ASSIGNMENT

Question 1, answer: Stress is defined as Stress is defined as an internal state which can be caused by
physical demands on the body or by environmental and social situations which are evaluated as
potentially harmful, uncontrollable or exceeding our resources for coping. The physical, environmental
or social causes of stress states are termed as “stressors”. These are the events that cause our body to
give the response.

Question 2, answer: Stimulus Theory of Stress Holmes and Rahe advanced this theory that proposed
that life changes (life events) or (stressors), either positive or negative, are stressors that tax the
adaptation capacity of an individual, causing physiological and psychological strains that lead to health
problems. According to them feature of stressful stimuli are unpleasant, threatening, undesirable,
uncomfortable and demanding. They developed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS). They
hypothesized that people with higher scores in the SRRS- that is major life changes are more likely to
experience physical or mental illness. There is some supporting evidence to this, but the correlation is
fairly low. Moreover, this theory was criticized as ignoring the cognitive aspects of the effects of stress.

Lazarus(1966) perspective considered failure, noxious or unpleasant agents in the environment,

isolation, rapid social changes as stressors. Other stimulus events are loss of personal, physical or
affective, frustrated of expectations, rewards or goals, failure of social changing mechanisms, approach-
avoidance conflict situations.

Simons defined stress as an environmental stimulus. It is a set of causes not symptoms.

Response Theory of Stress: this theory states how an individual responds to the stress. Its emphasis is on
the meaning of the stimulus, when demands exceed our resources, stress occurs. This model emphasizes
the common physiological consequences of stressful situation. It is represented in the well-known theory
of Hans Selye. It is similar to the “Fight or Flight” response, which occurs in situation that perceived as
very threatening. The response is a physiological one in which arousal of the sympathetic nervous system
results in many physiological and somatic changes and finally disruption of homeostasis. Selye developed
this idea into a theoretical model of stress called the General Adaptation Syndrome theory. He defined
stress as (a non-specific response and demand made upon the body). He proposed that different types of
stimuli would result in similar physiological responses. The GAS theory has three phases, which is based
on the hypothesis that the body has normal level of resistance to stress.

Phase (I): Initial alarm resulting in a slight reduction in the resistance to stress, (The Shock stage). The
parasympathetic nervous system is activated and hormones (e.g. adrenalin and noradrenaline) are released
increased heart and respiration rates, as well as increased production of adrenal hormones; in a sense, the
body is preparing for battle.

Phase (II): RESISTANCE remains high until the final stage of exhaustion, where resistance rapidly drops.
Adaptation resources are mobilized to combat stressors. Outwardly the body may appear to be
functioning normally, however levels of blood glucose, cortisol and adrenaline remain higher than normal
and the individual’s heart rate, blood pressure and breathing will be higher than normal. The individual
may appear calm but they are physically and mentally at ‘action stations’.
Phase (III): which starts with exhaustion and described as Collapse, where disease occurs. The stage of
exhaustion is also characterized by a compromised immune system, which makes it more difficult for
the body to fight off infection. Adaptation energy stores are depleted and the body cannot function
adequately. Blood sugar levels drop and the individual becomes vulnerable to disease and death.
Continued chronic stress can lead to a number of related diseases and issues, such as type 2 diabetes,
ulcers, and hypertension, anxiety and depression.

Transaction Theory of Stress: It is a broad integrating framework. Stress has been defined as a transaction
between person-environment, developed primarily by Lazarus and Folkman. Stress is said to occur in the
face of demand that taxes or exceeds the resources of the system, when there is no adaptive response. This
perspective emphasizes cognitive appraisal and coping responses. They believe that people have the
capacity to think, evaluate, and then react. Thinking can make stress either better or worse. Lazarus
developed an interaction theory, which emphasizes the role of cognition. This theory proposed that people
engage in TWO- STAGE PROCESS of appraisal: A Primary Appraisal Process: Determine whether the
event represents a threat to the individual. This result in three outcomes: Events regarded as irrelevant.
Events regarded as positive to well-being. Events regarded as negative to well-being. This negative
appraisal leads to: A Secondary Appraisal Process: Here the individuals assess their COPING
RESOURCES. These resources include environmental factors, social support or help, knowledge, and
skills to reduce this threat. Some people are more prone to feeling stress than others, irrespective of event.

