Which of these is a work hindrance stressor?
- family time demands
- work-family conflict
- benign job demands
- financial uncertainty
- role overload
Role overload occurs when the number of demanding roles a person holds is so high that the person simply cannot perform some or all of the roles very effectively. Role overload as a source of stress is becoming very prevalent for employees in many different industries.
Role Overload: When an employee has too many demands to work effectively.
Which of the following is a work challenge stressor?
- work complexity
- a positive life event
- role overload
- a negative life event
- role ambiguity
One type of work-related challenge stressor is work complexity, which is the degree to which the requirements of the work-in terms of knowledge, skills, and abilities-tax or exceed the capabilities of the person who is responsible for performing the work.
Work Complexity: The degree to which job requirements tax or just exceed employee capabilities.
Kwame, Rosalinda, and Sven work at Security First Trust and National Reserve, a medium-sized bank with 240 branches in eight states. Kwame works as a teller. Rosalinda works as one of five regional supervisors, each of whom is expected to supervise a team of tellers. Kwame recently received instructions from his supervisor that all tellers will be evaluated on the number of people they assist at their window per day. Serving more customers means higher performance effectiveness. However, Kwame is also expected to follow the bank's number-one goal of customer satisfaction. Rosalinda is facing her own challenges. Two of the regional supervisors suddenly left the bank for other opportunities, resulting in a significant increase in work responsibility and time pressure for Rosalinda and the remaining two supervisors. Just two days before the two regional supervisors quit, the bank hired Sven as a supervisor trainee. With the bank suddenly short-handed, Sven was asked to take up all the responsibilities of a regional supervisor. He has been given very few instructions or guidelines about how things are supposed to be done. Instead, the bank expects him to learn on the job. Kwame is facing which type of stressor?
- work enlargement
- work hindrance
- work enrichment
- work challenge
- work complexity
Kwame is facing role conflict as a stressor, which is a work hindrance stressor. Role conflict refers to conflicting expectations that other people may have of us. It occurs from incompatible demands within a single role that a person may hold.
Time Pressure: The sense that the amount of time allotted to do a job is not quite enough.
Which of these is a nonwork challenge stressor?
- role overload
- time pressure
- role ambiguity
- a positive life event
- financial uncertainty
Positive life events like marriage, pregnancy, the addition of a new family member, and ending school are all stressful in their own way. However, each is associated with some positive, rather than negative, emotions.
Positive Life Events: Events such as marriage or the birth of a child that tend to be appraised as a challenge.
Kwame, Rosalinda, and Sven work at Security First Trust and National Reserve, a medium-sized bank with 240 branches in eight states. Kwame works as a teller. Rosalinda works as one of five regional supervisors, each of whom is expected to supervise a team of tellers. Kwame recently received instructions from his supervisor that all tellers will be evaluated on the number of people they assist at their window per day. Serving more customers means higher performance effectiveness. However, Kwame is also expected to follow the bank's number-one goal of customer satisfaction. Rosalinda is facing her own challenges. Two of the regional supervisors suddenly left the bank for other opportunities, resulting in a significant increase in work responsibility and time pressure for Rosalinda and the remaining two supervisors. Just two days before the two regional supervisors quit, the bank hired Sven as a supervisor trainee. With the bank suddenly short-handed, Sven was asked to take up all the responsibilities of a regional supervisor. He has been given very few instructions or guidelines about how things are supposed to be done. Instead, the bank expects him to learn on the job. Rosalinda's stress is related to a
- cognitive distortion.
- self-serving bias.
- nonwork hindrance.
- challenge stressor.
- performance hindrance.
One type of work-related challenge stressor is time pressure-a strong sense that the amount of time you have to do a task is just not quite enough. When the two supervisors quit, the pressure on Rosalinda increases due to there being fewer people capable of handling the supervisory tasks. Hence, she is facing a work challenge stressor.
Challenge Stressors: Stressors that tend to be appraised as opportunities for growth and achievement.
Angela is working as the head of sales at Blue Mountain Cola. Her work requires her to travel extensively and meet customers in various countries. However, Angela's role also requires her to mentor several sales representatives who work under her and keep track of their progress. Because Angela stays away from her office most of the time, she finds it difficult to manage both types of work responsibilities. Angela faces which of the following challenges?
