Work stress: concept and theoretical models

Work stress has been defined as the set of emotional, cognitive, physiological and behavior to certain adverse or harmful aspects of the content, environment or organization of the job. There are various explanatory models and in this Psychology-Online article, we will analyze the work stress: concept and theoretical models.

Index

1. Interaction model between demands and control
2. Interaction model between demands, control and social support
3. Model of imbalance between demands, supports and restrictions
4. Model of mismatch between demands and resources of the worker
5. Direction-oriented model
6. Effort-reward imbalance model

Stress is the result of the interaction between high psychological demands and low decision-making freedom, that is, low control. The level of labor demands is usually derived from the level of production of the company, while the level of control depends rather on the organization chart (authority structure, system of responsibilities, etc.). High demand can come from the pace and speed of work, the amount of work, contradictory orders, conflicting demands, by the need for concentration, by the amount of interruptions and by the dependence on the rhythm of the the rest. And control refers to the set of resources that the worker has to meet the demands; It has been determining both their level of training and skills as well as their degree of autonomy and participation in decision-making on those aspects that affect their work.

According to the model, high stress occurs when conditions of high psychological demand and low control of decision-making occur together. The remaining categories of work would be low stress (low demand and high control), active (high demand and high control) and passive (low demand and low control). Therefore, job stress arises when job demands are high, and at the same time, the ability to control it (due to lack of resources) is low (Karasek, 1979) (see Figure 3.2).

This model has been associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, with psychological disorders and with musculoskeletal disorders, especially in the upper extremities (Collins, Karasek and Costas, 2005). In contrast, work motivation increases as demands and control over work increase at the same time.

Jhonson and Hall (1988) and Karasek and Theorell (1990) expand the demand-control interaction model, introducing the dimension of social support as a modulator, in such a way that a high level of social support at work reduces the effect of stress, while a low level increases it. The third modifying factor is the quantity and quality of social support that superiors and co-workers can provide.

When it exists, and it is adequate, it can buffer part of the potential of the stressor generated by the combination of high demands or demands and low control. From this model, the prevention of work stress would be carried out by optimizing work demands, increasing the control of worker on their working conditions and increasing the social support of bosses, subordinates and colleagues (see Figure 3.3).

Social support has been used in many different ways, as a social network, as meaningful social contacts, as possibility of having confidant people to whom you can express intimate feelings and as a company human. And it has a general positive function on health and a buffer function on stress.

In social support, some authors (Schaefer et al., 1982) have distinguished between emotional, tangible and informational support, and others, such as House (1981), differentiated between emotional support (they are the samples of empathy, love and trust), instrumental (they are the tangible behaviors or actions aimed at solving the specific problem of the person receiving), informative (consists of the useful information received to face the problem) and evaluative (it is information for self-evaluation or for comparisons social).

In any case, social support is made up of four factors: directive orientation, non-directive help, positive social interaction and tangible help (Barrera and Ainlay, 1983).

Therefore, social support at work refers to interpersonal relationships between colleagues, and between subordinates and bosses, and can be influenced and influence changes in the organization and the work environment.

The model of imbalance between demands, supports and restrictions (Payne and Fletcher, 1983) establishes that work stress is the result of a lack of balance among the following three job factors: labor lawsuits (they represent the tasks and the work environment that contains technical, intellectual, social or economic stimuli), labor supports (They are given by the degree to which the work environment contains available resources that are relevant to satisfy work demands. The supports can be technical, intellectual, social, economic, etc.) and labor restrictions (limitations that hinder work activity due to the lack of resources and prevent the worker from facing the demands).

According to this model, stress occurs when there is no balance between these work factors. Therefore, demands are not stressful if the job provides good levels of support and low levels of restrictions. In fact, high demands can be positive under appropriate circumstances since, in addition to being stimulating, they allow the putting into practice of skills.

Low skill utilization (preparation, ability, etc.) and boredom are one of the stressors more powerful, and usually occur in work environments where supports are low and restrictions are high. A practical implication of the model is that very demanding jobs (high demands) can be made less stressful without the need to reduce the level of demands, increasing the level of support and / or reducing the level of restrictions

Work stress is due to the lack of adjustment between demands and demands of work to be performed and the resources available to the worker to satisfy them (Harrison, 1978). This model proposes that what produces stress is a mismatch between the demands of the environment and the resources of the workers to face them. The stress process starts from the existence of an imbalance perceived by the worker between professional demands and the resources and capacities of the worker himself to carry them out cape. And it allows to identify three important factors in the generation of work stress:

• the resources available to the worker to cope with the demands and demands of the work environment
• the perception of said demands by the worker
• the demands themselves

This model (Matteson and Ivancevich, 1987) distinguishes six components: stressors, among which include not only organizational factors (intrinsic factors of the position, of the organizational structure and control, of the reward system, of the human resources and leadership system), but also the extraorganizational (family relationships, financial, legal problems, etc.); These stressors affect the cognitive appreciation-perception of the situation by the worker; this, in turn, affects the physiological results,psychological and behavioral of this cognitive appreciation-perception, and these, in turn, on the consequences, both those referring to the individual's health and those referring to his performance in the organization.

The individual differences they are considered as modulating variables that affect the relationships between stressors and cognitive appreciation-perception; between cognitive appreciation-perception and results; and between results and consequences.

The effort-reward model postulates that job stress occurs when there is high effort and low reward (Siegrist, 1996). And it has been operationalized, focusing on the variables that sustain it: extrinsic effort variables, intrinsic effort variables and reward variables. High effort at work can be extrinsic (demands and obligations) or intrinsic (high motivation with coping). And the low reward is a function of three fundamental types of rewards: money, esteem, and status control. This third type of reward reflects the powerful threats produced by job loss or job degradation. It is, therefore, a reward in terms of prospects for promotion, job security, and the absence of risk of decline or loss of employment.

The model predicts that job stress occurs because there is an imbalance (balance) between the effort and the reward obtained. Siegrist (1996) points out that work stress is generated from a high effort, an inadequate salary and a low control over one's own occupational status. And it is assumed that under these conditions, both the worker's self-esteem and self-efficacy will be seriously impaired. Siegrist's model has been associated with risk of cardiovascular disease and impaired mental health (Smith et al., 2005).

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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