Appraisals of potentially stressful events are influenced by two factors: (1) the controllability of events
(2) the predictability of events. Events are more stressful when they are uncontrollable and unpredictable.
Effects of Coping Resources and Strategies -When coping outcomes are positive such as accepting the
death of a relative or passing an exam, a psychological adjustment or adaptation takes place. However,
unsuccessful coping leads anxiety and depression or exacerbate other physical and mental disease.
Maladjustment or maladaptation is more frequently associated with situation when Primary or Secondary
Appraisals fail to identify an appropriate course of action. These may include: Uncertainty: “I don’t know
what is going on”. Unpredictability: “I don’t know what is going to happen”. Uncontrollability: “I don’t
know what to do about it” OR “There is nothing that I can do” OR “There is nothing anyone can do”.

Question 3, answer: According to Hans Selye also known as the ‘father of stress research’, stress is a
physiological response pattern. The theory is based on animal research (rats) . Selye did experiments
where he exposed rats to various stressors (e.g. cold, surgical injury, excessive exercise).The animals all
showed the same general physiological responses such as enlarged adrenal glands, diminished thymus
(important organ in the immune system) and ulcers when they were exposed to stressors. Some of them
died. Selye concluded that rats (and humans) would respond with the same physiological pattern of
physiological changes no matter the stressor. With prolonged exposure to stress (chronic stress), the
physiological system will be damaged and the organism may eventually die. It may be problematic to
generalize such results to humans but research in health psychology has confirmed a link between stress
and low immune functioning. The total response of stress was divided into three phases:

Alarm reaction- the stressor upsets the homeostasis or cellular balance. Fight or flight response takes
place. There is slight drop in homeostasis as mind and body temporarily lose balance. The
parasympathetic nervous system is activated and hormones (e.g. adrenalin and noradrenaline) are
released, increased heart and respiration rates, as well as increased production of adrenal hormones;
in a sense, the body is preparing for battle.

Resistance stage: body fights back by adjusting to the stress. Outwardly the body may appear to be
functioning normally, however levels of blood glucose, cortisol and adrenaline remain higher than normal
and the individual’s heart rate, blood pressure and breathing will be higher than normal. The individual
may appear calm but they are physically and mentally at ‘action stations’.

Exhaustion stage: The stage of exhaustion is characterized by a compromised immune system, which
makes it more difficult for the body to fight off infection. Adaptation energy stores are depleted and the
body cannot function adequately. Blood sugar levels drop and the individual becomes vulnerable to
disease and death. Continued chronic stress can lead to a number of related diseases and issues, such as
type 2 diabetes, ulcers, and hypertension, anxiety and depression.

Question 4, answer: the various occupational stress models are:

The person-environment fit model developed by French, Rodgers and Cobb in 1974. It underlines
the match between a person and his/her work environment. The closeness of the match influences
the individual's health. For healthy working conditions, it is necessary that employees’ attitudes,
skills, abilities, and resources match the demands of their job. The greater the gap or misfit (either
subjective or objective) between the person and his/her work environment, the greater the strain.
Strains can include mental and physical health problems. Misfit can also lead to
lower productivity and other work problems. The P–E fit model was popular in the 1970s and the
early 1980s; however, since the late 1980s interest in the model has waned because of difficulties
representing P–E discrepancies mathematically and statistical models linking P-E fit to strain have
been problematic. There could be inter role conflict, person role conflict- individual’s own value systems
are not in sync with the role. Role overload- taxed beyond limits or abilities, role under load- not getting
responsibilities as per load, & role ambiguity- lack of agreement or coordination from role senders,
lacking clarity.

The diathesis–stress model looks the individual's susceptibility to stressful life experiences, i.e.,
the diathesis. Individuals differ on that diathesis or vulnerability. The model suggests that the
individual's diathesis is part of the context in which he or she encounters job stressors at various
levels of intensity. If the individual has a very high tolerance (is relatively invulnerable), an intense
stressor may not lead to a mental or physical problem. However, if the stressor (e.g., high workload,
difficult coworker relationship) outstrips the individual's diathesis, then health problems may ensue.

