Occupational Stress and Resilience Notes

Occupational Stress and Resilience: Fundamentals

Key Definitions

• Occupational Stress:

  • A deviation from homeostasis.
  • A psychological and physiological response when work demands exceed an individual's capacity to cope.
  • Arises from a mismatch between job demands and available resources.
  • Manifests emotionally, physically, cognitively, and behaviorally.

• Types of Stress Definitions:

  • Response-based: A non-specific response of the body to any demand (threat, challenge, change) requiring adaptation. (Selye, 1995)
  • Stimulus-based: Any feature in the environment that poses a threat to the individual. (Caplan et al., 1980)
  • Interactional: A situation where job-related factors interact with a worker, altering their psychological and/or physiological condition, forcing deviation from normal functioning. (Beehr & Newman, 1978)
  • Transactional: An affective state experienced in response to threats or demands exceeding one's capacity to cope. (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984)

• Burnout:

  • A state of chronic physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged workplace stress.
  • Occurs when employees experience ongoing stress without adequate recovery or coping resources.
  • Characterized by:
    • Emotional Exhaustion: Feeling drained and unable to cope with work demands.
    • Depersonalization (Cynicism): Developing a negative attitude toward work, colleagues, or clients.
    • Reduced Professional Efficacy: Feeling incompetent or that one’s work has little value.

• Resilience:

  • Bouncing Back: Small initial decline in functioning and return to pre-risk function.
    • Relates to: Outcome could be anything related to functioning.
  • Robust Resilience: Continuing as usual despite a risk.

Impact of Stress

• Prolonged workplace stress is linked to:

  • Sleep disturbances.
  • Reduced immune function.
  • Increased risk of chronic illness.

• Employees under high stress are more likely to:

  • Make errors.
  • Struggle with problem-solving.
  • Experience decreased job satisfaction.

• Organizations play a crucial role in managing stress impact:

  • Stress is inevitable.
  • How organizations and individuals manage stress determines its impact on well-being and performance.
  • Building resilience involves both individual effort and a supportive work environment.
  • The hormones involved in stress travel throughout the body, effecting a huge range of outcomes.

Models of Individual Differences That Explain Stress

Transactional Model (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984)

• Most cited theory of stress and coping.
• Primary Appraisal: "What is at stake?"
  • Occurs whenever a person encounters a new situation or recollects an existing one.
  • Assessment of the situation's potential for threat (harm or loss) and/or challenge (opportunity for gain, growth, or goal attainment).
  • Types of Responses:
    • High Stress: Threat Appraisal (e.g., "I'll do it badly, annoy the clients, and get fired").
    • Moderate Stress: Challenge Appraisal (e.g., "I'll learn a lot, and if I do well, I might be promoted").
    • No Stress: Nothing at stake (e.g., "Whatever").
• Secondary Appraisal: "What can I do?"
  • Occurs after a situation is appraised as having some threat or challenge.
  • Assessment of one’s capacity to cope, including perceptions of resource availability and controllability given situational constraints.
  • Example Responses:
    • High Stress: "I have no idea how to do this!"
    • Moderate Stress: "I am sure I can work it out."

Challenge vs. Hindrance

• Hindrance Stressors: Situations that obstruct personal growth or reduce one’s ability to achieve goals.
  • I have other deadlines to meet -- this is going to delay me.
• Challenge Stressors: Situations that provide opportunities for personal growth and goal attainment.
  • This will be hard but it’s a great opportunity to develop my skills and show what I can do.
• How you think about the event is critical.

Models of Systems That Explain Burnout

Job Demands-Resources Model (Demerouti et al., 2001)

• Job Demands:

  • Physical workload
  • Time pressure
  • Recipient contact
  • Physical environment
  • Shift work

• Job Resources:

  • Feedback
  • Rewards
  • Job control
  • Participation
  • Job security
  • Supervisor support

• Role ambiguity occurs when there is confusion about the precise requirements, responsibilities and borders of your role, for example, when a supervisor doesn’t make it clear which team member is responsible for a critical task.

