stressing to one person may not be necessarily be a cause of stress to another. The symptoms of stress have been found to include digestive problems, mood swings, loss of concentration, and low learning ability. At least a total of thirteen million are wasted in America due to stress. At least 85% of serious diseases and 75% of all visits to the doctor by workers have been attributed to stress experienced in the work place (Semmer, 2007). In addition to this, much of the managers’ time is lost addressing the issues on stress. The financial and economic implications of stress demand that organization seek for ways to reduce or eliminate stressful moments. There are different theories and researches that have been developed to explain work related stress. In coming up with these theories, stressors have been identified. They include work overload, role ambiguity, role conflict, psychological and sexual harassment in the working environment, conflict on leadership, politics and power related issues, physical environment, job insecurity and chaos resulting from adaptation of new techniques or introduction of change in an organization (Bupa’s health information team, 2008). One can also be stressed on realization that they lack control over a situation or the organization. Identifying the main causes of stress in the work place would provide a road map in dealing with these stresses hence increasing productivity. Time wasted by workers in dealing with the stressful moment would otherwise be used to ensure development (Mcshane & Travanglione, 2007). Work related stress has been closely related to level of education and position held. Chances of experiencing work related stress increase with position held. Though some circumstances that lead to stress are inevitable, the most important thing is to develop mechanisms of dealing with the stress. Health has been described as a persons complete mental, socials, spiritual and physical state of well being. If any of this is lacking, the person cannot be considered to be health. Job related stress affects the mental and social well being of a person which may in turn affect the physical and spiritual well being (The mental health foundation, 2007). As a result reducing factors that result to any form of stress is paramount. Though pressure is unavoidable, it is necessary to ensure that employees develop important coping skills and strategies to deal with such challenges. Null Hypothesis There is no any relationship between work related stress and workload Research methodology The research was a case study research that included two people in different working organization. To ensure that important data was collected, the research took three hours and the participants were interviewed in their most convenient environment. Establishment of a good rappo was important since sensitive data was been collected. Participant had the freedom to withdraw from the study if they so wished and they signed a consent form as an indication that they gave the information willingly. The research was only conducted after respondents were informed of the purpose of the study. This assured them that the information would remain confidential and would not by any means be used against them. Respondent Both participants were female who experienced different stress levels. Participant A was aged more than 56 years and had acquired a school certificate and TAFE. Participant B was aged 26 years and had a higher education than the first respondent. In addition, both of them were single ladies who had 2 and 1 child respectively. Material The instrument used was a questionnaire. All the questions were directed so as to ease analysis and interpretation. Answering the questionnaire consumed three hours. The questionnaire included collection of demographic data, employment information, physical health, sources of work pressure and coping strategies. These questions were adequate in understanding the levels of stress experienced by the workers. Procedure The researcher posed predetermined questions to the respondent. Before the actual research was conducted, a pretesting of the questionnaire was conducted to ensure that there were no ambiguous questions and any errors made while formulating the questionnaire were corrected. The respondent was given adequate time to respond to the questions while including any extra information. To gain more understanding, the respondent was requested to clarify her answers. The respondent was also given time to add any extra information. Results A relationship was established when considering level of education, organization politics and work related stress. Those with higher education were stressed when they realized that they lacked the control. According to the demographic data collected, young people of middle age were found to experience more stress than the older people since they desired to be in control. The workers took less days for sick leave because they were in a dilemma. Though they got sick and felt the need to take a rest, they could not take a leave often since they needed the money for their family upkeep. The main source of stress was poor flow of information from the top rank to the lowest rank. Stakeholders needed to be actively involved in decision making process. There was an identified relationship in stress level, age and coping strategies. To answer the question on the coping strategies, the young people were found to respond to the stress by changing their eating habits and engaging in alcohol consumption. Muscle trembling was experienced by the young people and not the old. This could have indicated different levels of stress. However, the old lady took more days in a sick leave than the first one indicating that she got sick more often than the young lady. Another coping strategy was laziness where the worker did not feel like waking up and reporting to the job. However, they had to report to work as a duty. Lack of power and influence was a common source of stress. Every person wanted to feel part of the decision making process. In addition lack of skills to carry out assigned task was a cause of stress. The respondents viewed such tasks as involving and time consuming and were most comfortable doing things that they were skilled in. Discussion The young worker interviewed represented the youth and how they reacted to stress at the work place. The fact that they reacted to this by consumption of alcohol could be because they are young and unlike the old people, they view this as a means to relive the stress. Muscle trembling could have been caused by a combination of factors and not necessarily stress at the work place. The old interviewee did not experience the same hence the conclusion. It could have resulted from a combination of stress and increased alcohol consumption which was a coping strategy for the young interviewee. Stress in the work place results to low productivity and in extreme cases can lead to a loss. This is explained by the fact that the employees reacted to stress by feeling lazy or were not feeling like waking up in the morning. This could result to reporting to the job late and exposing oneself to chances of being more stressed. The ways conflicts are solved in an organization determine success or failure in eliminating stressors (The mental health foundation, 2007). Most organization have poor means of resolving conflicts. This should be addressed if the organization is to stabilize bearing in mind that conflict is inevitable. Every worker wanted to feel important in the organization they were working in. as a result, if one lacked the power to influence the decision making process, they were stressed. This is common in all organizations. When someone lacks total control of the situation, certain decisions may be made that are contrary to his or her desires. Since the main source of stress is the control of information flow and order of command, having leaders who have developed good leadership skills and strategies is important. Though the situations may not be prevented, a reoccurrence of the same is prevented and control over the situation is exercised to reduce the impact. Respect and recognition in the work place is a fundamental need in the human life. As a result, suppressing this need will always result to stressful moment and hence reduced productivity. This need can be met by allowing all workers in spite of the position held to freely participate in the decision making process. Different power bases should be applied in different situations to restore order and enhance productivity. Lack of knowhow to carryout various tasks and activities result to stress and if not controlled can result to a burnout. Workers should therefore be assigned tasks in relation to their knowledge and acquired skills. If there be any need to assign a task outside a persons profession and experience, training should be offered to enhance efficiency. This research can be generalized to workers who are below the managerial position. Limitations of the study This study cannot be generalized to a wide population since the people interviewed were women only and from only two forms of job. Different working environments have different stressors and different people deal with situations differently. Therefore, a research should be carried out to identify if there exists a relationship between gender and stress in the working place. In addition, the study assumes that workers only take a sick leave as a result of work related stress. References Semmer, N. (2007). Occupational health: Stress at the work place. Geneva: university of Bern, WHO. Bupa’s health information team. (April 2008). Stress in the workplace. http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact-sheets/htlm National association for mental health (Feb 2007). Guide to surviving work life: mind, The mental health foundation (March 2007). Work-life balance. Health & Safety Executive (February 2007) Psychosocial Working Conditions in Britain 2006. Mcshane, S. & Travanglione, T. (2007). Organizational behaviour on the pacific: McGraw-Hill Australia Pty ltd. Read More