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OB ON THE EDGE
claiming sick leave, workers’
compensation, and short- and
long-term disability—most often
in cases of catastrophic illness
such as heart attacks, cancer, and
major back surgeries. These days,
however, it is not unusual for
long-term disability programs to
be filled with employees in their
20s, 30s, and 40s. Employees are
claiming illnesses that are either
psychiatric (such as depression)
or more difficult to diagnose
(such as chronic fatigue syn-
drome or fibromyalgia, a muscu-
loskeletal discomfort). The
increase in disability claims may
be the result of downsizing tak-
ing its toll on the psyches of
those in the workforce.^25- Psychological symptoms.Job dissat-
isfaction is “the simplest and
most obvious psychological
effect” of stress.^26 However, stress
also manifests itself in other psy-
chological states—for instance,
tension, anxiety, irritability, bore-
dom, and procrastination.
The evidence indicates that when
people are placed in jobs that make
multiple and conflicting demands or
in which there is a lack of clarity as to
the person’s duties, authority, and
responsibilities, both stress and dis-
satisfaction increase.^27 Similarly, the
less control that people have over the
pace of their work, the greater the stress
and dissatisfaction. More research is
needed to clarify the relationship, but
the evidence suggests that jobs pro-
viding a low level of variety, signifi-
cance, autonomy, feedback, and
identity create stress and reduce satis-
faction and involvement in the job.^28 - Behavioural symptoms.
Behaviourally related stress
symptoms include changes in
productivity, absence, and
turnover, as well as changes in
eating habits, increased smoking
or consumption of alcohol, rapid
speech, fidgeting, and sleep dis-
orders. More recently stress has
been linked to aggression and
violence in the workplace.Why Do Individuals
Differ in Their
Experience of Stress?
Some people thrive on stressful situ-
ations, while others are overwhelmed
by them. What is it that differentiates
people in terms of their ability to
handle stress? What individual dif-
ference variables moderate the rela-
tionship between potentialstressors
and experiencedstress? At least five
variables—perception, job experience,
social support, belief in locus of con-
trol, and hostility—have been found
to be relevant moderators.- Perception.Individuals react in
response to their perceptionof
reality rather than to reality itself.
Perception, therefore, moderates
the relationship between a
potential stress condition and an
employee’s reaction to it. For
example, one person might fear
losing his job because the com-
pany is laying off staff, while
another might perceive the situa-
tion as an opportunity to receive
a large severance allowance and
start a small business. Similarly,
what one employee perceives as a
challenging job may be viewed as
threatening and demanding by
others.^29 So the stress potential
in environmental, organiza-
tional, and individual factors
does not lie in objective condi-
tions. Rather, it lies in an
employee’s interpretation of
those factors. - Job experience. Experience on the
job tends to be negatively
related to work stress. Two
explanations have been
offered.^30 First, people who
experience more stress on the
job when they are first hired
may be more likely to quit.
Therefore, people who remain
with the organization longer are
those with more stress-resistant
traits or those who are more
resistant to the stress characteris-
tics of their organization.
Second, people eventually
develop coping mechanisms to
deal with stress. Because this
takes time, senior members of
the organization are more likely
to be fully adapted and should
experience less stress.- Social support. There is increasing
evidence that social support—
that is, collegial relationships
with co-workers or supervi-
sors—can buffer the impact of
stress.^31 The logic underlying
this moderating variable is that
social support helps ease the
negative effects of even high-
strain jobs.
For individuals whose work asso-
ciates are unhelpful or even actively
hostile, social support may be found
outside the job. Involvement with
family, friends, and community can
provide the support—especially for
those with a high social need—that
is missing at work, and this can make
job stressors more tolerable. - Belief in locus of control.The per-
sonality trait locus of control
determines the extent to which
individuals believe they have
control over the things that hap-
pen in their lives. Those with an
internal locus of control believe
they control their own destiny.
Those with an external locus of
control believe their lives are
controlled by outside forces.
Evidence indicates that internals
perceive their jobs to be less
stressful than do externals.^32