9.

3 The Meaning of Stress

Although thousands of articles on stress appear in professional journals and popular magazines,
the concept is still poorly understood by the public. Because stress has attracted the attention of
researchers in various disciplines from medicine to management, each using its own jargon,
models, and viewpoints, there are various definitions of stress. We will provide a general
definition, but stress has meant different things to different people, and this confusion will likely
continue in the future.
Some regard stress as a set of stimuli, that is, a broad range of environmental conditions thought
to be stressful. Others, notably the late Hans Selye of the University of Montreal, defined stress
as a response. Selye, often referred to as the "father of stress," noted that the body reacts to
various stressors in the same physiological manner, ultimately leading to "wear and tear" on the
body.1 His findings supported those of Walter Cannon, who had observed biochemical responses
to environmental stressors in the form of the "fight or flight" syndrome.2 Both noted that bodily
responses to stress are instantaneous.
Over the years, the concept of workplace stress has evolved in its definition and scope to
comprise a far more complex phenomenon. Today, workplace stress , also known as occupational
stress , is seen as the entire process in which people perceive and interpret their work
environment in relation to their capability to cope with it . Under this definition, stress is present
when the environment poses (or is perceived to pose) a threat to you, either in the form of
excessive demands or in the form of insufficient resources to meet your needs.
What people say

I lead a very hectic lifestyle. I work with my husband who is a lawyer and I am also a
housewife. I don't know how to cope with every-day stress, and, in addition, I suffer from
kidney problems. I need help.

I'm a sales director and manage a team of 11 sales executives. In our jobs, we have to
deal with a lot of pressure as part of meeting our daily targets. I'd like to discover some
sort of simple methodology to apply to my work team.

I'm in charge of the Quality Control Department in a Clinic and, in some areas, mistakes
get made resulting from a lack of concentration, for instance in dispensing medicines,
surgical-medical material, etc.

I'm the manager of a Customs Agency, and last week I had a problem with a client. I went
home, lay down to rest for a while and started feeling a very strong pain in the chest. I lay
back down and when I got up, I felt dizzy again and the pain came back.
Source: http://www.euskalnet.net/psicosalud/respuestaestres.htm

There are many types of situations that can be physically or psychologically demanding, such as
a fast-paced job, getting married or divorced, having children, being fired, or even receiving a
promotion or winning the lottery. Any event or situation that puts a demand on a person is called
a stressor . You can probably think of many people and events that are stressors in your own life.

Responding to Stress
How do you react to stressors? Probably it's in a physical way; for instance, your heart beats
faster, or your palms get damp. When we are exposed to a situation that puts demands on us, our
body responds physically. This is known as the stress response , and also as the fight or flight
response , because the physical changes that occur when we are confronted with a stressor
prepare us to either stay and fight the stressor or flee from the situation. The physiological
changes that characterize the fight or flight response are:

An increased blood flow to the brain and large muscle groups. This increased blood flow
makes us more alert and provides us with extra strength to deal with danger.

Vision, hearing, and other sensory processes are sharpened, so that we have heightened
awareness of the stressor.

Glucose and other fatty acids are released into the bloodstream to provide extra energy
during the stressful event.

The pupils of the eye enlarge, to improve vision in a dark hiding place.

The palms of the hands and feet sweat, giving a better grip for running, climbing, and
holding onto things.

Digestive processes are reduced; for instance, the mouth gets dry.

These changes shift us from a physically neutral state to a state of preparedness, so the stress
response helps us to perform better when confronted with stressors. You may have heard stories
in the news of people performing nearly impossible physical acts when confronted with a crisis.
For instance, in December 1996 four Denver children, aged 8 to 13, lifted a car that had fallen on
a neighbor who was working under it. This is a powerful illustration of how the fight or flight
response enables us to transcend our limitations in the face of stress.
If the stress response helps us to deal with stress so effectively, you might wonder why stress is
considered to be a negative thing. The answer is simple. Although most of us are able to
adequately respond to stressful situations most of the time, our bodies and minds have a limited
capacity to respond to stressors. When you are exposed to too many stressors over a long period
of time, your ability to cope with these stressors may diminish.
Work-related Stress and Health: An American perspective

(Source: Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety)

