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1.  Work Related Stressors

Unit Related Stressors Checklist

Overview

Job stress can be defined as physical and emotional responses that emerge when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the unit member.  Job stress can lead to fatigue, poor health, and injury.  Differences in personality and coping style are important factors in predicting whether certain job conditions will result in stress.  In a recent survey of Air Force members, more than one quarter of participants reported suffering from significant job stress, and nearly one in six believed work stress was causing them significant emotional distress.

Employees suffering from job stress manifest many symptoms, including inattention, decreased motivation, apathy, anger, irritability, disinterest, fatigue, depression, anxiety, inadequate sleep and poor hygiene.  As job stress escalates, the typical consequences of work stress begin to appear.  Common sources of work stress include:

● Traumatic events (major disasters, toxic exposures, witnessing severe injuries, suffering severe injury, etc.).
● Conflict with supervisors.
● Conflict with coworkers.
● Change in work responsibilities, hours, or conditions.
● New job position.
● New career field.
● Work overload.
● Lack of job challenge.
● Exposure to harassment.
● Fear of job loss.
● Disciplinary action.
● Being bypassed for promotion.
● Being promoted.
● Low wages.
● Role ambiguity.
● Role conflict.
● Long work hours.
● Job conflicts with family time.
● Inadequate job training.
● Inadequate resources (staff, equipments, budget).
● Unsafe job environment.
● Poor physical work conditions:

●● Excessive noise.
●● Excessive heat or cold.
●● Overcrowding. Isolation.
●● Poor ergonomic office design.
●● Inadequate lighting.

Other potential sources of stressors that may stem from military life include:

● Frequent family relocations.
● Frequent, prolonged, and short-notice TDY’s.
● Long and irregular duty hours.
● Difficulty sharing domestic and child care responsibilities.

Job stress has become a common and costly problem in the workplace.  Depression, sleep problems, and disrupted relationships with family and friends are examples of stress related problems that may arise from or be exacerbated by job stress.

Increasingly, the demands on individuals in the workplace reach out into the homes and social lives of unit members.  Taking work home, high levels of responsibility, job insecurity, and relocation all may adversely affect family life.  In addition, domestic pressures such as child care responsibilities, and financial worries, may adversely affect a person’s work.  A vicious cycle may occur when the stressors caused in areas of work or home, spills over and makes coping with the others more difficult.

Impact of Job Stress

The impact of life stressors may show up in individuals at work in a variety of ways:

● Reduction in the quality or quantity of work produced.
● Frequently coming to work late or leaving early.
● Increases in frequency of accidents and mishaps.
● Alcohol or drug abuse.
● Difficulty with supervisors.
● Unwillingness by the individual to perform certain tasks.
● Tendency to question and challenge previously accepted management practices.
● Preoccupation with non-work related activities such as personal finances.
● Reduced morale.

Interpersonal Stress in the Workplace

Personality conflicts and work style differences are an inherent and often normal part of interpersonal diversity in the workplace.  However, some people are inherently difficult to work with and other workers may have problems developing a positive relationship with them.  Tactics that peers can employ to deal with stress from being around people they find difficult to interact with include:

● Developing a support system.  The support system helps provide a perspective of how to deal with the person.
● Developing strategies that reduce the conflict such as meeting periodically with peers to reflect on the conflict and get feedback and direction.

Shift Work and Job Stress

Workers engaged in irregular schedules or shift work may have increased levels of stress.  The stress of shift work can cause fatigue and irregular sleep patterns.

● When possible, consider personal employee preferences when determining shift schedules.
● People adapt more easily to forward shift rotations, that is, day-to-evening, evening-to-night.
● Having an adequate amount of sleep can help in the transition between shifts.

● Allow at least two days between changes to give the member time to adjust to the new schedule.
● When working irregular schedules or long hours, unit members should be encouraged to avoid caffeine, alcohol, and other substances used to assist them in staying awake, falling asleep, or relaxing.

Resources That Help Personnel with Job Stress

Supervisor support has been shown to decrease job stress and increase performance.  People who feel supported are also more likely to take actions that are favorable to the organization and that go beyond assigned responsibilities.  The perception that the organization is supportive, respectful, and caring about its members can have significant impact on helping people meet the demands of job stress.

It is important that members have access to resources to help them meet the pressures and demands faced at work.  Assistance is available at each base for improving coping skills, problem-solving, assertiveness, time management, a good working environment, and social support, through the following agencies:

● The LSSC
● The Health and Wellness Center
● Chaplain
● Family Support Center

How Leaders Can Help People with Job Related Stress

Reducing job stress requires a partnership between unit leadership and unit personnel.  Unit leaders need to identify and eliminate sources of job stress, when possible.  This requires that leaders examine the organizational climate, by distributing employee attitude surveys, by examining attendance records and by evaluating accident and injury reports and trends.  Consulting with base Occupational Medicine and the Integrated Delivery System (IDS) can offer invaluable assistance.  This will assist leaders in identifying potential problem areas and developing effective interventions.  In particular, the early identification and treatment of personnel suffering from job stress can limit the negative consequences for both the employee and the organization.  Appropriate mental health care has been repeatedly proven to return employees to work successfully.

As a general rule, actions to reduce or manage job stress should give high priority.  Specific measures include:

● Foster general awareness about job stress (causes, costs, control).
● Improve communications:

●● Reduce uncertainty about career development.
●● Monitor progress and share that progress with your people.
●● Share information with your team.
●● Keep unit members up to date on relevant information.
●● Set up meeting for unit members to vent any concerns and ask pertinent questions.

● Ensure that the workload is in line with unit members’ capabilities and resources.
● Clearly define roles and responsibilities of unit members.
● Give unit members opportunities to participate in decisions and actions affecting their jobs.
● Provide opportunities for social interaction among workers.
● Assess the risk of stress among unit members.  This involves:

●● Looking for pressures at work which could cause high and long-lasting levels of distress.
●● Deciding who might be affected by these.
●● Deciding what can be done to decrease the stressors.

● Maximizing flexibility can help prevent and reduce work stress.  Actions may include:

●● Providing flexible work hours.
●● Giving time off for appointments.
●● Giving members a voice in the decision-making process when appropriate.
●● Clarify expectations from the start.

Organizational characteristics associated with low-stress work and high levels of productivity include the following:

● A safe and healthy work environment.
● Recognition of unit members for good work performance.
● Opportunities for career development.
● An organizational culture that values the individual unit member as well as a team approach.
● Management actions are consistent with organizational values.
● Examples of measures that can help to reduce the effects of stressful working conditions include the following:

●● Balance between work and family or personal life.
●● A support network of friends and coworkers.
●● Use of time management strategies, such as setting priorities.
●● A relaxed and positive outlook