Transcript WHAT IS STRESS

Occupational Health Psychology
Prepared for SHP 1313 and UHS 2062 students at
UTM Malaysia
By Siti Rokiah Siwok
[email protected]
Does work contribute to the
health and emotional well-being
of employees?
Of course…

The work environment contributes to the
physical health and emotional wellbeing of employees in many ways;
immediate/direct or over a long
Occupational Health Psychology
: Background and Overview

Occupational health psychology
(OHP) is concerned with the
psychosocial characteristics of
workplaces that contribute to the
development of health-related problems
at the workplace.
Occupational Health Psychology
: Background and Overview

OHP also finds ways to effect workplace
changes that can benefit workers’
health without adversely affecting
productivity.
Occupational Health Psychology
: Background and Overview

OHP researchers and practitioners are
concerned with a variety of
psychosocial work characteristics that
may be related to physical and mental
health problems.
Concerns of OHP researchers and
practitioners


The physical health problems range
from accidental injury to cardiovascular
disease.
The mental health problems include
psychological distress, burnout, and
depression.
Concerns of OHP researchers and
practitioners

OHP researchers and practitioners are
also concerned with the relation of
psychosocial working conditions to
health behaviors (e.g., smoking and
alcohol consumption) and workplace
morale (e.g., job satisfaction)
Concerns of OHP researchers and
practitioners

Examples of psychosocial workplace
characteristics that OHP researchers have
linked to health outcomes include:
• psychological workload
• the balance between a worker's efforts and the
rewards (e.g., pay, recognition, status, prospects
for a promotion, etc.) received for his/her work
• The supportiveness between supervisors and coworkers.
Also,
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With its roots in occupational health,
OHP is also concerned with factors that
affect workplace safety and accident
risk.
OHP document the adverse impact of
deteriorating economic conditions, and
identify ways to mitigate that impact.
OHP: Journals

Two important OHP journals are the
Journal of Occupational Health
Psychology (JOHP) and Work & Stress
(W & S).
Physical conditions affecting
health and safety

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Physical work conditions have direct
physical effects on workers either
immediate or over long periods of time.
When it takes over a long period of
time, difficult to determine the cause.
Illness and injury also bring
psychological consequences.
Frequent sources of illness and injury in some
common occupations
SOURCE
OCCUPATION
Infectious disease
Dentist, nurse
Loud noise
Airline baggage handler, musician
Physical assault ( fatal)
Police officer, taxi driver
Physical assault ( nonfatal)
Nursing home aide, psychiatric
nurse
Repetitive actions
Data entry clerk, typist
Temperature extremes
Park ranger, roofer
Toxic substances
Farmer, exterminator
(Spector, 2008)
Infectious disease



Employees dealing with the public.
Minor and major infectious disease
For major disease such as AIDS, in the USA
the disease centres for Disease and Control
and Prevention recommends all health
workers comply with the universal
precautions.
Infectious disease: Universal
precautions

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Disposing sharp objects in a special
container.
Wearing disposable gloves when handling
blood or body fluids.
Immediate cleaning all bodily fluid spills with
disinfectant.
Recapping needles which have been used.
Loud Noise: Hearing loss and…




Especially in jobs that involves heavy
equipment or machinery.
Extreme exposure to loud noise, greater than
85 decibels can severely damage a person’s
hearing; sometimes permanently.
Loud music also can damage hearing.
Common for employees working in noisy
work environment suffer from hearing loss.
Loud Noise: Hearing loss and…

Also a link between noise exposure and
cardiovascular disease ( Cohen and
Weinstein, 1981, in Spector 2008)
and blood pressure for employees with
complex job( although studies not
conclusive)
Noise
18
Effects of Noise on Health

Hearing loss

Increased blood
pressure

More frequent illness
19
Effects of Noise on Performance



Affects quality more than quantity
Decreased performance on
cognitive tasks
Decreased job satisfaction
20
Effects of Noise on Behavior

