L4 Occupational Stress

Industrial and Organizational
Psychology
Lecture 4 - Occupational Stress
Dr. CHAN Cheuk Long, Bill

Email: cheuklongchan@ln.edu.hk
Warm Up Questions
1. What causes you to feel stressed?
List 3 things that have caused you
to feel stressed recently.
2. How do you know when you’re

stressed? List your stress
symptoms.
3. How do you manage/cope with

stress? List the good and not-so-
good strategies you usually use.
4. Do you think stress can be good for

you?
Learning Objectives
• Understand the causes of occupational stress
• Understand the effects of occupational stress
• Understand how do we manage occupational
stress
• Understand the differences between problem-
focused coping and emotion-focused coping
• Appreciate the practical challenges faced by I/O
Psychologists in relation to occupation stress
• Discuss the concept of eustress
What is Stress?
Many stress researchers will probably agree with
the following definition:
“a particular relationship between the person
and the environment that is appraised by the
person as taxing or exceeding his or her
resources and endangering his or her well-
being” (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984, p.19).
What is Occupational Stress?
- Occupational stress is defined as the adverse reaction
individuals have to excessive demands, conditions, or
other pressures of the workplace (Health and Safety
Executive, 2016).
- It is considered one of the most
severe health issues in the
modern world (Lu et al., 2003).
To avoid confusion with terminology
• Stressors: Causes (antecedents) of stress
• Strain: the consequences (effects/symptoms)

of stress
• Stress: the overall process of stressors, strain,

and coping (rather than any specific
component of the process)
Which jobs are the
most stressful?
According to reports from the UK Health
and Safety Executive and the Australian
Safety and Compensation Council:
• Military • Teachers
• Nurses • Scientific Researchers
• Doctors • Bank Workers
• Ambulance Officers • Public administration
• Fire fighters
• Drivers of public transport
• Police Officers
Imagine being a Social Media Moderator…
www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/04/facebook-content-moderat
ors-ptsd-psychological-dangers
Causes of Occupational Stress (Stressor)
• Karasek’s (1979) Job Demand-Control Model (JDC):

Individuals working in jobs that are high in demand
(heavy workload) and low in control (low tendency to
make job-related decisions) are most likely to
experience occupational stress
• Siegrist’s (1996) Effort-Reward Imbalance Model (ERI):

Occupational stress is caused by an imbalance
between the effort an individual puts in at work and
the reward he or she receives; organisational
commitment moderates the stressor-strain relationship
Causes of Occupational Stress (Stressor)
• According to the ASSET model (Faragher et al., 2004),

there are eight main predictors of stress at work:
1. Work relationships
2. Work-life balance
3. Overload
4. Job security
5. Control
6. Resources and communication
7. Pay and benefits
8. Aspects of the job
Effects of Occupational Stress (Strain)
Individual:
- Poorer physical health (e.g., lack of appetite/over
eating, headaches, muscular tension, etc.), lower
psychological wellbeing (e.g. panic/anxiety attacks,
difficulty in making decisions, loss of sense of humor,
etc.), and more unhealthy habits (e.g., smoking and
substance use)
- More severe occupational stress might even lead to

clinical depression and coronary heart disease
(Faragher et al., 2004; Jex & Beehr, 1991)

Effects of Occupational Stress (Strain)
Organisation:
- It could increase the rates of
sickness absence, workplace
accident, and turnover, and it
could also reduce staff
performance, morale, and
loyalty.
- These might in turn lead to

lower productivity and
reduced profits.
(Woods & West, 2010)

But how serious?
• Australia: On average, 6 working days of productivity
are lost per year per employee due to workplace stress
(Medibank, 2008).
• US: Workplace stress responsible for 40% of job

turnover; estimated to cost American companies more
than US$300 billion a year (American Institute of
Stress, 2020).
• UK: Work-related stress responsible for 37% of all ill

health cases (Health and Safety Executive, 2016).
• How about HK?