The effort-reward imbalance (ERI) model focuses on the relationship between the worker's efforts
and the work-related rewards the employee receives. The ERI model suggests that work marked by
high levels of effort and low rewards leads to strain (e.g., psychological symptoms, physical health
problems). The rewards of the job can be tangible like pay or intangible like appreciation and fair
treatment. Another facet of the model is that over commitment to the job can fuel imbalance.
“Reward” include esteem reward, such as respect and support, income, and status control, such as job
security, job stability, and prospects for promotion or demotion. In the ERI model, the work role is
considered a basic tool to link a person’s important emotional and motivational needs, such as self-esteem
and self-efficacy, with the opportunity structure. Therefore, occupational stress arises from both (a) the
immediate conditions of work and (b) the broader context of career and the role of work in a person’s life.
The demand-control-support (DCS) model is the most influential psychological theory in
occupational stress research. The DCS model advances the idea that the combination of low levels
of work-related decision latitude (i.e., autonomy and control over the job) and high psychological
workloads is harmful to workers. High workloads and low levels of decision latitude either in
combination or singly can lead to job strain, the term often used in the field of occupational health
psychology to reflect poorer mental or physical health. The model has been extended to include
work-related social isolation or lack of support from coworkers and supervisors, which also leads to
poorer health.

Question 5, answer: the causes of occupational stress are:

Long Work Hours-Duration of work can be very long in low- and middle-income countries that have
inadequate protections; it continues to be long in some high income countries, such as the United States. The
United States ranks first in annual work hours among high-income countries (1,787 in 2011), about 1
workweek longer than Japan, 3 workweeks longer than the United Kingdom, and 10 workweeks longer than
Germany. In 2014, full-time employees in the United States reported working 47 hours weekly, with salaried
employees working 5 hours longer than hourly employees. Long workweeks can cause adverse health and
social effects on workers, their partners, and their children. One-third of parents in the United States complain
that they have insufficient time with their children; and 37% of working parents say they always “feel rushed.”

Shift Work: Shift work refers to work activity scheduled outside standard daytime work hours (between 7 A.M.
and 7 P.M.), and where there may be a handover of duty from one individual or work group to another on the
same job within a 24-hour period. Examples of shift work include: (a)work during the afternoon, night, or
weekend outside standard daytime work hours; (b) extended work periods of 12 hours or more; (c) rotating
hours of work (usually alternation among two or three shifts); (d) split shifts, in which a person’s workday is
divided into two distinct periods, with several hours of break between these periods. Nonstandard work shifts
can have adverse effects on sleep, physical health, leisure time, and family activities, especially activities
requiring involvement of parents at their children’s schools or associated with standard schedules.

Workplace bullying: it involves the chronic mistreatment of a worker by one or more other workers or
managers. Bullying involves a power imbalance in which the target has less power in the unit or the
organization than the bully or bullies. Bullying is not a one-off episode. Nor is it a conflict between
two workers who are equals in terms of power. There has to be a power imbalance for there to be
bullying. Bullying tactics include verbal abuse, psychological abuse, and even physical abuse. The
adverse effects of workplace bullying include depression for the worker and lost productivity for the
organization.

Interpersonal conflict among people at work has been shown to be one of the most frequently noted
stressors for employees. Conflict can be precipitated by workplace harassment.[60] Workplace conflict
is also associated with other stressors, such as role conflict, role ambiguity, and heavy workload.
Conflict has also been linked to strains such as anxiety, depression, physical symptoms, and low
levels of job satisfaction.

