What is stress?
Stress can be defined in numerous ways:
Stress is the unconscious preparation to fight or flee that a person experiences when confronted with any demand. Stress takes place when a demand surpasses a person's coping ability and upsets their psychological equilibrium. Stress can transpire in the workplace when an employee faces a circumstance that can be to be too difficult or challenging to manage.
Although there is a bad stigma about stress, it is not always bad. Stress can be differentiated between distress and eustress. Distress is associated with the negative side of stress while eustress is positive. Distress is viewed as uncontrollable and overwhelming. Eustress is considered healthy because it gives a person a sense …show more content…
The most researched theories are the Homeostatic/Medical Approach, the Cognitive Appraisal Approach, the Person-Environment Fit Approach, and the Psychoanalytic Approach.
• The Homeostatic/Medical Approach is when external environmental demands upset or alters a person’s natural steady state balance. Canon coined this state homeostasis. Homeostasis is when the body and its function are all at equilibrium. Canon argued that an individual’s body was created with its own natural defenses mechanism to be able to keep it at a homeostasis level. When anything disturbs homeostasis stress is then created.
• The Cognitive Appraisal Approach was furthered researched by Richard Lazarus. The theory suggests that emotions are obtained from our evaluations, assessments or appraisals of events. These appraisals lead to different interpretations and reactions from different people. What can be stressful to someone may not be stressful to another. In addition to Cannons view, Lazarus considered stress to be an outcome of a person–environment interaction but he also emphasized the person’s cognitive appraisal in classifying persons or events as stressful or not. In his research, Lazarus specified two major types of appraisal methods: 1) primary appraisal, which seeks to establish the significance or meaning of an event, and 2) secondary appraisal, which assesses the ability of the individual to cope with the consequences of …show more content…
Role conflict result from conflicting expectations. Role conflict include interole conflict, intrarole conflict, person-role conflict. Role ambiguity is when there is vagueness of your responsibilities.
• Interpersonal demands involve emotional issues, sexual harassment, and poor leadership. Emotional issues include abrasive or polar personalities. Sexual harassment is prohibited in the workplace and if someone experiences this it can lead to high levels of stress. Poor leadership can occur when there is poor management and not being able to control employees.
• Physical demands can occur in harsh working environments. An example of physical demands is an employee working in a warehouse that is not climate control. Employees will have very hot summers and harsh cold winter. Physical demands can happen by traveling, working with dangerous heavy material, or even having constant loud noise.
Nonwork demands include home demands and personal demands.
• Home demands are when an employee brings to work the stress brought upon by family or relationship responsibilities. This can lead to not being able to concentrate and being
Stress can be defined in numerous ways:
Stress is the unconscious preparation to fight or flee that a person experiences when confronted with any demand. Stress takes place when a demand surpasses a person's coping ability and upsets their psychological equilibrium. Stress can transpire in the workplace when an employee faces a circumstance that can be to be too difficult or challenging to manage.
Although there is a bad stigma about stress, it is not always bad. Stress can be differentiated between distress and eustress. Distress is associated with the negative side of stress while eustress is positive. Distress is viewed as uncontrollable and overwhelming. Eustress is considered healthy because it gives a person a sense …show more content…
The most researched theories are the Homeostatic/Medical Approach, the Cognitive Appraisal Approach, the Person-Environment Fit Approach, and the Psychoanalytic Approach.
• The Homeostatic/Medical Approach is when external environmental demands upset or alters a person’s natural steady state balance. Canon coined this state homeostasis. Homeostasis is when the body and its function are all at equilibrium. Canon argued that an individual’s body was created with its own natural defenses mechanism to be able to keep it at a homeostasis level. When anything disturbs homeostasis stress is then created.
• The Cognitive Appraisal Approach was furthered researched by Richard Lazarus. The theory suggests that emotions are obtained from our evaluations, assessments or appraisals of events. These appraisals lead to different interpretations and reactions from different people. What can be stressful to someone may not be stressful to another. In addition to Cannons view, Lazarus considered stress to be an outcome of a person–environment interaction but he also emphasized the person’s cognitive appraisal in classifying persons or events as stressful or not. In his research, Lazarus specified two major types of appraisal methods: 1) primary appraisal, which seeks to establish the significance or meaning of an event, and 2) secondary appraisal, which assesses the ability of the individual to cope with the consequences of …show more content…
Role conflict result from conflicting expectations. Role conflict include interole conflict, intrarole conflict, person-role conflict. Role ambiguity is when there is vagueness of your responsibilities.
• Interpersonal demands involve emotional issues, sexual harassment, and poor leadership. Emotional issues include abrasive or polar personalities. Sexual harassment is prohibited in the workplace and if someone experiences this it can lead to high levels of stress. Poor leadership can occur when there is poor management and not being able to control employees.
• Physical demands can occur in harsh working environments. An example of physical demands is an employee working in a warehouse that is not climate control. Employees will have very hot summers and harsh cold winter. Physical demands can happen by traveling, working with dangerous heavy material, or even having constant loud noise.
Nonwork demands include home demands and personal demands.
• Home demands are when an employee brings to work the stress brought upon by family or relationship responsibilities. This can lead to not being able to concentrate and being