LESSON 9: WORK ENVIRONMENT

Work Environment

means that the employees are in a comfortable and pleasant workplace which contributes to higher productivity and efficiency (Manish, 2012).

Physical Environment and Work Schedule

Two categories of Work Environment

Physical Environment

It refers to illumination, nose, and atmospheric conditions. In industrial psychology, the ______ is important to the employee's working life as it contributes to job satisfaction.

Illumination

is deemed as the most important aspect in the employee's physical work environment (Brown & Ghiselli, 1948). Both its intensity and uniformity should be considered

intensity of illumination

refers to the brightness of light. Brighter light results in faster and more effective work.

Foot candle

is a unit of measurement for the amount of illumination.

uniformity of illumination

is the distribution of light in the entire work area. The eyes tend to fixate at the brightest part of the visual work area, so this part should be uniformly illuminated (Manish, 2012). The light should also come from the side (Blackwell, 1952).

Ventilation

is the circulation of air in the work area. Poor ventilation may result in reduced oxygen (hence, increased amount of carbon dioxide) which is harmful to humans (Manish, 2012)

20 °C to 25 °C

Also not to be neglected is the effect of heat on work performance especially on heavy physical activities. Ideally, proper ventilation in the work area has a temperature of _____

Noise

noise in the workplace causes discomfort and can even become a health risk to employees.

Work Schedule

The job schedule is also crucial to the employees' perspective of working conditions. It includes the number of hours they need to render at work and the rest periods that they can take.

Hours of Work

This refers to the number of hours that employees need to render at work.

8 hours

The normal work hours per day is

Mondays to Fridays

Many companies have a 5-day workweek, usually ______

Saturday and Sunday

For a 5-day workweek ______ are usually rest days.

Sunday

For a 6-day workweek ____ is usually the rest day

Shift Work

Companies like business process outsourcing (BPO) firms and manufacturing plants with 24-hour operations have 3 shifts.

The shifts are usually the following: 6:00 am2:00p.m., 2:00 p.m.-10:00p.m., and 10:00p.m.-6:00a.m.

what time are the 3 shifts?

Rest Pauses

Normally, coffe breaks are scheduled for around 15 to 20 minutes. In a normal 8-hour schedule coffee breaks are scheduled twice-mid-morning and mid afternoon. On the other hand, lunch breaks are scheduled for 1 hour. Rest pauses which give time employees to relax and regain their energy positively affect productivity

Quality of Working Life (QWL)

is synonymous with humanization of work, industrial democracy, and participative work. The term implies the treatment of an employee as a human being accompanied by the company's emphasis on the employee's development.

principle of security, principle of equity, principle of individuation, and principle of democracy

4 principles of Quality of Working Life (QWL)

Principle of security

Employees should feel safe in the workplace. This means that the work conditions are conducive to the accomplishment of tasks and job assignments. They are free from anxiety, fear, and economic loss. They are not afraid that they will lose their job anytime. They feel motivated because their skills are developed.

Principle of equity

Employees are ensured that their performance is measured fairly. There is also an assurance that their working conditions are properly evaluated.

Principle of individuation

The term individuation means that employees should be developed to their fullest potentials. They should be empowered to have some freedom to decide and be held accountable for their own actions.

Principle of democracy

This principle holds that employees can participate in decision-making. Oversupervision and too tight controls are discouraged.

Stress

is defined as the state of mental or emotional strain--- from the demands of a certain situation, object, or person/s--which affects individuals.

physical stress, work load, role in the organization, career development issues, social stressors, and work schedules.

Kinds of Stress

Physical stress

There are various types of physical stress such as a hot environment or heavy noise from a construction site. Dangers posed by the job itself can cause physical stress. Examples are the jobs of miners, police officers, or health workers in the emergency departments of hospitals. These jobs are physically draining

Work load

Heavy workload can cause stress to employees. If there are too many things to do with tight schedules, employees are pressured to accomplish them. Meeting these deadlines one after the other can cause stress. On the other hand, underload can also cause stress. Those who have routinary or repetitive tasks can become stressed because their jobs are not stimulating anymore as they do practically the same thing over and over again.

Role in the organization

When employees find conflicting demands in their jobs, they become stressed. This happens, for example, when a supervisor is promoted to a managerial position. Conflict arises when the employee cannot reconcile the previous functions with the present tasks

Career development issues

Many employees express fear of redundancy and stagnation (ie., not getting promoted). Employees get stressed and eventually feel neglected and miserable when there is no room for upward movement in the career ladder.

Social stressors

Many employees can be stressed by strained or poor relationships with their immediate supervisors and co-workers. When people lose the support they need, they become stressed and agitated. They may also lose the relationships with their immediate superiors or coworkers.

Work schedules

Employees are stressed by their work schedules especially if these are shifting. Workers who have schedules that change every two weeks are normally stressed for the short time frame that they have to adjust from one shift to another.

Burnout

is an extreme case of stress in which individual experience emotional exhaustion and distress and work is severely affected. The main cause of burnout is work overload. Employees become victimized by too much work mostly done overtime. Beyond the additional payment, employees eventually experience burnout after a series of continuous rendering of heavy workload