Salary: The types of jobs that pay workers higher salaries tend to provide them with greater job-
related autonomy. As indicated above, job-related autonomy is associated with better health. A
problem in research on occupational stress is how to "unconfound" the relationship between
stressful working conditions, such as low levels of autonomy, and salary. Because higher levels of
income buy resources (e.g., better insurance, higher quality food) that help to improve or maintain
health, researchers need to better specify the extent to which differences in working conditions and
differences in pay affect health.
General working conditions: Although the importance of individual differences cannot be ignored,
scientific evidence suggests that certain working conditions are stressful to most people. Such
evidence argues for a greater emphasis on working conditions as the key source of job stress, and
for job redesign as a primary prevention strategy.[17] In the ten years leading up to 2015,[45] workers in
the EU and affiliated countries have seen improvement in noise exposure but worsening in exposure
to chemicals. Approximately, one-third of EU workers experience tight deadlines and must work
quickly. Those in the health sector are exposed to the highest levels of work intensity. In order to
meet job demands, a little more than 20% of EU workers must work during their free time.
Approximately one-third of EU workers in lower-level jobs have some decision latitude. By contrast,
about 80% of managers have significant levels of latitude.
General working conditions that induce occupational stress may also be aspects of the physical
environment of one's job. For example, the noise level, lighting, and temperature are all components
of one's working environment. If these factors are not adequate for a successful working
environment, one can experience changes in mood and arousal, which in turn creates more difficulty
to successfully do the job right.

Question 6, answer: Consequences of occupational stress can be grave and put an individual’s life in
danger.
The pathophysiologic effects of chronic stress (strain), resulting from work-related stressors, contribute to a
wide range of unhealthy behaviors and illnesses, including mental disorders, CVD and its risk
factors (hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome), and musculoskeletal disorders.
Occupational stressors are risk factors for a wide range of mental disorders, including psychological distress,
anxiety, depression, “burnout,” and suicidal ideation and behavior. Occupational stressors associated with
mental disorders include job strain (in jobs with high demands and low control), effort-reward imbalance, job
with demands and low resources, job insecurity, organizational injustice, bullying, harassment (especially
sexual harassment of women workers), mandatory overtime, emotional labor (surface acting but not deep
acting), and work–family conflict. Unemployment also increases risk of mental disorders. 35 Workers who
are targets of bullying often feel isolated, demoralized, and unable to escape or prevent the situation. As a
result, they may suffer from chronic mental (and somatic) disorders, including depression and posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD).

When employees are exposed to occupational stressors over an extended period of time, leading to chronic
overarousal, disorders develop. For example, chronic stress can reduce heart-rate variability, thereby
increasing the risk of heart disease. The cumulative physiological toll on biological systems (allostatic load) is
often measured by blood pressure; serum levels of glucose, high-density lipoproteins, total cholesterol, and
triglycerides; and waist circumference—all of which are associated with increased risk of CVD.
Some research demonstrates that increased secretion of both adrenalin and cortisol in demanding, low-control
jobs increases both blood pressure and serum levels of lipids, thereby increasing the risks of the metabolic
syndrome and heart disease.

Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes, Some research indicates that irregular work hours are associated with
a small increase in the risk of miscarriage and reduced fertility. Some evidence also suggests that job strain is a
risk factor for preterm delivery and preeclampsia.
Acute Traumatic Injuries-Risk of accidents and injuries are higher on the night shift. These risks are greater for
work shifts longer than 8 hours, for successive shifts (especially night shifts), and for shifts without
sufficient rest breaks. Some studies have shown associations between injuries and various work stressors,
including downsizing, long hours, work intensification, understaffing, and jobs with low job control.
Question 7, answer:
Primary intervention
• Primary prevention aims
to prevent disease or
injury before it ever
occurs. This is done by
preventing exposures to
hazards that cause
disease or injury, altering
unhealthy or unsafe
behaviors that can lead to
disease or injury, and
increasing resistance to
disease or injury should
exposure occur.
Secondary intervention
• Secondary
prevention aims to
reduce the impact of a
disease or injury that has
already occurred. This is
done by detecting and
treating disease or injury
as soon as possible to
halt or slow its progress,
encouraging personal
strategies to prevent re
injury or recurrence, and
implementing programs
to return people to their
original health and
function to prevent long-
term problems.
Tertiary intervention
• Tertiary prevention aims
to soften the impact of an
ongoing illness or injury
that has lasting effects.
This is done by helping
people manage long-
term, often-complex
health problems and
injuries (e.g. chronic
diseases, permanent
impairments) in order to
improve as much as
possible their ability to
function, their quality of
life and their life
expectancy.

