handout-employee health and safety

EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND SAFETYEMPLOYEE HEALTH AND SAFETYEMPLOYEE HEALTH AND SAFETYEMPLOYEE HEALTH AND SAFETY

Stress in the workplace

Employee wellness

Work-life balance

Beryl Baterina

March 3, 2012

EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND


Stress in the workplace

This Handout belongs to:

______________________________

EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND SAFETY March 3, 2012


This Handout belongs to:

______________________________

March 3, 2012 EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND

Objectives:

� To be able to share insights about health and

safety awareness

� To be able to share insights about stress

prevention

� To be able to share insights about wellness and

work-life balance promotion

Health

A general state of physical, emotional, and

mental well-being.

Safety

Condition in which the physical well

people is protected.

Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC)

Established in the Employees Compensation

Commission under E.O. 307 to cover the

preventive aspects of occupational safety and

health in every workplace, public or private

Work accidents

Unplanned or unexpected occurrence that may

or may not result in personal injury, property

damage, work stoppage or interference or any

combination thereof, which arises out of and in

the course of employment.

EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND SAFETY

To be able to share insights about health and

To be able to share insights about stress

To be able to share insights about wellness and

A general state of physical, emotional, and

Condition in which the physical well-being of

Center (OSHC)

stablished in the Employees Compensation

Commission under E.O. 307 to cover the

preventive aspects of occupational safety and

health in every workplace, public or private

Unplanned or unexpected occurrence that may

t result in personal injury, property

damage, work stoppage or interference or any

combination thereof, which arises out of and in

Causes of Accidents


Stress in the Workplace

The Workplace Stress Scale™

Copyright © The Marlin Company, North Haven, CT, and the American Institute of Stress, Yonkers, NY

Directions: Thinking about your current job, how often does each of the following statements describe how you feel?

Never Rarely Sometimes Often Very Often

A. Conditions at work are unpleasant or

sometimes even unsafe. 1 2 3 4 5

B. I feel that my job is negatively affecting my

physical or emotional well being. 1 2 3 4 5

C. I have too much work to do and/or too

many unreasonable deadlines. 1 2 3 4 5

D. I find it difficult to express my opinions or

feelings about my job conditions to my

superiors.

1 2 3 4 5

E. I feel that job pressures interfere with my

family or personal life. 1 2 3 4 5

F. I have adequate control or input over my

work duties. 5 4 3 2 1

G. I receive appropriate recognition or

rewards for good performance. 5 4 3 2 1

H. I am able to utilize my skills and talents to

the fullest extent at work. 5 4 3 2 1

Total Score: __________ Interpretation: ________________________________________

What Is Stress?

Stress is a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, constraint, or demand

related to what he/she desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important.

Stress is not necessarily bad in and of itself. Individuals often use stress positively to rise to the occasion and

perform at or near their maximum.

Stress is associated with constraints and demands. The former prevent you from doing what you desire. The

latter refers to the loss of something desired.

March 3, 2012 EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND SAFETY

Potential Sources of Stress

Environmental factors

• Environmental uncertainty influences stress

levels among employees in an organization.

• Changes in the business cycle create economic

uncertainties.

• Political uncertainties can be stress inducing.

• Technological uncertainty can cause stress

because new innovations can make an

employee’s skills and experience obsolete in a

very short period of time.

Organizational factors

• Pressures to avoid errors or complete tasks in a

limited time period, work overload, a

demanding and insensitive boss, and

unpleasant co-workers are a few examples.

Task demands are factors related to a person’s

job. They include the design of the individual’s

job (autonomy, task variety, degree of

automation), working conditions, and the

physical work layout.

• Role demands relate to pressures that are a

function of the role an individual plays in an

organization.

a. Role conflicts create expectations that may

be hard to reconcile or satisfy.

b. Role overload is experienced when the

employee is expected to do more than time

permits.

c. Role ambiguity is created when role

expectations are not clearly understood.

• Interpersonal demands are pressures created

by other employees.

• Organizational structure defines the level of

differentiation in the organization, the degree

of rules and regulations, and where decisions

are made. Excessive rules and lack of

participation in decisions might be potential

sources of stress.


• Organizational leadership represents the

managerial style of the organization’s senior

executives.

a. Organizations go through a cycle.

b. They’re established, they grow, become

mature, and eventually decline.

c. An organization’s life stage—that is, where

it is in this four-stage cycle—creates

different problems and pressures for

employees.

d. The establishment and decline stages are

particularly stressful.

Individual factors

• These are factors in the employee’s personal

life. Primarily, these factors are family issues,

personal economic problems, and inherent

personality characteristics.

• National surveys consistently show that people

hold family and personal relationships dear.

• Economic problems created by individuals

overextending their financial resources.

• A significant individual factor influencing stress

is a person’s basic dispositional nature.

Individual Differences

Five individual difference variables moderate the

relationship between potential stressors and

experienced stress:

• perception

• job experience

• locus of control

• self-efficacy

• hostility. Perception

• Moderates the relationship between a potential

stress condition and an employee’s reaction to

it. Stress potential doesn’t lie in objective

conditions; it lies in an employee’s

interpretation of those conditions. Job experience

• The evidence indicates that experience on the

job tends to be negatively related to work

stress.

a. First is the idea of selective withdrawal.

Voluntary turnover is more probable among

people who experience more stress.

b. Second, people eventually develop coping

mechanisms to deal with stress.

c. Collegial relationships with co-workers or

supervisors can buffer the impact of stress. Locus of control

• Those with an internal locus of control believe

they control their own destiny.

a. Internals perceive their jobs to be less

stressful than do externals.

b. Internals are likely to believe that they can

have a significant effect on the results.

