Page 272 - DMGT106_MANAGING_HUMAN_ELEMENTS_AT_WORK

Managing Human Element at Work

Notes experience of Vikas Bhalla, an automobile engineer, depicts how personal and organizational
factors collectively add up to the levels of stress a person may have to go through. Vikas felt
that he was performing well in his job and making valuable contributions to the company he
is working for. However, his performance appraisal appeared to be bland and he did not get
the kind of raise he was expecting. At the same time, his wife left him to go to stay with her
parents and filed for divorce. As a result of all this, he started losing interest in his job and
ultimately was held responsible for a major breakdown in the plant. So a number of different
problems were hitting Vikas simultaneously and he began to show signs of stress.

12.5 Organizational Factors

Stress at the organizational level can emanate from different factors. A few of these discuss
follow:
12.5.1 Task Demands
Stress from the task demand emerges from changes enforced on employees. Change often
brings in uncertainty and unpredictability. Stress emerges from changes in the economic
condition, technology, leadership, and structure. Any kind of change requires adjustments
from the employees. If one is not able to respond to these changes effectively, it adds on to the
level of stress.

12.5.2 Role Demands
Certain negative characteristics of a person’s role at work can increase the likelihood of his
experiencing stress. Job role demands include high workloads, idle period of time, job ambiguity,
and conflicting performance expectations. Sona Khanna is a good example of how excessive
demands at work can stress out employees. A shift in-charge in an electronics plant, Sona is
stressed out by frequent emergencies and conflicts at work. She hardly has any authority to
match her responsibility. A medical examination after she fainted at work revealed that she
was suffering from high blood pressure. Stress caused by the excessive demands at work had
started affecting her health.
12.5.3 Overload

When there is an expectation from the organization to accomplish more than the ability of the
person, it results in work overload. It has been found that for top and middle level managers,
unreasonable deadlines and constant pressure are the frequent stressors in their jobs. Quantitative
overload exists when people are requested to do more work than they can comfortably do in
the allocated time, and qualitative overload happens when the job requires them to perform
beyond their levels of competence and skills.
12.5.4 Underload

Most people wish to remain occupied and face optimum challenges while performing their
jobs. Work underload occurs when people have insufficient work to spond their time or are
not allowed to use enough of their skills and abilities. Employees who are underloaded often
feel bored, weary, are prone to injury, and frequently absentism from work. Machine-based
assembly lines are an example of such a work environment. Operating nuclear power plants
involves periods of boredom that must be endured simultaneously with sufficient alertness to
respond to potential emergencies. Awareness of the consequences of an ineffective response to
an emergency makes these jobs all the more stressful.

12.5.5 Role Conflict
Role conflict exists when job functions contain duties or responsibilities that conflict with one
another. It is most commonly found among middle managers, who find themselves caught

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