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Stress In Australia

Decent Essays

Work life is becoming more demanding and unpredictable, which is why more people are dealing with stress, with 53% of Australian employees feeling under pressure a significant amount of the time. Businesses need to place systems to help employees cope and manage stress. Managers should be aiming to create an environment from being stressful to challenging and rewarding. Stress is defined as an “adaptive response to a situation that is perceived as challenging or threatening to a person’s wellbeing” (McShane, Olekalns and Travaglione, 2013), it is a condition that effects humans both physiologically and psychologically. The effects and the causes of stress can vary greatly from person to person; along with how they handle the pressures amounted …show more content…

Stress is in the eyes of the beholder, as some people are equipped with qualities enabling them to recognize situations as less threatening and others not. As McCauley explains the coping mechanisms of each individual is “influences by their personalities, beliefs, experiences and expectations” (McCauley, 2005) which clearly differentiate hugely between people. A way of explaining individuals’ responses to stress is fight or flight. Stress is a difficult feeling to express and to test; the General Adaptation Syndrome created by Hans Selye explains the experience of stress by categorizing it in three stages: alarm, reaction, resistance and exhaustion; although an old theory it is very relevant to stress in the workplace at present. It is difficult to see stress in people, “stress will affect individuals differently, so some may become more disinterested…others may appear overwhelmed, anxious….”(Fairbairn, 2011) but it is vital for organizations to have some sort of system in place to be able to understand each individual. Changes such as increase in sick days, decline in work performance, concentration, fatigue and simply changes in their attitude and behavior are some signs of stress, which should be …show more content…

Stress is a reaction to changes and adjustments in ones environment; they may be physical, mental or emotional responses. Geoff Colvin in his article on reducing stress lists the main workplace stressors in order; Workload, people issues, juggling work/personal life then lack of job security. Stress can end up being the costliest of all work related illnesses, Safe Work Australia found that mental stress is costing Australian companies more than $10 billion annually due to decrease in productivity and increased absenteeism. There have been many studies over the years on the effects stress has on health both mentally and physically. Stress can be linked to all sorts of illnesses and diseases such as heart disease, strokes, immune disorders, disabilities of the nervous system, cancer, depression, anxiety and many more. Stress leads to job dissatisfaction, lack of motivation, decreased job performance, changes in behavior that in turn increases absenteeism. Sarah Carmichael in her article for Harvard Business Review suggests that the more we work the more we drink. This raises the importance of work life balance, Carmichael found that “people who work long hours may in general have a lifestyle which involves poor self-care” including factors such as their diet, alcohol consumption and

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