- role complexities
- role conflict
- role penetration
- role ambiguity
- role enrichment
One type of work-related hindrance stressor is role conflict, which refers to conflicting expectations that other people may have of us. Angela is experiencing role conflict because she is expected to travel and meet clients, as well as mentor and track the performance of the sales representatives assigned to her.
Role Conflict: When others have conflicting expectations of what an individual needs to do.
Alejandro hires Leona as a new sales coordinator at Rainproof Outdoor Gear after the previous coordinator quit unexpectedly. After she completes orientation, Alejandro needs Leona to quickly plan an upcoming sales meeting for all of the company's field sales representatives, who will be gathering at the office in a week to go over the new product line. Despite the fact that her predecessor did little planning for the meeting before she left, Leona wants to make a good impression and begins to prepare the meeting even though she has never planned one before. Three days before the meeting, Alejandro observes Leona in a conference room pacing back and forth and wearing a slightly dazed expression as she shuffles papers around on the table. It is obvious to Alejandro that she is trying to block out meeting rooms for each sales representative group, determine the duration of each presentation, and figure out what kinds of audio-visual equipment will be needed in each room. When he asks if she needs help, Leona smiles and says, "Nope! I've got it all under control." However, Alejandro can tell she is struggling to get things right. Based on what you know about the different types of work hindrance stressors, what should Alejandro do?
- explain to Leona the basic requirements for the meetings and provide her with the expected times and locations needed for each group presentation
- take Leona off the project and give it someone with more experience in planning meetings, allowing Leona to observe and take notes
- avoid interfering and let Leona continue to struggle her way through the task so that she profits from learning by doing
- step in and plan the meeting himself to ensure that things go smoothly and productivity is not compromised
- hire a temp to cover Leona's regular duties so that she has more time to devote to planning the meetings
Leona suffers from the work hindrance stressor role ambiguity, which refers to a lack of information about what needs to be done in a role, as well as unpredictability regarding the consequences of performance in that role. Employees are sometimes asked to work on projects for which they are given very few instructions or guidelines about how things are supposed to be done.
Hindrance Stressors: Stressors that tend to be appraised as thwarting progress toward growth and achievement.
Hindrance stressors have a strong positive relationship with job performance.
Hindrance stressors have a weak negative relationship with job performance. A general explanation for this negative relationship is that hindrance stressors result in strains and negative emotions that reduce the overall level of physical, cognitive, and emotional energy that people could otherwise bring to their job duties.
Hindrance Stressors: Stressors that tend to be appraised as thwarting progress toward growth and achievement.
Hindrance stressors often trigger positive emotions such as pride and enthusiasm.
Challenge stressors often trigger positive emotions such as pride and enthusiasm.
Hindrance Stressors: Stressors that tend to be appraised as thwarting progress toward growth and achievement.
Role ambiguity is often experienced among new employees who have not been around long enough to receive instructions from supervisors or observe and model the role behaviors of more senior colleagues.
Role ambiguity is often experienced among new employees who have not been around long enough to receive instructions from supervisors or observe and model the role behaviors of more senior colleagues.
Role Ambiguity: When an individual has a lack of direction and information about what needs to be done.
Most people appraise situations with high time pressure as rather stressful, and they also tend to appraise these situations as more hindering than challenging.
Although most people appraise situations with high time pressure as rather stressful, they also tend to appraise these situations as more challenging than hindering.
Time Pressure: The sense that the amount of time allotted to do a job is not quite enough.
Kathleen thought her college studies had prepared her completely for her new job as a restaurant manager. She is completely surprised by the amount of responsibility that has immediately been given to her and the number of skills she is expected to already have. Combined with the amount of pressure she is under to get all the staffing and ordering forms filled out and filed, she is feeling quite stressed. Kathleen is experiencing work-related challenge stress.
Work-related challenge stressors include time pressure, work complexity, and work responsibility.
Pressure: An influence tactic in which the requestor attempts to use coercive power through threats and demands.
Stressors can cause gastrointestinal system problems.
Stressors cause gastrointestinal system problems. Symptoms of this type of strain include stomachaches, indigestion, diarrhea, and constipation.
Stress: The psychological response to demands when there is something at stake for the individual, and where coping with these demands would tax or exceed the individual’s capacity or resources.
Social support refers to the help that people receive when they are confronted with stressful demands.
Social support refers to the help that people receive when they are confronted with stressful demands.
