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SUSS PSY 201 ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY STUDY UNIT 3 Developing employees…
SUSS PSY 201 ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY STUDY UNIT 3
Developing employees at work
Motivation
Definition
Motivation
is a force that serves three functions:
It
energizes
, or causes people to act
it
directs
behaviour toward the attainment of specific goals
and it
sustains
the effort expended in reaching those goals.
Theories of motivation
Behaviour-based theories of motivation
These theories focus on behavioural outcomes as critical to affecting work motivation
Reinforcement theory
Draws on principles of operant conditioning and states that behaviour is
motivated by
its
consequences
.
(i.e. through
reinforcement and punishment
)
Motivation (or reinforcement) can be better understood through its scheduling.
One limitation to reinforcement theory is that it
emphasizes external, or extrinsic, rewards
Schedule of reinforcement
A program specifying the frequency and timing of reinforcements
Ratio Schedule
A program by which reinforcement depends on the number of desirable response
Fixed Ratio
A program by which reinforcement is contingent on a certain, unvarying number of responses.
Example: when workers are paid on a piecework basis—a certain amount of pay for a certain amount of production.
Variable Ratio
A reinforcement program by which the number of responses required for a reinforcement varies from trial to trial.
Example: Telemarketers work on a VR schedule, because they never know how many calls they must make before they get the next sale, which acts as a reinforcer for the caller.
Interval Schedule
A program by which reinforcement depends on the time interval elapsed since the last reinforcement.
Fixed Interval
A program by which reinforcement is contingent upon a certain, fixed time period.
Example: commonly occur in the work world, where they may appear as a periodic paycheck
Variable Interval
A program by which the time period between reinforcements varies from trial to trial.
Example: Fishing
Organizational
behavioural modification
The application of conditioning principles to obtain certain work outcomes.
one model of organizational behaviour modification takes a four-step approach, involving:
Specifying the
desired work behaviours
;
Measuring the desired performance
of these behaviours using trained observers.
Providing
frequent positive reinforcement
, including graphs demonstrating individual and group performance of desired behaviours.
Evaluation
of the program’s effectiveness
Goal-setting Theory
the motivational theory
that emphasizes the
setting of
specific and
challenging performance
goals
Set goals which are
specific, attainable, quantifiable, and challenging
Importance of increasing commitment of worker to the goal
Cognitive theories of motivation
emphasise
the role that
cognition
plays in determining worker motivation.
view
workers as rational beings
who cognitively assess personal costs and benefits before taking action: equity theory and expectancy theory
Equity Theory
states that workers are motivated by a desire to be treated equitably or fairly.
Comparison other
a referent point or persons used as a basis for comparison in making judgments of equity/inequity
Employee compare Inputs and outputs. Outcome ratios from such ratio will be used to deduce equity or inequity.
Inequity
If they feel that there is inequitable treatment, their motivation will be channelled to reduce the inequity
Underpayment inequity
i.e. worker’s perception that inputs are greater than outcomes
Overpayment inequity
i.e. worker’s perception that outcomes are greater than inputs
Equity
If workers perceive that they are receiving fair treatment, their motivation to work will be maintained
Input vs output
Inputs
elements that a worker invests in a job, such as experience and effort
Outputs
those things that a worker expects to receive from a job, such as pay and recognition
Expectancy (VIE) Theory
a cognitive theory of motivation that states that workers
weigh expected costs and benefits
of particular courses before they are motivated to take action
assumes that workers are rational, decision-making persons whose behaviour will be guided by an analysis of the potential costs and benefits
Three core
components of expectancy theory
Instrumentality
i.e. the perceived relationship between the performance of a particular behaviour and the likelihood of receiving a particular outcome
Expectancy
i.e. the perceived relationship between the individual’s effort and performance of a behavior
Valence
i.e the desirability of an outcome to an individual
Need theories of motivation
Needs
are physiological or psychological deficiencies that an organism is compelled
to fulfil.
The need theories
emphasize
the role that individual differences in certain types of needs play in
determining work motivation.