Cardiovascular disease
Many studies suggest that jobs that are psychologically demanding and which give employees
little control over the work process result in increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Muscular-skeletal conditions
On the basis of research done by the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety
(NIOSH) and other organisations, it is believed that work-related stress increases the risk of
developing muscular-skeletal conditions affecting the back and lower extremities.
Psychological conditions
Several studies suggest that the differences between the instances of mental health problems
(such as depression and exhaustion) for several occupations are partly due to the differences
between the levels of work-related stress. (The economic and lifestyle differences between
occupations can also contribute toward some of these problems).
Accidents in the workplace
Although more in-depth studies are needed, concern is increasing that stressful working
conditions impede work from being carried out safely and that they cultivate conditions for
industrial accidents.
Suicide, cancer, ulcers and affected immune disorders
Some studies suggest a relationship between stressful working conditions and these health
problems. Nevertheless, more research is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn.
Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety
Work-related Stress and Health: A European Perspective
(Source: European Agency for Occupational Health and Safety, 2004
http://agency.osha.eu.int/publications/magazine/5/es/index_5.htm

Work-related stress, its causes and its consequences are frequent in the former fifteen
member states of the European Union. More than half of the 160 million European
workers state that they work very fast (56%) and to tight schedules (60%). More than a
third of those interviewed have no say in how their work tasks are organized; 40% point
out that they perform monotonous tasks.

It is probable that these work-related stress generators have contributed to the present
manifestations of disease and illness: 15% of workers complain of headaches, 23%

complain of neck and shoulder pains, 23% of fatigue, 28% of "stress" and 33% of
backache. They also contribute toward many other diseases, including life-threatening
diseases (European Foundation, 2001).
Stress related to prolonged work is a significant determining factor in depressive disorders.
These disorders represent the fourth main cause in terms of volume of disease for the entire
world. It is anticipated that by the year 2020 this will become the second cause, behind ischemic
cardiopathy, but ahead of all the other diseases (World Health Organisation, 2001).
In the fifteen member EU countries, the average cost of these mental health problems and other
associated problems totals between 3% and 4% of the GDP (ILO, 2000) which totals around
7256,000 million per year (1998).
It is quite probable that work-related stress is a significant determining factor of the metabolic
syndrome (Folkow, 2001; Bjrntorp, 2001). This syndrome contributes toward heightening
ischemic cardiopathic morbility and type 2 diabetes.
In the EU guideline, examples of ischemic cardiopathy, strokes, cancer, muscular-skeletal and
gastrointestinal diseases, anxiety and depressive disorders, accidents and suicides are commented
on in detail.

A General Model of Workplace Stress

Thus far we have provided a general definition of stress, and we indicated the costs to
organizations and their members. However, we are especially interested in stress in the
workplace, or occupational stress.
Occupational stress deals with employees' ability to meet the demands of the job. An employee
may be suffering from occupational stress when either or both of two conditions occur: (a) the
employee is unable to adequately respond to the demands of the job, or (b) the employee's
expectations about the job markedly differ from the reality. The occupational/job stress model
presented in Figure 9-1 identifies three principal components involved in the causes of stress at
work:

Perception of job demands. Employees' perception of a situation can influence how (and
whether) they will experience stress. For example, a manager's request that two
subordinates stay an extra hour to finish important work can be perceived as stressful by
one employee and have no effect on the other. Stress can originate from a single stressor
or from a combination of environmental job demands.

Individual differences. There are a number of individual differences that play an

important role in the ways in which employees experience and respond to stress.
Individual differences in needs, values, attitudes, abilities, and, of course, personality
traits are important in that they may increase or reduce the perception of the harmfulness
of work demands. Thus, to understand whether job incumbents will be stressed, it is

critical to understand their perception about their work and their organization; what one
person may consider to be a major source of stress, another may hardly notice.

Social support. Compensatory mechanisms (commonly referred to as "buffers" or

"moderators") that may be present or absent during stressful periods are important
mediators of responses to stress. One such buffer is social support. The support of others
in one's social environment includes co-workers, superiors, family, and friends. The
availability of such support increases confidence and strengthens the ability to cope.

The essence of the model in Figure 9-1 has been validated in different organizations, and for a
variety of occupations including hospital employees, teachers, police officers, prosecutors,
executives, middle-level managers, first line supervisors, programmers, secretaries and others by
researchers throughout the world.
An even simpler model of work stress has been elaborated by the U.S. based NIOSH (National
Institute for occupational Health and Safety). On the basis of experience and research, NIOSH
favors the view that working conditions play a primary role in causing job stress. However, the
role of individual factors is not ignored. According to the NIOSH view, exposure to stressful
working conditions (called job stressors) can have a direct influence on worker safety and health.
But as shown in Figure 9-2, individual and other situational factors can intervene to strengthen or
weaken this influence.

Figure 9-1: A Prototype Model of Workplace Stress.

Note: This is a reduced model based on a more elaborated one that can be found at Dolan &
Arsenault (1980) and Dolan (2006) A Prototype Model of Workplace Stress.

Figure 9-2: NIOSH View of Job Stress.

Source: Source: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/stresswk.html