• Those with an external locus believe their lives

are controlled by outside forces.

a. Externals are more likely to be passive and

feel helpless. Self-efficacy

• The confidence in one’s own abilities appears to

decrease stress Hostility

• People who are quick to anger, maintain a

persistently hostile outlook, and project a

cynical mistrust of others are more likely to

experience stress in situations.

Consequences of Stress

Stress shows itself in a number of ways—

physiological, psychological, and behavioral

symptoms.

Physiological symptoms:

• Most of the early concern with stress was

directed at physiological symptoms due to the

fact that specialists in the health and medical

sciences researched the topic.

• Physiological symptoms have the least direct

relevance to students of OB.

Psychological symptoms:

• Job-related stress can cause job-related

dissatisfaction.

• Job dissatisfaction is “the simplest and most

obvious psychological effect” of stress.

March 3, 2012 EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND SAFETY

• Multiple and conflicting demands—lack of

clarity as to the incumbent’s duties, authority,

and responsibilities—increase stress and

dissatisfaction.

• The less control people have over the pace of

their work, the greater the stress and

dissatisfaction.

Behavioral symptoms:

• Behaviorally 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 disorders.

Managing Stress

High or low levels of stress sustained over long periods

of time, can lead to reduced employee performance

and, thus, require action by management.

Individual approaches:

• Effective individual strategies include

implementing time management techniques,

increasing physical exercise, relaxation training,

and expanding the social support network.

• Practicing time management principles such as:

a. making daily lists of activities to be

accomplished.

b. prioritizing activities by importance and

urgency.

c. scheduling activities according to the

priorities set.

d. knowing your daily cycle and handling the

most demanding parts of your job during

the high part of your cycle when you are

most alert and productive.

• Noncompetitive physical exercise has long been

recommended as a way to deal with excessive

stress levels.

• Individuals can teach themselves to reduce

tension through relaxation techniques such as

meditation, hypnosis, and biofeedback.

• Having friends, family, or work colleagues to

talk to provides an outlet for excessive stress.

Organizational approaches

• Strategies that management might want to

consider include:

a. improved personnel selection and job

placement

b. use of realistic goal setting, redesigning of

jobs

c. training

d. increased employee involvement

e. improved organizational communication

f. establishment of corporate wellness

programs.

Employee Wellness

What is wellness program?

• Organizationally supported programs that focus

on the employees’ total physical and mental

condition.

6 Dimensions of Wellness

1. Intellectual Wellness

• Encourages creative, stimulating and mental

activities. An intellectually well person uses all

resources available to expand his or her

knowledge. The intellectually well person is a

lifelong learner.

2. Occupational Wellness

• Encourages preparing for work that one will

gain personal satisfaction and find enrichment.

Occupational wellness is related to one’s

attitude about his or her work and to wellness

promotion.

3. Spiritual Wellness

• Involves seeking meaning and purpose in

existence. It includes the development of a

deep appreciation for the depth and expanse of

life and for the natural forces that exist in the

universe


4. Social Wellness

• Encourages contributing to the human and

physical environment and to the common

welfare of the community. Social wellness

emphasizes interdependence with others and

nature. It includes the pursuit of harmony in

one’s family.

5. Physical Wellness

• Encourages the development of cardiovascular

endurance, flexibility and strength through

regular physical activity. Physical wellness

encourages knowledge about food and

nutrition, and discourages excessive alcohol

consumption and use of tobacco and drugs. It

encourages medical self-care and appropriate

use of medical systems. It also advocates sexual

behavior that is responsible, safe and healthy.

6. Emotional Wellness

• Emphasizes awareness and acceptance of one’s

feelings. Emotional wellness is a capacity to

appropriately control feelings and related

behaviors including the realistic assessment of

limitations, development of autonomy and

ability to cope effectively with stress. The

emotionally well person maintains satisfying

relationships with others.

Wellness Programs

� Employee Assistance Program

� Health Information Newsletter

� Health Assessment

� Fitness Program

� Nutrition Clinic

� Needs and Interest Survey

� Retreat/Recollection

Contests

Question: In your company, what wellness

programs do you give to the employees?

Work-life Balance

• It is not about being perfect

• It is not about being right

• It is not about being clever or having all the

answers

• It is not about being a superwoman or

superman

• About staying connected

o To our self

o To our values

o To the relationships we create along the

way

o To work and actions that are

meaningful

Balance

• Living truthfully

• Having a job that feels rewarding

• Working with integrity

• Giving attention to oneself, to our family, to our

friends

• Remembering to breathe

• Having time to take care of my own health, my

needs for rest, exercise, giving my body good

food, for the people we love

Tips for Better Work-life Balance

1. Build downtime in our schedule

2. Drop activities that sap our time or energy

3. Rethink our errands

4. Let’s get moving

5. Remembering that a little relaxation goes a long

way

6. Put our health first

7. Let go of perfection

8. Let go of our arrogance that we can do it all and

ask for help

9. Look for the joke

10. Pay attention to the people in your lives

March 3, 2012 EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND

Our work we do is important...

....but it is not our whole life

Sources:

Robbins, S. (2001). Organizational Behavior

India: Pearson Education Asia Pte Ltd.

Dessler, G. (2005). Human Resource Management

Edition). Florida: Prentice Hall.

Uscher, J. (2012, February). 5 Tips for Better Work

Balance. WebMD. Retrieved from

http://www.webmd.com/ balance/guide/5

strategies-for-life-balance

EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND SAFETY

Our work we do is important...

....but it is not our whole life

Organizational Behavior (9th Edition).

Pearson Education Asia Pte Ltd.

Human Resource Management (10th

. 5 Tips for Better Work-life

from

http://www.webmd.com/ balance/guide/5-

Notes:

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