2. Aldefer's ERG theory
,
ERG theory collapses Maslow’s five categories of needs into three:
Existence
Relatedness
Growth
ERG theorist, Alderfer, made predictions similar to Maslow’s, that as each level of need becomes satisfied, the next higher level becomes a strong motivator.
3. McClelland's Achievement Motivation Theory
This theory states that three needs are central to work motivation
need for achievement
need for power
need for affiliation
To assess an individual’s motivational needs, McClelland used a variation of the
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
a projective test that uses ambiguous pictures to assess psychological motivation.
Need for power
The need to direct and control the activities of others and to be influential.
Individuals with a high need for power are
status oriented
and are more motivated by the chance to gain influence and prestige than to solve particular problems personally or reach performance goals.
There are
two sides
to the need for power:
One is
personal power
that is used toward personal ends
the other is
institutional power
or power that is oriented toward organizational objectives
Need for affiliation
The desire to be liked and accepted by others. Individuals motivated by affiliation needs
strive for friendship.
They are greatly concerned with interpersonal relationships on the job and prefer working with others on a task.
They are
motivated by cooperative
rather than competitive work situations.
Need for achievement
The compelling drive to accomplish a job successfully.
Individuals with a very high need for achievement are those who
love work challenges.
Need for achievement is
also associated with being task-oriented
, preferring situations offering moderate levels of risk or difficulty, and
desiring feedback about goal attainment.
1. Need hierarchy theory
a motivation theory, proposed by Maslow, that
arranges needs in a hierarchy
from lower, more basic needs to higher-order needs.
According to Maslow, the
lower-order/deficiency needs
(physiological needs, safety needs, and social needs)
must be satisfied
in a step-by-step fashion before an individual can
move on to higher-order/growth needs
(esteem and self-actualization needs)
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
(arranged from lowest- to highest-order needs)
Physiological needs
: the basic survival needs of food, water, air, sleep, and sex
Safety needs
: the needs for physical safety (need for shelter) and needs related to psychological
security
Social needs
: the need to be accepted by others and needs for love, affection, and friendship
Self-actualization needs
: the needs to reach one’s highest potential and to attain a sense of fulfillment; the highest level of needs
Esteem needs
: the needs to be recognized for accomplishments and to be admired and respected
by peers
Job design theories of motivation
These theories stress the structure and design of jobs as key factors in motivating workers.
both theories led to the development of intervention strategy called
job enrichment
a motivational program that involves
redesigning jobs
to give workers a greater role in the planning, execution, and evaluation of their work
Herzberg's two factor theory
proposes that two independent factors -
motivators and hygienes
- are important in determining worker satisfaction and motivation
Herzberg’s theory indicates that if managers are to keep workers happy and motivated, two things must be done.
First,
eliminate job dissatisfaction
. i.e. workers must be provided with basic hygiene factors.
Second, to get workers to put greater effort and energy into their jobs,
motivators must be present
Herzberg's two factors
Motivators elements
related to job
content
that, when present, lead to job satisfaction
i.e. recognition, responsibility, progression
Hygienes elements
related to job
context
that, when absent, cause job dissatisfaction
i.e. Salary, working conditions, supervision.
Job Characteristic Model
This theory
emphasizes the role of certain aspects or characteristics
of jobs in influencing work motivation.
Job Characteristic Model Summary
Core dimensions
Leads to psychological sates
which results in work and personal out comes.
Psychological states
Employees must experience three important psychological states to be motivated:
Workers must perceive their work as
meaningful
associate a sense of
responsibility
with the job,
have some
knowledge of the results
of their efforts
Core dimensions
Five core dimensions/ job characteristics contribute to a worker’s experience of the three psychological states
Task significance
—the
degree
to which a job has a substantial
impact
on other people within the organization, such as co-workers, or persons outside of the organization, such as consumers.
Autonomy
—the degree to which the job gives the worker **freedom and
independence** to choose how to schedule and carry out the necessary tasks.
Task identity
—the degree to which a job requires the completion of an entire job or function. The
worker needs to see
the observable
outcome
or product of
work efforts
.
