Industrial/Organizational Psychology: Stress and Workers' Well-being

A set of 30 vocabulary flashcards focused on industrial/organizational psychology concepts including stress, coping mechanisms, work-family balance, and workplace interventions.

Stressors

Events that increase psychological duress on an individual.

Strains

Negative personal outcomes resulting from combined stressful experiences.

Eustress

Short-term, acute stress that is adaptive and involves the mobilization of energy resources.

Distress

Long-term, chronic stress that is maladaptive.

Intrinsic factors

Variables relevant to the conditions of the job itself, such as poor working conditions, long hours, and excessive travel.

Role ambiguity

A stressor characterized by unclear role expectations within a job.

Role conflict

A stressor characterized by inconsistent role expectations.

Problem-focused coping

Behaviors or actions targeted toward solving or handling the stress-inducing problem itself.

Emotion-focused coping

Cognitive or thought-related strategies that minimize the emotional effects of stress-inducing events.

Emotional competence (EC)

The ability to understand, express, and manage feelings, linked to general well-being and performance.

Mindfulness

Paying attention to present experiences with nonjudgmental awareness.

Attention Restorative Therapy

The concept that interacting with nature as opposed to an urban environment replenishes cognitive functioning.

Work–Family Conflict (WFC)

A situation when work and family domains do not fit well, resulting in one role having a negative effect on the other.

Work–Family Enrichment

A situation where attitudes and behaviors have positive carryover from one domain to the other.

Spillover effect

The negative outcome of work and family domains failing to fit well, which is negatively related to problem drinking and depression.

Family interference with work (FIW)

A type of conflict where family demands and responsibilities impede work performance.

Work interference with family (WIF)

A type of conflict where work responsibilities interfere with family and personal responsibilities.

Behavioral boundaries

Regulating how you engage in work to manage conflict, such as using separate devices for work and personal use.

Temporal boundaries

Managing work-family conflict by blocking off specific segments of time on a calendar for tasks like exercise or meals.

Physical boundaries

Creating a separate workspace, such as a designated room or area in the house as a work zone, to manage conflict.

Communicative boundaries

Setting and informing coworkers of working hours and unavailability to manage the work-family interface.

Family Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (FSSB)

A supervisor who values and appreciates an employee’s desire to find a balance between work and family.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

A policy where employees can take job-protected, unpaid leave for up to $12\,\text{weeks}$.

Sandwich generation

Individuals who are simultaneously caring for elderly parents and their own children under the age of $18$.

Occupational Health Psychology (OHP)

The application of psychology to improve work life and enhance the health and well-being of workers.

Great Resignation

The mass resignation of workers post-COVID-19 who sought more meaningful or flexible work due to changing priorities.

Burnout

A negative state composed of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment.

Adaptive coping strategies

Efforts that improve well-being, such as reframing the situation, using humor, or seeking social support.

Maladaptive coping strategies

Efforts that decrease well-being, such as denial, rumination, worrying, or substance use.

Underemployment

A state estimated to affect $10\%$ to $15\%$ of the population, which can predict counterproductive work behaviors.