Narrowed focus

Lower altruism

Decreased eye contact

Increased rate of
walking
21
Noise at Different Levels
Source of Noise
Decibels Effect
Rocket launch
180
Jet takeoff
130
Brief exposure can cause deafness
Riveting machine
115
Maximum legal exposure
Textile weaving plant
100
Blood pressure increases
Food blender
95
Cognitive performance drops
Employees report more illness
Angry people increase aggressiveness
City traffic
90
Legal acceptable noise limit for 8-hour day
Noisy restaurant
70
Telephone use is difficult
22
Common sounds and their
decibels
OSHA Noise Limits
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Hours of Exposure Maximum Decibels
8
6
4
2
1
1/2
1/4
90
92
95
100
105
110
115
120
130
(city traffic)
(food blender)
(lawn mower)
(riveting machine)
(disco)
(jet takeoff)
25
Reducing Noise




Legal limits to noise exposure
Change the environment
(e.g., carpet, acoustic tiles)
Reduce noise reaching
employee (e.g., ear plugs)
Reduce noise emitted
26
Workplace Violence
27
Workplace Violence

Statistics
– Homicide reason for 11.1% of workplace fatalities
– 1% of employees annually victims of workplace
violence

Types of Workplace Violence
– Homicides during commission of a crime (71%)
– Homicide of a law enforcement officer (14%)
– Acts of vengeance against employee (15%)
•
•
•
•
Committed by current employee (44%)
Former employees (23%)
Domestic violence (21%)
Other (12%)
28
Workplace Violence Perpetrators

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Male (80%)
20 - 50 years of age (usually in his 40s)
Self-esteem tied to job
Feels there is no other way of resolving his
mistreatment other than violence
Demonstrated a recent pattern of problems at work
Has recently tried to get others to take his dilemma
seriously by threatening, yelling, etc.
Has begun showing signs of paranoid thinking
Has become isolated and withdrawn
Has ready access to guns
29
Occupations associated with four
types of Workplace Violence
Violence Type
Definition
Likely occupation
to Experience it
Type 1
Strangers committing a
crime
Taxi driver,
convenience store
keeper
Type 2
Client/customer/patient
Nurse, social worker (
helping profession)
Type 3
Other employees
Any job with co-worker
contact
Type 4
Relationship
Any job
Physical assaults

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Fatal physical assaults are rare ( USA)
Nonfatal physical assaults are common

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Health care workers: greatest risk although little or
no injury.
Assaults can also by animals.
 Meter readers, installers, door-to-door salesmen
 Veterinarians, zoo keepers, farm workers etc
Reducing Workplace Violence

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Security measures
Better employee
screening methods
Increased management
awareness
32
Repetitive actions
Repetitive Actions

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Consequence : repetitive strain injuries
which causes inflammation or permanent
damage.
The most well known injury is the carpal
tunnel syndrome, which causes pain,
numbness and weakness in the fingers and
hands brought on by repeated use of fingers
and wrists.
Temperature

Body reduces heat by
– radiation
– evaporation

Body increases heat by
– constricting blood vessels
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Effective temperature
–
–
–
–
air temperature
humidity
airflow
temperature of objects in the environment
35
Effects of Temperature

Depend on
–
–
–
–
–
temperature
task type
workload
amount of exposure
rest periods
36
Temperature Extremes

People at risks are those who work outdoors
in very hot or very cold weather ;threat to
health, can cause death.

Ambient or surrounding air temperature has
a great role in maintaining core temperature
Intense heat will lead to exhaustion, heat
stroke and heat stress.

Temperature Extremes:
Precautions
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In extreme cold weather, wear sufficiently
warm clothing.
In extreme conditions, brief exposure only.
Drink lots of water in hot conditions to prevent
dehydration
Allow employees to take breaks as needed.
Exposure to toxic substances and
allergens
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Many jobs are exposed to toxic substances and in
unexpected places.
Example: cancer.
Difficult to detect as the toxicity takes time to
develop and not everybody exposed develop
symptoms.
Reactions to exposure vary from minor symptoms
such as headache and nausea to serious organs
damage.
Concerns and actions