Feedback
—the degree to which the job allows the worker to receive direct and clear information about the effectiveness of performance.
Skill variety
—the degree to which a job requires the worker to apply various abilities and skills to perform work-related tasks.
A job that demands a range of skills is likely to be perceived as challenging and meaningful
Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS)
a questionnaire that measures core job characteristics
Moderator- Growth need strength
certain “moderators” can affect the success of the model in predicting worker motivation. One such moderator is growth need strength
Growth need strength is the need and desire for personal growth on the job.
Workers low in this moderator are not likely to be motivated by jobs that offer
enriched opportunities for responsibility, autonomy, and accountability
Job Enrichment in a Manufacturing Organization
Situation
: a decision was made to implement a job enrichment program in a Volvo automobile assembly plant in Kalmar, Sweden, that was suffering from extremely high levels of absenteeism and turnover.
Enrichment program
First, the traditional assembly-line workers were separated into teams with 15 to 25 members. each team was made responsible for an entire auto component or function (i.e. upholstery, transmission assembly, etc ).
Each team was given the freedom to assign members to work tasks, to set their own output rates, to order supplies, and to inspect their own work, all of which had previously been performed by supervisors.
To encourage team spirit, each group was given carpeted break rooms, and job rotation was encouraged.
Results
The results of the program indicated a significant decline in both absenteeism and turnover along with improved product quality, although there was a slight decline in productivity and the costs of implementing the program were great.
It was also discovered that some workers did not adapt well to the enriched jobs and preferred the more traditional assembly line
Motivation and work
performance
Systems and technology variables
Poor tools and systems will affect work productivity independent of employee motivation
Individual difference variables
lacking the basic talents or skills to get the job done will hamper productivity, even in the most motivated worker.
being placed in a job that is incompatible with their own interests and talents, may be particularly unproductive.
Group dynamics variables
Group productivity can be poor if one or two key members are
not good team workers
.
Organizational variables
High levels of motivation and output in one department
may be offset by lower levels
in another department.
Organizational
politics and conflict
may also affect the coordination among groups, thus lowering productivity
Leadership in the Organization
Definition
Leadership
is the ability to guide a workgroup to achieve goals.
Leaders can be formally recognised by the organization.
Individuals may also emerge as informal leaders within work groups because they have some characteristic that group members value.
leadership theories
Behavioural theories
These theories focus on the
common behaviours associated to effective leaders
Ohio State Leadership Studies
Researchers at Ohio State University narrowed these
behaviours into
two dimensions
.
These dimensions of leadership are
independent of each other
Fall short
when it comes to
making firm predictions
about the relationships between leader behaviors and specific work outcomes in all types of working situations
Initiating structure
: leadership behaviours that define, organize and structure the work situation
e.g. assigning specific tasks and defining group roles.
Consideration
: leadership behaviours that show a concern for the feelings, attitudes and needs of followers
e.g. seeking opinion of subordinates and bolstering the confidence of workgroup.
Michigan Uni Leadership Studies
Researchers at the University of Michigan found that successful leaders display
two patterns of behaviour
Relationship-oriented behaviours are more effective
than task-oriented behaviours, however, having both behaviours are important as stated in the Leadership Grid.
Task-oriented
: focuses on work to be done; similar to initiating structure
e.g. set work standards for subordinate.
Relationship-oriented
: focuses on maintaining good relationships; similar to consideration
e.g. show concern for employee’s wellbeing
The Leadership Grid
is an application of the findings from the behavioural theories – a programme that
stresses both task-oriented and relationship-oriented behaviours as the keys
to leader success
Contingency theories
theories that look at the
interaction
of characteristics of both the leader and the situation
Fiedler’s contingency model
a leadership theory that maintains that effective leadership
depends on a match
between the leader’s
style and
the degree to which the work
situation
gives control and influence to the leader.
