Ashley Jones
Final Paper: Stress in the workplace
June 18, 2012
BUS 318: Organizational Business
Instructor: Gary Priest
Final Paper: Stress in the workplace Organizational behavior is the study of individuals and their behavior within an organized work environment. Many different facets of the business world make up organizational behavior including: motivation, personality, leadership, communication, and so much more. However, I plan to focus on the topic of stress within organizational behavior. Depending on how it is handled stress can be both positive and negative. However, when it is not recognized and handled properly stress can cause serious problems. Throughout this paper I …show more content…
I spend my day at work replaying our fight and focusing on my frustration instead of being diligent about my work. Stress can be both positive and negative depending on how you deal with it. There are two kinds of stress: Eustress and distress. Eustress is a constructive and positive stress that positively affects our attitude. Eustress “occurs at moderate stress levels by prompting increased work effort, stimulating creativity, and encouraging greater diligence.” (Schermerhorn 36) Stress causes a fight-or-flight reaction to happen within us. Either we allow the stress to motivate us to take action and fight against the stressor or we all the stressor to win as we react poorly to it. When stress is mismanaged the Eustress becomes distress very quickly. Distress is destructive stress that is detrimental for both the individual and the organization itself. “Too much stress can overload and break down a person’s physical and mental systems, resulting in absenteeism, turnover, errors, accidents, dissatisfaction, reduced performance, unethical behavior, and even illness.” (Schermerhorn, 2012) Feeling this type of distress for a long period of time can cause an employee to suffer from job burnout. Job burnout “loss of interest in and satisfaction with a job due to stressful working conditions. A person who is “burned out” feels exhausted, emotionally and physically, and is