"Employers should provide a stress-free work environment". Discuss.

Résumé du document

However, employers disagree on the nature of this influence. For some of them, stress would be the necessary evil to motivate and make the workforce productive. Others regard it as the plague of the 21st century for the health of workers and, in turn, company profitability. It brings us to wonder whether employers should provide a stress-free work environment.

Extraits

[...] However good selection procedure might be, it can never be able to provide perfect stress free job conditions mainly because of individual differences. Situational factors refer to those factors particular to a place and time of observation which do not follow from a knowledge of personal (intra- individual) and stimulus (choice alternative) attributes, and which have a demonstrable and systematic effect on current behaviour” (Belk, 1974). These factors are for instance a support network of friends and co-workers which can help an individual to cope with stress. [...]

[...] As a consequence, employers would be well advised to fight against stress at work. However, people disagree on the main cause of stress and thus on the stress prevention strategy. Some employers put forward the necessity of providing a stress free work environment as the best strategy to fight against stress at work. To tackle this issue it is important to identify the causes of stress. Usually, people agree that stress arises from the interaction of the worker and the conditions of work. [...]

[...] Some of them show strong resilience to stress whereas some others are very inclined to it. For example, studies usually refer to type A and type B individuals. Type A individuals have strong sense of duty and feel under time pressure. They cope poorly with stress and are consequently much inclined to stress-related illness. On the other hand, type B individuals are less hurried and competitive but can therefore cope better with stress and are less inclined to its illness. [...]

[...] Usually, people refer to "good stress" to characterise this pressure. However, when workers are constantly subjected to pressure, when the body can never relax, the positive reactions turn into senses of overwhelming, discouragement and incapacity that have negative repercussions on their health and performance at work. Indeed, according to the Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety stress can cause so many illnesses as cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, psychological disorders, workplace injury, suicide, cancer, ulcers and impaired immunes functions. These health problems are all either directly or directly caused or exacerbated by stress. [...]

[...] It brings us to wonder whether employers should provide a stress-free work environment. To tackle this issue, we will first explain the stress effect on employee and organisation health to know if any action against stress should be undertaken. Then, we will focus on the causes of stress to determine the adequacy of providing stress-free work conditions to fight against stress. It will lastly lead us to the researcher's advice which companies should follow to ensure a healthy and productive workforce. [...]