Fiedler’s theory divides leaders based on their
primary motivation
— task-oriented or relationship-oriented
1. Least preferred coworker (LPC)
Determining a leader’s task or relationship orientation
with the LPC is the first part of Fiedler’s contingency model
To measure a leader’s orientation, Fiedler developed a self-report measure (LPC measure)
It is a measure that
assesses leaders
’ task or relationship orientation by having them
rate their most difficult fellow worker
2. Work situation
The next step is defining characteristics of the work situation to find the proper match between leadership style and the situation.
work situation are defined using three variables
the
situation
that is going to be most
favourable
for the leader is one in which the
leader–member
relations are good
the task is
structured
the leader has
strong position power
.
task structure
i.e. an assessment of how well elements of the work task are structured
position power
i.e. a leader’s authority to punish or reward followers
leader–member relations
i.e. the quality of the relationship between leader and followers
Strength and weakness
Strength
its detailed attention to the situation emphasized the importance of both situation and leader characteristics in determining leader effectiveness.
Weakness
it only infers a leader’s orientation from feelings about a coworker rather than directly assessing task and relationship orientation.
Fiedler’s predictions concerns the assessment of situations, but it is not clear how actual work situations would break down
Path-Goal Theory
This theory states that a leader’s job is to
help the workgroup
achieve their
desired goals
To help the group reach its goals, the leader may
adopt one of four categories of behaviours
These
four types of leader behaviours
outlined in the path-goal theory offer a more detailed breakdown of the initiating structure (task-oriented) and consideration (relationship-oriented) behaviours:
initiating structure/Task oriented
Directive behaviours
leader behaviours that provides instructions and suggestions for performing a job
Achievement-oriented behaviour
is leader behaviour that is concentrated on particular work outcomes.
consideration/ relationship oriented
Supportive behaviour
is leader behaviour focusing on interpersonal relationships and showing concern for workers’ well-being
Participative behaviour
is leader behaviour that encourages members to assume an active role in group planning and decision making.
To Note
The theory does offer some idea of how leaders must change their behavior to fit the situation, but the biggest disappointment is that it has not led to a specific type of intervention for use on the job
Decision-Making Model
a theory that matches characteristics of the situation with leader decision-making strategies
Five Decision-Making Strategies:
Consultative Decision I
i.e. Leader shares problem with relevant subordinates and gets their ideas individually, but makes the decision alone.
Consultative Decision II
i.e. Leader shares problem with subordinates as a group, gets their collective input, but makes the decision alone.
Autocratic Decision II
i.e. Leader obtains information from subordinates and then makes the decision alone.
Group Decision
i.e. Leader shares the problem with subordinates as a group and make a consensus decision.
Autocratic Decision I
i.e. Leader makes decision alone, using information available only to the leader.
Decision tree framework
The decision-making model presents a decision tree framework for the leader to follow, with each of the
seven questions
representing a choice point that eventually
leads to the correct behaviour for the decision
that needs to be made
Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Model
It is a theory that effective leadership is determined by the
quality of the interaction
between the leader and particular group members.
According to this theory, the
worker is the situation.
To note
This model is a
two-way street
i.e. quality of leader-member relationship is influenced by effort and energy put into this relationship by both leader and follower
Dyadic
Basic unit of relationship measurement is dyadic or
one-on-one relationship
that develops between leader and follower.
This relationship differs in quality for different group members.
Good leader-member exchange
The leader may develop a good relationship with one subordinate.
Interaction between leader and follower is frequent and positive.
Good leader-member exchange has a positive impact on employee performance, loyalty and job satisfaction.
Bad leader-member exchange
The same leader may develop a poor relationship with another subordinate.
Interaction between leader and follower is infrequent and negative.
Bad leader-member exchange has a negative impact on employee performance, loyalty and job satisfaction.
Universalist Theories of Leadership
These theories look for the
major characteristics
common to all effective leaders
Trait Theory
This theory attempts to discover the traits shared by all effective leaders
Traits are enduring attributes
associated with an individual’s makeup or personality
Potential traits
Research has identified certain clusters of traits that are associated with effective leadership. They include flexibility, charisma and social intelligence.
