Work-related Stress

Week 4, Monday

Psychology 360
Outline
I. A general model of stress
II. Consequences of stress
III. Case study: U.S. Postal Service
IV. Organization-based stress management
A General Model of Stress
people have important goals
vis satisfaction of basic needs, ala Maslow
stress is a response to perceived threats to these goals
stress becomes debilitating when these threats overwhelm personal resources
people in war zones
police
emergency room staff
Effects of Stress Over Time
Causes of Occupational Stress
job demands
air traffic controller
role demands 
working parents
load demands
student at end of term
Consequences of Stress
Health:
higher likelihood of many illnesses, from the common cold to heart disease
Performance:
reduction, even at low levels
Career:
burnout
Pressure for efficiency in the USPS
downsizing = 47,000 jobs cut by 1995 (of 800,000)
automation = $5.5 billion invested by 1995
tasks = manual labor
Delivery Bar Code Sorting Machine
Hostile Postal Service Culture
militaristic = 200 volumes of regulations and rules
close supervision = monitoring to 1/100th of minutes
combative unions = legally forbidden to strike
management = inflexible
Consequences for the USPS
nine attacks by disgruntled employees resulting in over 30 deaths since 1983
assault at Royal Oak, MI = product of stressful harassment?
ambitious boss OR sadistic taskmaster
troubled worker OR psychopath
stress not solely responsible, but may be a factor
Organization-based Stress
Management
Response to USPS situation:
what should management do?
what should workers do?
what should the postmaster general do?
Frame your response in terms of:
changes in organizational structure and function
changes in the nature of specific jobs

Management:
cease microscopic supervision
Workers:
increase task variety and discretion
Postmaster general:
recognize that culture is a culprit and take symbolic action
Copyright © 1996, The Regents of the University of Michigan, All rights reserved.
Revised - November 4, 1996