• Role conflict occurs when you feel that you face incompatible expectations, for example with work-life conflict or a web designer criticised by marketing staff for providing too much detail, but criticised by production staff for providing too little detail.

• Job resources reduce effects of demands via a motivational pathway.

Models That Explain Resilience

Starting Assumptions (Richardson, 2002)

• Resilient reintegration.
• Reintegration back to homeostasis.
• Recovering with loss.
• Dysfunctional reintegration.
• Disruption (stressors, adversity, life events).
• The capacities for resilience developed because of some type of introspection or self-examination.
• Ingredients for resilient outcomes:
  • Social supports
  • Problem-focused coping strategies
  • Coping flexibility
  • Coping self-efficacy
  • Positive appraisal style
  • Optimism

Systematic Self-Reflection Model of Resilience (Crane et al, 2019)

• Strengthening Coping Self-Insight over time through practice and meta-cognitive processes.
• Coping resources : (social, cognitive, personality motivational, practical).
• Resilient Beliefs.
• Capacity for resilience.
• Flexible use of coping strategy repertoire.
• "Battle buddy" (Adler, Castro, & McGurk, 2009).
• Cognitive/ behavioural skills training (e.g., Pidgeon et al., Miller et al).
• Approaches to developing resilience beliefs (e.g., Naemi et al., 2015).
• Coping self-reflection Moderate daily stressor events What are my emotional and cognitive responses? “I usually feel better in a day or so”.

Psychosocial Gains from Adversity (PGA) Model (Mancini, 2018)

• Experience of stressors probably involved in the development of resilient capacities.
• Adversity (acute) automatic social–affiliative affiliative behaviour.
• Positive social feedback.
• Psychosocial gains: improved functioning, relationships, affect regulation, and wellbeing.
• Individual factors: Neuroticism, sensitivity.

Application: Managing Stress

Coping

• "Cognitions and behaviours adopted by an individual following the recognition of a stressful encounter, that are in some way designed to deal with that encounter or its consequences" (Dewe et al., 1997, p. 7)
• Types:
  • Problem-focused: Resolving stressors.
    • Think: What can I do today to get started?
    • Do: Look at previous reports and presentation materials, seek assistance
  • Emotion-focused: Resolving strain.
    • Think: It’s a presentation, it’s not such a big deal.
    • Do: Take a break, practice relaxation exercises, debrief with a friend
• Coping strategy flexibility
  • Strict classifications of coping are becoming unpopular, depends on application context (e.g., Controllable? Domain? Goals?).
  • Best to have a range of strategies, monitor application, and be open to change.

Why Some People Get More Stressed

1. Differential reactivity: worse reaction to equivalent stressors (usually attributed to appraisal differences)
2. Differential exposure: experiencing more or worse stressors
3. Differential coping choice: tendency to choose less effective coping strategies

Managing Risks to Mental Health: Organizational Responsibility

Understanding Changes to the Work Health and Safety Act

• Amendment to the Work Health and Safety Regulations took effect in Oct. 2022.
• Spotlight on psychosocial risk in the workplace.
• Requires different skill sets for managing the psychosocial risk landscape.

Psychosocial Hazard Definition

• A hazard that—
  • arises from, or relates to—
    • the design or management of work,
    • a work environment,
    • plant at a workplace,
    • workplace interactions or behaviours, and
  • may cause psychological harm, whether or not it may also cause physical harm.

Psychosocial Risk Definition

• A risk to the health or safety of a worker or other person arising from a psychosocial hazard.
• Includes issues related to work design, management, environment, or workplace behaviors.

Controls

• Measures that a person conducting a business or undertaking must implement to manage psychosocial risks.
• Includes eliminating or minimising risks so far is as reasonably practicable.

Factors

• What are controls? Measures that a person conducting a business or undertaking must implement to manage psychosocial risks which includes eliminating or minimising risks so far is as reasonably practicable.
• Duration, frequency, and severity of exposure.
• The design of work.
• How hazards interact and combine.
• The systems of work (e.g., managed, organised).
• Environmental conditions (e.g., facilities for work welfare).