https://www.ln.edu.hk/lingnan-touch/99/lu-study-finds-work-stress-co
sts-hong-kong-hkusd14-9-billion-a-year
Primary interventions
Primary interventions are stressor
directed, they are aimed at modifying or
eliminating stressors in the workplace.
This might include ensuring the right levels

of heat, light, noise; allowing employees to
have more control over their jobs; or giving
them more flexible work schedules.
Often considered the most effective since

they are the most proactive and
preventative (Cartwright & Cooper, 2005).
Secondary interventions
Secondary interventions are more focused on one’s response to the
stress. The focus is primarily on employees rather than changing
aspects of the organisation.
Examples: Relaxation Training - Progressive muscle relaxation,

breathing exercises, and visualisation techniques; Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy (CBT) - how to recognize and deal with negative
thoughts; how to apply effective problem-solving and coping skills.
Reviews of stress management training courses in corporate setting

suggest that the single most effective interventions are those based
on CBT; but they are often considered time-consuming (Davey, 2011;
Grbcic & Palmer, 2006).
Tertiary interventions
Tertiary interventions are symptoms directed. The focus is on
minimizing the effects of stress-related problems once they have
occurred.
Example: Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) - A systematic,

organized and continuing provision of counselling, advice and
assistance provided by the employer and designed to help
employees and/or their families with issues arising from work-
related and external sources (Berridge et al., 1997).
Csiernik’s (2011) review on EAP evaluations published from 2000

to 2009: Effective in improving psychological wellbeing and
physical health; 90% indicated they would use EAP again and
recommend it to others.
Example of EAP from Lingnan
Problem-focused coping versus Emotion-
focused coping
• Problem-focused: making plans or taking actions to
help change the stressful situation
• Emotion-focused: regulating negative feelings and

emotional response to a stressor (instead of
addressing the stressor directly)
• Problem-focused coping generally viewed as more

helpful, but emotion-focused coping is particularly
useful when you don’t have the
resources/experiences/authority to alter the stressor
(Lazarus & Folkman, 1984)
Challenges for I/O Psychologists
• Employees tend to perceive stress as a sign of
weakness.
• The longevity of the positive effects of

interventions remain unclear due to a lack of
longitudinal studies exploring their long-term
effectiveness.
• Is there agreement between the intervention

team and the organisation (including intervention
participants) about the intervention objectives?
Occupational Eustress
• The positive psychological response to
workplace stressors.
• The experience of being totally focuses in

a mindful state of challenge, a healthy
state of aroused attention on the task.
• Examples: Stress at work could 1) increase nurses’
engagement at work, 2) remind athletes that they
were at the top of their game, and 3) help
performance artists to feel more immersed in their
performance, all being desirable outcomes.
(Hargrove et al., 2013)
Mid-Term Exam
• 10 Nov’s Lecture slot
• 75 minutes (12:45 – 14:00)
• 60 MC Questions
• You are allowed to bring one 2-sided A4 sheet

with notes (only for this Mid-Term Exam, but NOT
for the Final Exam)
Mid-Term Exam
• Coverage: Introduction to I/O Psy (L1); Methods for
I/O Research (L1.5); Job Analysis (L2); Selection and
Assessment (L3); Performance Appraisal (L5);
Training Employees (L6); Leadership and Power in
Organizations (L8)
• 48-hour rule - If you have any questions about the
exam, please ask me at least 2 days before the exam
• Remember, the Zoom recording will only be available

for 45 days
Key Terms
• Stressor • Primary Intervention
• Strain • Secondary Interventions
• Physical health • Tertiary Interventions
• Psychological wellbeing • Relaxation Training
• Job Demand-Control Model • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Effort-Reward Imbalance Model • Employee Assistance Programme
• Work-life balance • Problem-focused coping
• Overload • Emotion-focused coping
• Job security • Occupational Eustress

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Industrial and Organizational

Lecture 4 - Occupational Stress

Dr. CHAN Cheuk Long, Bill

2. How do you know when you’re

3. How do you manage/cope with

4. Do you think stress can be good for

• Strain: the consequences (effects/symptoms)

• Stress: the overall process of stressors, strain,

• Karasek’s (1979) Job Demand-Control Model (JDC):

• Siegrist’s (1996) Effort-Reward Imbalance Model (ERI):

• According to the ASSET model (Faragher et al., 2004),

- More severe occupational stress might even lead to

(Faragher et al., 2004; Jex & Beehr, 1991)

- These might in turn lead to

(Woods & West, 2010)

• US: Workplace stress responsible for 40% of job

• UK: Work-related stress responsible for 37% of all ill

• How about HK?

This might include ensuring the right levels

Often considered the most effective since

Examples: Relaxation Training - Progressive muscle relaxation,

Reviews of stress management training courses in corporate setting

Example: Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) - A systematic,

Csiernik’s (2011) review on EAP evaluations published from 2000

• Emotion-focused: regulating negative feelings and

• Problem-focused coping generally viewed as more

• The longevity of the positive effects of

• Is there agreement between the intervention

• The experience of being totally focuses in

• 75 minutes (12:45 – 14:00)

• You are allowed to bring one 2-sided A4 sheet

• Remember, the Zoom recording will only be available

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