Discussion Forum 13 Stress and Tension

Answer

Discussion Forum 13 Stress and Tension

#1

In psychology, stress is that state when one is having the feeling of strain and pressure. In some cases, small amounts of stress are beneficial, desired and healthy to an individual (Jones, Burke & Westman, 2013). Positive stress acts as a motivating factor and enhances adaptation and reaction to the environment. Too much stress, however, could cause bodily harm. Stress have been identified to put an individual at risk of heart attacks, strokes, ulcers and mental illnesses including depression (Jones, Burke & Westman, 2013). Various research findings have pointed out that the leading cause of stress today is work relationships.

A worker feeling like he/she has not been heard forms the most stressful aspect of work relationships. The employees feel helpless when they feel like they have expressed themselves but have instead been discounted, or the person with whom they intend to address has not taken time to give them an ear (Jones, Burke & Westman, 2013). The workplace needs to be meaningful. When an employee senses that he/she is not respected, that his/her opinion is not significant, then that employee is at risk of the stress related complications. The way the workers react to the negative interpersonal relationships within the workplace, be it an aggressive co-worker or a disgruntled boss, also greatly impact on the subsequent stress levels.

Expectations have a powerful impact on the behaviors, emotions, and most importantly, in the performance of any employee (Girdano, Dusek & Everly Jr, 2012). As a worker, one would have personal expectations like setting personal goals to meet. There are also expectations of others like the employer and coworkers which the worker is expected to address at the end of the day. Both personal expectations and the expectations of others in the work place could result in tension for the worker though in varied levels. Scholars have intimated that the personal work expectations would more readily bring about tension in comparison to the expectations of others. This is because, having been individually set, there will be an inner urge to achieve them, failure to which will mount pressure on the worker that brings about tension (Girdano, Dusek & Everly Jr, 2012).

#2

Role ambiguity and role conflict contribute to frustration on the job. Role ambiguity is the situation where the norms for a particular position are unclear, vague and ill-defined (Maslach & Jackson, 2013). There is no agreement between the actors regarding the role expectations because the roles expectations in themselves are unclear. Role conflict, on the other hand, transpires when one is compelled to take on discrete and incompatible roles (Maslach & Jackson, 2013). An example of a role conflict is where an employee is tasked with worker and management roles within the same department so that he assumes the conflicting roles of a co-worker and a supervisor. Role ambiguity would cause more frustration the workplace as compared to role conflict because it would be difficult for such an individual to determine what exactly the organization expects from him making such a personal fall short of meeting the expectations of the employer. If I were an employer, I would clearly define the roles of each of the employee so that they know what the company expects of them to avoid ambiguity to minimize their frustrations. I would also reduce the likelihood of worker frustration by introducing job specialization for each employee so that there are no cases of role conflict.