• Examples include: • Examples include: • Examples include:

legislation and
enforcement to ban or
control the use of
hazardous products (e.g.
asbestos) or to mandate
safe and healthy
practices (e.g. use of
seatbelts and bike
helmets), education
about healthy and safe
habits (e.g. eating well,
exercising regularly, not
smoking), immunization
against infectious
diseases.
regular exams and
screening tests to detect
disease in its earliest
stages (e.g.
mammograms to detect
breast cancer),daily, low-
dose aspirins and/or diet
and exercise programs to
prevent further heart
attacks or strokes,
suitably modified work
so injured or ill workers
can return safely to their
jobs.
cardiac or stroke
rehabilitation programs,
chronic disease
management programs
(e.g. for diabetes,
arthritis, depression,
etc.), support groups that
allow members to share
strategies for living well,
vocational rehabilitation
programs to retrain
workers for new jobs
when they have
recovered as much as
possible.

Question 8, answer: A combination of organizational change and stress management is often is the most
useful approach for preventing stress at work. Both organization and employees can employ strategies at
organizational and individual levels.

Occupational level: NIOSH offers some general guidelines on organizational change to prevent
occupational meaningful, stimulating, and allow workers to use their abilities, Promote interaction
among workers, Facilitate worker participation in decisions regarding their tasks and how their job is
accomplished and Establish good communication about workplace issues.
Individual level: Most stress management approaches focus on the individual attempt to teach coping
skills for management or reduction of stress.

Stress management techniques include:(a) Biofeedback (b)Deep breathing

exercises(c)Exercise/physical activity(d)Meditation(e) Progressive relaxation exercise(f) Stress-
inoculation training and(h)Yoga.

Stress coping skills includes:* Assertiveness training * Conflict resolution * Decision making and
problem-solving skills * Goal and priority setting.

Question 9, answer: From the stimulus perspective, Catlan, Cobb, French 1975 defined OS as
“characteristics of job environment which poses a threat to the individual.”
From the transaction perspective, Kores and Quinn 1974 defined OS as “a condition t work interacting
with workers characteristics to disrupt his/her physiological or psychological homeostasis.”

ORS model of Udai Pareek: Any organization may be perceived as a system of roles. These roles
are different from positions or offices in the organization. Pareek (1994) has defined role as a set
of functions, which an individual performs in response to the expectations of others and his own
expectations about the role. There are two role systems: role space and role set. Both have a built
- in potential for conflict. Such a conflict is called as role stress.
1. Role space conflict: It refers to conflicts between the self, a person’s role and other
roles occupied by him. Role stress may take various forms namely self - role distance, role
stagnation and inter - role distance.
2. Role set conflict: While role space conflicts arise from the incompatibility between the self
and the roles played by the person, role set conflicts denote in –compatibilities amongst the
varying expectations that ‘significant others’ have from the role encumbent. Among the
important role set conflicts are the role ambiguity, role expectation conflict, role overload, role
erosion, role inadequacy, and personal inadequacy and role isolation. Pareek gave 10 different
types of ORS-

1. Inter - Role Distance Stress Conflict Between Organisational and Non-

organisational Roles.
2. Role Stagnation Stress Feeling of Being Struck Up in the Same Role.
3. Role Expectation Stress Conflicting Demands Originating from
Colleagues.
4. Role Erosion Stress Role has Become less Important or Somebody
Else Gets the Credit.
5. Role Overload Stress Too Much Work or Doing Things of Considerable
Importance.
6. Role Isolation Stress Absence of Strong Linkages of One’s Role with
Other Roles.
7. Personal Inadequacy Stress Absence of Adequate Skills, Competence and
Training Format the Demands of One’s Role.
8. Self - Role Distance Stress Gap Between One’s Concept of Self and Demands
of Role.
9. Role Ambiguity Stress Lack of Clarity About the Demands of the Role.
10. Resource Inadequacy Stress Human or Material Resources Allocated are
Inadequate to Meet the Demands of the Role.
Submitted by-
Bhagyashree Deuri
PSY1861006