Trait theory of leadership is
too general
Great Man/Woman Theory
a universalist theory of leadership that maintains that great
leaders are born
, not made
Lack of evidence to support this tehory
Charismatic & transformational theories
Charismatic Leadership Theory
states that
leaders
possess some
exceptional characteristics
that cause followers to be loyal and inspired.
Characteristics may include: high social skills and an ability to relate to (and inspire) followers at a deep, emotional level
Charismatic leadership is indeed an
interaction of leader, follower, and situation
TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP THEORY
Transactional
leadership occurs when the relationship between leader and followers is based on some sort of exchange or “transaction,” such as exchanging leader consideration behaviors for employee loyalty and commitment.
Transformational
leadership focuses on the leader’s ability to provide shared values and a vision for the future for the workgroup
Four components
make up transformational leadership
Inspirational Motivation
—transformational leaders are able to arouse and inspire followers by providing a compelling vision
Intellectual Stimulation
—Transformational leaders stimulate followers’ curiosity and their innovation and creativity.
Idealized Influence
—refers to the transformational leader being a positive role model for followers (Lead by example)
Individualized Consideration
—involves the leader’s personalized attention to each follower’s feelings, needs, and concerns.
Job Satisfaction & Positive
Employee Attitudes/Behaviours
JOB SATISFACTION
- Job satisfaction is the positive and negative
feelings and attitudes about one’s job
There are
two approaches
to conceptualising job satisfaction
Global approach
views job satisfaction as an
overall construct
Facet approach
views job satisfaction as made up of
individual elements
, or facets
THE MEASUREMENT OF JOB SATISFACTION
Two of the most widely used standardized surveys of job satisfaction are
Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ)
Job Descriptive Index (JDI).
Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ)
a self-report measure of job satisfaction that breaks satisfaction down into 20 job facets
Job Descriptive Index (JDI)
a self-report job satisfaction rating scale measuring five job facets
Job satisfaction and Job performance
Research indicates that there is a positive but complex relationship between job satisfaction and job performance
Porter–Lawler model
a theory where the relationship between job satisfaction and performance is mediated by
work-related rewards
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
Employee engagement is a
psychological state
characterized by
vigour, dedication, and absorption
in one’s work/organization.
Engaged employees have
positive attitudes
towards work and the organization
engage in
positive work behaviours
,
are
motivated
and productive
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT
Organizational commitment is a worker’s feelings and attitudes about the entire
work organization.
One model of organizational commitment views it as composed of
three dimensions
Continuance commitment
– worker’s commitment to continue with organization because there are
costs associated with leaving
Normative commitment
– worker’s sense of duty or obligation to stay with the organization
Affective commitment
– worker’s
emotional attachment
to the company
Organisational commitment and job satisfaction
There’s a fairly high
positive correlation
between job satisfaction and organizational commitment
workers maintain positive attitudes toward jobs and organizations to
maintain cognitive consistency
and avoid cognitive dissonance
Influencers
Both organizational commitment and job satisfaction are affected by numerous factors such as:
job type
responsibility
quality of social relationships at work
compensation
Likely influencers
Job satisfaction
: influenced by perceived fairness (equity) in job rewards
Organizational commitment
: influenced by congruence between organizational and worker values, as well as organizational values and actions
EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES AND EMPLOYEE ATTENDANCE
EMPLOYEE ABSENTEEISM
Organizations must be prepared to accept involuntary absenteeism as it is inevitable.
Organizations can try to eliminate voluntary absenteeism, but it is hard to do so due to the difficulty in distinguishing between voluntary and involuntary absenteeism.
Voluntary absenteeism
: employees miss work because they want to do something else, not because they are ill or unable to work (i.e. keng)
Involuntary absenteeism
: when employees have a legitimate excuse for missing work, typically due to illness.
EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
Low job satisfaction and low organizational commitment are linked to high turnover.
Employees who feel they are not treated fairly are more likely to leave the organization
A strong predictor of employee turnover is absenteeism, particularly rate of absences in the years immediately before the employee leaves.
Involuntary turnover
: when an employee is fired or laid off. It can be beneficial to the organization.
