Stress and Stressful Features in a Job

Some jobs are more stressful than others. Certain features associated with particular jobs are stressful. For example, the greater the extent to which the job requires decision- making , constant monitoring of materials or machinery, in poor conditions, with repeated exchange information or unstructured job, the greater the degree of stress.

There are also other stressful features in a job, such as the following:

• * Role Conflict. Stress resulting from conflicting demands, from boos to friends, teacher to pastoral role law enforcer to father confessor. This is a common practice among working mother’s human resources personnel and teachers. The adverse effects of role conflict may be less pronounced in work settings are in excluded.

• * Role Ambiguity. Stress resulting from uncertainty, often as a result of employees being unaware of what is expected of them through a lack of a job description or specified responsibilities. They may be unaware of several aspects of their job or how to divide their time between various tasks. Ambiguity also results from changes in the organization send the profession.

• Over-and-Underload Stress. Stress resulting from having too little or too much to do. Work overload can be quantitative or qualitative. The former is where the work required is too much within the given time. The latter is when employees feel that they do not posses sufficient resources, skills or ability to do the job. Quantitative underload leads to boredom when employee have too little to do, whereas qualitative underload is a result of the tasks being repetitive and without mental stimulation.

• Responsibility for Others. Many employees are responsible for others, needing to motivate and reward, punish and correct and, most importantly communicate. This often causes considerable stress when facing human aspects such as dealing with organizational policies, complaints and exercising leadership.

• Lack of Social Support. This is the stress caused by being isolated and ignored. Having friends and supporters in times of difficulty, helps employees and managers see threatening events as more controllable. They may also suggest strategies for dealing with situation and coping techniques. This is the type of support with situation and coping techniques. The former being the more beneficial although copious amount of both is ideal.

• Lack of Participation in Decisions. Many people in junior and middle management feel isolated because they are not involved in a decision making process that may directly affect their jobs

• Poor Performance Appraisal. Stress from little or no feedback or from a biased report. the problem in a minimal appraisal system affect is that staff do not know how they are doing or should be doing. a negative appraisal without being told how to improve also increases stress levels.

• Working Conditions. Some jobs have to be done in poor and often difficult conditions. these include jobs in extreme temperatures such as mining, or with loud noise, such as road digging.

• Organizational Change. This is the stress that comes from adapting to new technique and methods of work . As the speed type and amount of organizational change occur, so the level of stress increases. Change in policy, recognizing and mergers all lead to uncertainly and consequently, stress.

• Career Development. Many people at work live in the hope of advancement based on seniourity and performance. Staff build up thier hopes and expectations and performance, if these are thwarted, this raises levels of stress.

• Home / Work Interface. Traditionally associated with women, this conflict of home and work demands may result in divided loyalties this is most serious when neither environment is tolerant or supportive.

Self Concept, Stress and Health

Apparently, stress is keenly felt by a person who suffers from a problem of personal and social maladjustment. He feels uncertain and confused of who and what he really is inadequate and inferior in his functioning as a person and insecure in his relationship with other persons. All of these feelings stem from a low self esteem.

Though such “spectacles” of self-concept, they have views the world with indifference and suspicion resentment and mistrust. The works he hears and the actions he sees from other are given some negative meanings. Eventually, he easily feels threatened. As he mulls over his interpretations, his general functioning is affected.

A person tends to be over conscious and extra sensitive and defensive. Among his favorite defense mechanisms are rationalization scapegoating , denial, regression, or repression. Another source of maladjustment and stress is the discrepancy between his real and ideal selves. Social adjustment a sense of persona, worth and feelings of belonging are all correlated with proximity of real and ideal selves or self-satisfaction This was corroborated and discovered that adolescents with a high discrepancy between real and ideal selves felt themselves unable to meet parental expectations and were tense ,distractible anxious, restless, unhappy, and oversensitive.

Self- concept is also related to success or failure in career life. Researchers and clinicians have known for years that if in a given situation a person devalues his self perceives himself as helpless and certain of failure , this perception would virtually ensure failure in that situation. The likelihood of yours failure at some task will greatly increase If you imagine yourself as failing even before the task in question had begun. Conversely, If you imagine yourself succeeding at your task, your probability of success will be greatly enhanced.

Just as self- perception affects stress reactions and task behavior; it can greatly affect the eventual onset of disease. In of the more intriguing aspects of the role of a devalued self image in disease emerges from the study of cancer. According to W.W. Meissner of the Harvard Medical School, cancer patients are relatively “selfless” individuals. They often display signs of great sacrifice and self-effacement. Finally most exhibit feeling of “hopelessness” and helplessness” which is typical before the onset of cancer.

Based on his clinical observations, they concluded that one of the major personality correlated of cancer was a severe degree of poor self expectation coupled with self dislike, Similarly Simonton observed that a very pessimistic outlook on life characterized many cancer patient. More importantly, those with the lowest self-perceptions eventually succumbed to the disease, whereas those patients who maintained optimism and the conviction that they could “win” over cancer survived. Such level of self-esteem may be related to other psychosomatic ailment like asthma, peptic, ulcer, skin disorders, obesity, etc.

What is Distress?

Distress is a word that has lots of meaning.

Here, we use “distress” to describe unpleasant feelings or emotions that may cause problems for you as you cope with cancer and its treatment. Distress is also common in the family members and loved ones of people with cancer. It can make it harder to deal with all the changes in your life caused by cancer in someone you love.

Saying that you are distressed can mean that you feel:

* Sad
* Hopeless
* Powerless
* Afraid
* Guilty
* Anxious
* Panic
* Discouraged
* Depressed
* Uncertainty

The stress of dealing with cancer may affect areas of your life other than your feelings. It can affect your thoughts, your behavior, and how you interact with others.

Some distress is normal

A certain amount of distress is normal when you or a family member has cancer. Cancer causes distress, in part because of the attitudes and fears people have about cancer. For example, one of the big fears people have is that cancer means death. But the idea that cancer always leads to death is wrong. About 11 million Americans are alive today who have had cancer.

Of course, people are upset when they learn they have cancer — no matter how much progress has been made in treating it. There are many things that suddenly seem uncertain. People have fears and concerns about what may happen to their bodies. They worry how their loved ones will cope with their cancer and all the things that may happen to them. And they have fears about what the future will be like. People often wonder, “Am I going to die?” and “Why is this happening to me?”

Once you learn that you or a loved one has cancer, you may no longer feel safe. You may feel afraid, exposed, weak, and vulnerable. Such feelings often last through treatment and may be joined by anxiety and sadness.

It is normal to worry when you are waiting for the first treatment. “The worst time for me was waiting for that first chemo treatment,” said one patient. “Once it was over, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, I was OK. I felt better because I was finally doing something about the cancer.” Waiting for surgery is also a time of major concern. People often worry about the operation itself, but also about whether the cancer is growing while they wait for surgery. Fears about the changes in your body that surgery will cause can be a major source of distress.

Then there are concerns about work and home life and how they will change as a result of cancer. Insurance and financial issues often add to the worries.