Social Support: The help people receive from others when they are confronted with stressful demands.
Hindrance stressors such as role ambiguity, conflict, and overload not only cause strain but also decrease commitment and job performance.
Hindrance stressors such as role ambiguity, conflict, and overload not only cause strain but also decrease commitment and job performance.
Challenge stressors have a weak positive relationship with job performance.
Challenge stressors have a weak positive relationship with job performance. People who experience higher levels of challenge stressors tend to have higher levels of task performance.
Challenge Stressors: Stressors that tend to be appraised as opportunities for growth and achievement.
Hindrance stressors have a ________ effect on job performance.
- high negative
- strong negative
- strong positive
- weak negative
- moderately positive
Hindrance stressors have a weak negative relationship with job performance. A general explanation for this negative relationship is that hindrance stressors result in strains and negative emotions that reduce the overall level of physical, cognitive, and emotional energy that people could otherwise bring to their job duties.
Which of the following is a nonwork hindrance stressor?
- family time demands
- a positive life event
- personal development
- time pressure
- financial uncertainty
Financial uncertainty is a nonwork hindrance stressor. This type of stressor refers to conditions that create uncertainties with regard to the loss of livelihood, savings, or the ability to pay expenses. This type of stressor is highly relevant during recessions or economic downturns.
Financial Uncertainty: Uncertainties with regard to the potential for loss of livelihood, savings, or the ability to pay expenses.
A year ago Niantha was promoted to project manager at FeedTheWorld.com, an online charity organization that facilitates the distribution of out-of-date food from supermarkets and restaurants to homeless shelters and food pantries. In an effort to boost productivity and keep the team engaged and relaxed, Niantha implemented a number of light-hearted strategies such as casual Fridays, Random Theme Mondays, and Pajama Wednesdays. Since there is little client contact at the office, she saw no reason for her team to dress formally, and she wanted them to feel as comfortable as possible in the workplace. In order to keep things her team energized and goal-oriented, she created weekly challenge goals and friendly competition among team members by posting the total amount of food each person managed to reclaim that week. As a result of Niantha's efforts, the team's productivity skyrocketed in the first three months, with multiple members vying to win the week's "Biggest Community Helper" award. The team got along well, fraternized after hours, and Niantha's vice president applauded her department's improved output. In the past six months, however, productivity has been slipping, and Niantha is puzzled. Looking over her records, she sees that her two best employees, Reggie and Shay, have not missed a single day of work in six months. Niantha did catch Reggie sleeping at his desk once or twice, and Shay recently had a persistent cough. But both of them engage in a friendly rivalry each week as they vie for the top prize, and each seems to respond positively to her demands on their time. Yet, somehow, their overall productivity has ebbed, as has that of the team as a whole. Given what you know about the nature of challenge stressors, how should Niantha address the issue of lost productivity?
- by giving Shay and Reggie extra projects each week that require them to stay late or work weekends
- by assigning projects to different pairs of employees each week, making sure Reggie and Shay are never on the same team
- by allowing Reggie and Shay to choose their own projects each week before handing out assignments to the rest of the team
- by making the rest of the team responsible for Shay and Reggie's work output and taking away casual dress privileges if the team fails to meet its goals
- by requiring that Reggie and Shay use at least one day of paid time off per month and sending them home if they show up to work visibly sick, tired, or distressed
High levels of challenge stressors may have negative consequences that only become apparent over the long term. People whose jobs are filled with challenge stressors experience strains that can result in illness, but because they tend to be more satisfied, committed, and engaged with their jobs, they come to work anyway. This phenomenon, which is referred to as presenteeism, can result in prolonged illness, as well as the spread of illness, and ultimately a downward spiral of impaired performance and employee health.
Challenge Stressors: Stressors that tend to be appraised as opportunities for growth and achievement.
Challenge stressors have a moderate negative relationship with organizational commitment.
Challenge stressors have a moderate positive relationship with organizational commitment. People who experience higher levels of challenge stressors tend to have higher levels of affective commitment and normative commitment. Relationships with continuance commitment are weaker.
Which of these is a work challenge stressor?
- time pressure
- daily hassles
- role overload
- role ambiguity
- role conflict
Daily hassles, role overload, role ambiguity, and role conflict are examples of work hindrance stressors. Time pressure is a work challenge stressor.
Time Pressure: The sense that the amount of time allotted to do a job is not quite enough.