Voluntary turnover
: when competent employees leave to work elsewhere. It is costly to the organization.
INCREASING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT, JOB SATISFACTION, AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT
Following factors can improve job satisfaction and commitment:
Job structure
Pay structure
Flexible working structure
Benefits programme
Changes in pay structure
Skill-based pay
Compensation in which workers are paid based on their knowledge and skills rather than their organizational positions
Merit pay
Compensation in which employees receive a base rate and additional pay based on performance.
Gain-sharing
Compensation based on effective group performance.
Profit-sharing
A plan where all employees receive a small share of an organization’s profits.
Employee ownership
A programme where employees own all or part of an organization.
Flexible work schedules
give workers greater control over their workday
Compressed
workweeks
schedules that decrease the number of days in the workweek while increasing the number of work hours per day
Flextime
schedules that commits an employee to working a specified number of hours, but offers flexibility in beginning and ending times for each day
Job structure
Three techniques have been used to try to increase employee satisfaction by changing the structure of jobs
Job enlargement
Expansion of a job to include additional, more varied tasks
Job enrichment
Raising the level of responsibility of a job by allowing workers to be heard in the planning, execution and evaluation of their own work.
Job rotation
The systematic movement of workers from one type of task to another to alleviate boredom and monotony (as well as training workers on different tasks, add skill-sets)
Benefits programme
is the most common way for employers to try to increase employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment
May include
flexible working hours
healthcare benefits
retirement plans
career development
health promotion programmes
employer-sponsored childcare.
e.g.:Using Assessment to Enhance Employee Engagement
In one large banking institution, the employees became very involved in the surveys, and in the programs designed to enhance employee life and wellbeing that followed the assessments.
The surveys looked specifically at the programs that employees viewed favorably and those practices that employees disliked.
The president of the bank would then ask for volunteers to serve on task forces to address the problems.
Employees were so engaged in this program that the number of volunteers exceeded by 4–5 times the number of available slots on the task forces.
POSITIVE EMPLOYEE BEHAVIORS
What employers really care about are how job satisfaction and organizational commitment translate into positive employee behaviors
Positive employee behaviors can take several forms
Positive affect
refers to the experience of positive emotions e.g., good mood.
It influences both employee attitudes and employee behaviours
Affectively positive workers are more
prone to engage in OCB
and have a broader view of what their job entails (i.e. voluntarily take on more roles)
positive affect is linked to lower rates of stress and absenteeism, whereas negative affect is related to higher absenteeism and turnover.
Organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB)
consists of efforts by organizational members who advance or promote the work organization, its image, and its goals.
OCBs positively correlates with both job satisfaction and organizational commitment.
Employees who engage in OCBs are less likely to leave the organization and have lower voluntary absenteeism.
Worker Stress & Negative Employee
Attitudes/Behaviours
DEFINING WORKER STRESS
Worker stress
is defined as physiological or psychological
reactions
to an event that is
perceived
by an individual to be
threatening
or taxing
Stressor
an environmental
event
that is perceived by an individual to be
threatening
SOURCES OF WORKER STRESS
stress can arise from either the environment (situational stress) or from an individual’s personal characteristics (dispositional stress).
Situational stresor
(Organisational related)
WORK ROLE STRESSORS
Job ambiguity
a source of stress resulting from a lack of clearly defined jobs and/or work tasks
Lack of control
is a feeling of having little input or effect on the job and/or work environment that typically results in stress.
Physical work conditions.
Jobs that must be performed under extreme temperatures, loud and distracting noise, or poor lighting or ventilation can be quite stressful
Interpersonal stress
is stress arising from difficulties with others in the workplace
WORK TASK STRESSORS
Underutilisation
a source of stress resulting from workers feeling that their knowledge, skills, or energy are not being fully used
Work overload
(aka role overload) results when a job requires excessive speed or concentration
Dispositional stress
(Individual related)
Type A behavior pattern
. A personality characterized by excessive drive, competitiveness, impatience, and hostility that has been linked to greater incidence of coronary heart disease
Susceptibility/resistance to stress
. The notion that some people may be more resistant to the health-damaging effects of stress (i.e.
the level of hardiness
)
Self-efficacy
is an individual’s beliefs in his or her abilities to engage in courses of action that will lead to desired outcomes. It is related to one’s sense of competence and effectiveness.
