This document discusses organizational stress and identifies its sources. It defines organizational stress as arising from interactions between people and their jobs that cause them to deviate from normal functioning. There are three main types of stressors: extra-organizational like lifestyle changes; organizational like high-stress jobs or improper working conditions; and individual like role ambiguity. The document recommends strategies for organizations to address stress like job design, training, counseling, communication, and problem-focused approaches to analyze and address causes of stress. Managing stress requires identifying sources and improving issues with employee participation and support.

1. Identifying organizational stressors: An effective work
approach
By
Ms. Vijit A. Chaturvedi
Faculty (HRM)
Icfai National College
Faridabad
"Stress ", the word stress refers to a state of deviation or variation from normal
state due to unplanned or improperly designed system or work process resulting into
failures and non – accomplishment of goals. Organizational stress as defined by J.E
Newman, is "a condition arising out of interaction of people with their jobs
and characterizes by changes within people that forces them to drift apart
from normal functioning".
In the present global scenario where the employers try their best and keep a
continuous track to map the satisfaction quotient of employees at different levels of
baby boomers generation X-ers and generation Y-ers or employees as diverse
workforce in terms of age, gender, attitudes, expectations and longevity.
Since the delegation, accountability and authority in an organization is decided on by
the organization structure which reflects the flow of direction within the structure.
Instead of the best practices, policies and allocation each job is accompanied by
stress among individuals which results into dysfunction and ineffective goal
attainment and leads to heavy losses in terms of de - motivation, unethical
organization culture, lack of goal congruency, distrust effecting team work thus
effecting the overall working of organization.
Sources of Stress
Organizational stress does not solely have its roots in factors due to job of an
individual but individual personal reason also has a major role in factors leading to
stress. The stressors can be of following types –
I) Extra organizational stressors – It refers to the factors that are more personal
and related more to individual, like
Societal patterns
Technological changes
Changed lifestyle
Relocation of work or family
Unexpected happening or changes in life
Sociological variables like race, sex and class leads to stress

2. II) Organizational Stressors they emerge from reasons related to organization or
job assigned to individual. They can be of following reasons –
a) High stress job- It refers to work which involves hectic schedule and complex
job responsibilities which result into imbalance in personal and work a life and also
overwork may affect physical health of individual resulting into ineffective work and
dissatisfaction among employees leading imbalance in family or personal life also
b) Job role – Certain job characteristics like job overload, job assignment, job
responsibility and responsibility of others, hectic schedules and constant pressure
causes stress.
c) Improper working condition – Sometimes even the physical condition, the
infrastructure and lacuna in basic facilities of the organization lead to stress and
improper work efficiency.
d) Under utilization of skills – If the skills remain underutilized it leaves the
person demotivated due to scarcity of opportunities for growth resulting into
frequent absenteeism, aloofness, role ambiguity, instability and dissatisfaction.
e) Organizational Politics – Competition within departments if improperly handled
results into negative feelings, fault finding and high role ambiguity which spoil the
overall culture and climate of organization.
III) Individual Stressors
Since each individual's disposition and perception for taking and handling stress
varies, so the level of stress and its causes are more individual in nature. The causes
of individual stressors are –
a) Role ambiguity – It can be due to lack of training, improper knowledge of
subject, poor communication channel, friction between superior and subordinates
etc.
b) Psychological Hardiness –It decides the level and capacity of a person to
handle stress since it varies from individual to individual. Thus people having high
level of hardiness in handling stress are persons who know how to handle situation
better and in a planned way so as to reduce level of stress
c) Type of Personality –As per the category Type A are people who have high level
of commitment, are competitive,, aggressive, and exhibit different behavior patterns.
They desire to achieve. Such personalities are more prone to chances of stress and
incompatibility. Type B are those who have a relaxed and balanced approach and are
more confident in their approaches towards work. They are less susceptible to stress.
Stress Coping Strategies for Organization
After identifying the types and causes that lead to individual, organizational stress
the need arises to remedies these causes so as to save organization and people from
being stressful, unproductive and dissatisfied. The organization and the HR

3. department needs to keep a proper eye and control on the organization activities like
–
A) Job related Strategies
* Proper job designing and matching the job and the job incumbent
* Proper selection and placement
* Training to reduce stress
* Counseling and mentoring
* Proper and planned job delegation and allocation of task
* Monetary and non monetary benefits
B) Emotion focused strategies
* Creating open communication channels
* Employee assistance programs
* Mentoring
* Wellness program
* Team building exercises
C) Problem focused strategy
They hit the problem directly after analyzing the possible cause of stress. They can
be practiced in form of–
* Training employees for best time management
* Training to perform in a team
* Proper job allocation
* Job evaluation
* Matching performance evaluation with job delegation
* Empowering employees
* Participative exercises to build up involvement, trust and trust.
* Recreation
* Training people in perceptual adaptation
Thus, it is though far difficult to ensure providing a stress less and relieved work
culture or work, the real productivity and efficiency can be truly yielded a only when
individuals at their own and the management on continuous basis can practice a
monitoring mechanism to identify the causes resulting into stress and improvising
such issues along with employees participation matched with counseling, mentoring,
open communication channels and empowerment exercises.
It is the prime responsibility of top management to envisage in system such
organization developmental interventions that can bring positive changes in the
working, attitude and commitment level of employees by means of work life balance
and making the quality of work life happy, productive and esteemed.
Irrespective of the nature of industry and work no job can remain untouched and
affected from stress since it is a multi- dependent variable including the individual in
its different attributes like personal, work related external and internal environment
related and above all psychological make up which decides the extent to which the
person can accept and overcome stress. Thus to overcome the impact of

4. organizational stressors on employees working efficiency and organization a overall
check mechanism need to be designed for the betterment of organization as a whole.