The nature of work has significantly changed during the past decades. The development of technology and services caused the appearance of many new jobs which deal with information processing, management, and coordination. The traditional forms of occupation were challenged by different non-standard forms of employment such as freelancing and self-employment. Still, with the advent of modern technology, work stress has significantly increased because of constant lack of time and high expectations, as well as competition among workers.
It is generally stated that the globalization of economy caused the increase of work pressure because of financial cuts in private and public sectors. The other reason is the segmentation of labor market that caused the growth of inequity in income among workers. The globalization of labor market increased the competition among workers leading to additional work stress. Such factors as outsourcing, mergers, and downsizing have also influenced the growth of work pressure due to the changing of work conditions.
It seems that the development of technology significantly increased the sources of work stress such as workload and undertime. Moreover, people have to work even more because of the invention of mobile technology and remote access to the workplace. Some people state that work stress has become something that is normal nowadays.
Work stress can be defined as a number of stressors a worker experiences at the workplace with negative responses to them. It is important to detect organizational development strategies to assess and battle work stress in the workplace. To cope with the stressors related to work and manage strain, it is important to identify the sources of stressors. Primarily, management should clearly explain the role of each worker and provide all the necessary equipment to perform the job. Secondarily, stress management should be focused on the way an individual appraises the existing job stressors and how an individual copes with them. Furthermore, such internal sources as lack of self-esteem and the sense of indifference to life should be taken into account. It is a strong possibility that some strains may develop if coping with work stress has been unsuccessful.
The main goal of work stress management is to minimize problems that may occur in the work environment and give the employees the opportunity to battle with the stressors that may appear during their work. It is generally agreed that work stressors may lead to negative physical and psychological consequences which can affect both the individual and the company. Therefore, stress in the workplace is considered to be an important problem which causes material and physical damage because of productivity loss and health disorders.
It is now generally recognized that work stress and unhealthy conditions in the workplace may cause cardiovascular disease. Therefore, it is important to identify the possibilities of helping employees identify and battle the stressors in the work environment. It is also important to help the companies prevent harmful work stressors and implement stress management policies. The organizations should evaluate the conditions of their work environment and detect those that can be referred to as harmful ones and threaten the employees. Still, management should distinguish between harmful and challenging stressors as the last ones may positively influence performance and motivation of the workers.
With the development of technology, work stress has significantly increased because of constant lack of time and high expectations, as well as competition among workers. The development of global labor market and the global economy has also influenced the level of work stressors. It is a widespread opinion that the organization should be involved in stress management.