MEASUREMENT OF WORKER STRESS
Physiological measures
Physiological measures of stress include blood pressure monitoring, EKGs for heart rate, or blood tests for stress-linked hormones in the bloodstream.
Self-report assessment of stress
Requires a person to report on their own perceived stress through various rating scales.
Questions will encompass organizational elements including job autonomy, feedback, task identity, skill variety, workload etc.
There are several standardized self-report measures of psychological stress including Stress Diagnostic Survey (SD) and Job Stress Survey (JSS).
Measurement of person–environment fit
Person-environment (P-E) fit refers to the match between a worker’s abilities, needs, and values, and organizational demands, rewards, and values.
involves
assessing worker’s skills and abilities, along with job demands.
P-E fit positively relates to organizational commitment and employee wellbeing
negatively related to employee turnover.
EFFECTS OF WORKER STRESS
Stress can have a negative impact on the workers and work behavior, and health.
Job Burnout
Burnout is a syndrome resulting from prolonged exposure to work stress that leads to withdrawal from the organization.
Sources of Burnout
Unresolved interpersonal conflicts at work
Lack of clearly-defined work tasks and responsibilities
Extreme overwork, etc.
Phases of burnout
Stressors induce
emotional exhaustion
leads to
Depersonalization
(i.e. withdrawal from society)
results in
Low personal accomplishmen
t (i.e. poor performance)
COPING WITH WORKER STRESS
Stress coping techniques can be categorized into two general approaches: individual strategies and organizational strategies.
Individual coping strategies
are behavioral or cognitive efforts made in an attempt to manage internal demands and conflicts that have exceeded an individual’s usual coping resources
Cognitive restructuring
can be used by the individual employee to reframe meaning of work stressor from negative to positive
Problem-Focused
Problem-Solving
: Getting to the root of the problem or the source of the stress
Time-Management
: Managing time more effectively
Emotion-Focused
Indulging
: i.e. Eating comfort food
Disclosure
: Talking or writing about your emotions
Relaxing
: Triggering the relaxation response to clear the mind (e.g. meditation)
Organizational coping strategies
techniques that organizations can use to reduce stress for all or most employees
Improve employee
training and orientation
programs
Designing Effective Work Stress Management Training Programs
most stress management programs take one of two forms knowledge acquisition programs or skill training programs
Knowledge acquisition programs
provide participants with some information about stress and a number of coping techniques. An outline of a sample four-part stress knowledge acquisition program as follow
Overview of stress and its potential consequences (3 hours)—This might include lecture and readings on stress.
Self-analysis: Learning about your personal stress (3 hours)—This section can include assessments of personal stressors.
Methods of coping with work stress (3 hours)—Here various individual coping strategies are presented.
Developing a personalized coping plan (3 hours)—In this final part participants work on developing customized programs for managing stress
Skill training programs
are designed to improve specific coping skills in areas such as problem-solving, time management or lifestyle choices.
This step-by-step program would be conducted in a series of 1- to 2-hour sessions over many weeks.
An example of a step-by-step problem-solving skill program developed as follow:
Identify the problem.
Select Goals.
Generate alternatives.
Review consequences.
Make a decision.
Implement the decision.
Evaluate the decision.
Increase employees’
sense of control
Eliminate punitive management.
The very act of being threatened
or punished at work can be very stressful
Remove hazardous or
dangerous work conditions
Provide a
supportive
, team-oriented work environment
NEGATIVE EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES
AND BEHAVIORS
counterproductive work behaviours (CWBs)
deviant, negative behaviours that are harmful to an organization and its workers
Includes latecomers
intentionally slower work rate
unauthorised longer breaks
Employee assistance programmes (EAPs)
refer to counselling provided for a variety of worker problems, particularly drug and alcohol abuse.