Organizations that expose their
employees to toxic substances run the
risk of lawsuits brought by ill or disable
employees. In the United States, the
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) is charged with
seeing that workplace safeguards are
used to protect workers.
Exposure to toxic substances and
allergens
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When most of the employees in an office become
ill, it leads to sick building
phenomenon/syndrome, caused by toxic
substances or microorganisms.
Allergies are also common, due to dust, mold
and pollen, causing reactions such as nasal
congestions, coughing, watery eyes, skin rash.
Can be fatal to employees with asthma and
respiratory problems.
Work Schedules

Three types are of interest to IO
psychologist:
1. Night ( and rotation) shifts
2. Long work shifts
3. Flexitime
Work Schedules

Night shifts
– Health consequences
• Upsets circadian rhythm of the body
• Sleep problems
• Stomach distress
– Long breaks of several days helpful, Barton 1995
– Permanent night shift—let people choose it

Long shifts
– More than 8 hours
– Can cause fatigue and health problems
– Allows more days off
Physiological Effects of Night Shifts
Work Shifts 2
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Long work weeks
–
–
–
–
48 hours per week magic number
Leads to heart disease if nonvoluntary
(Sparks & Cooper, 1997)
European Council rule on hours
• 11 hours off every 24
• 48 total per week
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Flexible schedules
–
–
–
–
Employees choose some or all of own hours
Reduces absence
Sometimes increased productivity
Small increase in job satisfaction
Occupational Stress
Occupational Stress

Job stressor: Condition at work requiring
adaptive response
– Objective
– Perceived

Job strain: Negative response to stressor
– Psychological: Anger
– Physical: Increased blood pressure
– Behavioral: Absence
Models of Job Stress Process
Job Stressors
1.
2.
3.
4.
Role ambiguity: Uncertainty about what you should
do
Role conflict: Incompatible demands
Workload: Too much to do or too difficult
Social Stressors: Stressors arising from
interpersonal contact


5.
Interpersonal conflict
Mistreatment
Organizational politics: Self-serving behaviors and
favoritism
Control
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Extent to which employees make decisions about
work
Autonomy: Control over how, when, where work is
done
Relates to many strains
–
–
–
–
–
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Job satisfaction
Organizational commitment
Health symptoms
Negative emotions
Absence
Machine pacing: Machine determines how fast one
works
Leads to strains
– Anxiety
– Health Symptoms
Demand/Control Model

Control buffers negative effects of stressors
Low control and high demand leads to strain
High control and high demand doesn’t lead to strain

Widely believed but research support inconclusive

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– Control in studies not linked to demands

Other variables might buffer stress
– Self-efficacy
• High self-efficacy buffered effects of demands
Demand/Control Model
Work-family Conflict
Work-Family Conflict(WFC)

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Incompatible demands between work and family
Gallup poll found 34% of Americans experience WFC
Causes
– Work hours
– Inflexible work schedules
– Negative affectivity

Effects
–
–
–
–
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Absence and Lateness
Depression
Health Symptoms
Job dissatisfaction
Interventions
– Flexible work schedules
– On-site child care
WFC studies in Malaysia
Burnout

Distressed psychological state in response to
occupational stressors
– Emotional exhaustion
– Depersonalization
– Reduced personal accomplishment

Effects
–
–
–
–
Absence
Fatigue
Low motivation
Poor performance
Commitment and Involvement
Commitment and Involvement :
Employees

Although employees do not have the
control over management , but workers
have the responsibility to comply with
the rules and regulations(Reese, 2009).
Commitment and Involvement:
Management

Safe and healthy workplace: It is solely
the management’s responsibility
(Reese, 2009)
Getting safe performance:
Motivating …….


85-90% of accident causes are due to
unsafe behaviours (Reese, 2009).
Pre requisite: presence of health and
safety foundations at the workplace.
References:
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Spector, P. E (2005). Industrial and Organizational
Psychology. OHP ppt slides
Aamodt, M.G (2010). Industrial and organizational
psychology. An applied approach (6th ed) Belmont,
CA: Wadsworth
Riggio, R.E ( ) ppt Slides: Human Factors and
Occupational Health Psychology
Spector, P.E. (2008).Industrial and Organizational
Psychology (5th Ed.) New Jersey: Wiley
Reese,C. D. (2009). Occupational and Safety
Management. A Practical Approach (2nd Ed.) .
Florida: CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group.