Common Psychosocial Hazards

• Exposure to traumatic events: Includes tasks requiring workers to handle or witness traumatic experiences (e.g., in emergency response or healthcare).
• Role Conflict or Lack of Role Clarity: Includes conflicting job priorities or unclear responsibilities and expectations.
• Low Job Control: Includes limited autonomy in decision-making, breaks, or task management.
• Conflict or Poor Workplace Relationships: Includes interpersonal conflicts, disagreements about task execution, or harmful behaviors.
• Role overload: Includes excessive tasks or responsibilities in a limited time, unachievable deadlines, inadequate staffing, or frequent exposure to emotionally distressing situations.

Code of Practice

What needs to be done?

• Must eliminate psychosocial hazards and manage risks to health and safety as reasonably practicable.
• Responsible for protecting workers from harmful acts by third parties, like clients or patients.
• The duty extends to ensuring that non-employees are not put at risk due to the work conducted by the business or undertaking.
• Consult with workers on matters related to health and safety.

What responsibilities do workers have?

• Take reasonable care for their own work health and safety.
• Ensure their actions or lack of action does not harm others.
• Follow reasonable health and safety instructions, policies, or procedures.

Managing Psychosocial Risk

1. Identify psychosocial hazards and risks.
2. Assess and prioritise the psychosocial hazards and risks.
3. Control the psychosocial hazards and risks.
4. Pro-actively implement, maintain, monitor, and review the effectiveness of control measures.

Step 1: Identify hazards and risks

• Leaders and managers:
  • Need to understand psycho-social hazards
  • Support the Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking to meet their obligations.
• Consultation with workers Sharing information Giving affected workers opportunities to express views. Advising workers of outcomes.
• Identification of hazards:
  • Surveys
  • Observations
  • Communicating with workers about their activities.
• Collecting and reviewing data Review of systems that capture the way work is conducted. Procedures and governance that affect how work is conducted.
• Prioritising psychosocial hazards:
  • Assessing the consequences for affected workers and others (Impact)
  • Determining the likelihood of harm (Likelihood)
  • Identifying who is most at risk.

Example: Identifying psychosocial risks on Navy deployment. Hazel, G., Gucciardi, D. F., Rigotti, T., Kalisch, R., Karin, E., & Crane, M. F. (2024). A qualitative investigation of demands, resources and self-regulation during Navy deployment. Military Psychology, 1-15.

Step 2: Prioritising Hazards

Example: Using Quantitative data analysis and surveys.

Step 3: Control the Psychosocial Hazards

• Focus: manage/reduce stressors.
• Focus: manage response to stressors.
• Focus: manage stress/strain.

Primary Interventions

• Good job design:
  • Demands not greater than employees’ capacity / resources
  • Autonomy appropriate for role and capability
  • Appropriate supervision, feedback and resources
  • Teamwork and social support encouraged
• Good leadership & performance management
• Good HR & change management

Changing The Way Work Is Done

• “the way that job roles and mental, interpersonal, and physical tasks are organized, enacted, and experienced” (Searle & Parker, 2012).
• Some demands of a job cannot be changed, but we can resource people to manage them!

SMART Model Of Work Design

Job Characteristics Model (JCM)

• Skill variety: Degree to which job holder uses several different competencies
• Task identity: Extent to which job allows completion of whole, identifiable output
• Task significance: Degree to which work done impacts the lives or work of other people
• Autonomy: Degree to which jobholder is free to make decisions, schedule the pace of work, determine the procedures to be used etc
• Feedback: Degree to which the job-holder obtains information about the effectiveness of the performance; includes not only supervisory feedback but also the ability to observe the results of one’s work

Why is Work / Job Design Important?

• Associated with: Performance (process efficiency, attention, fatigue, learning speed/quality, match of skills to job); Motivation and attitudes (intrinsic motivation, learning motivation, affective commitment, satisfaction); and Stress and wellbeing

Secondary Interventions

• Stress management training (e.g., resilience training)
• Other learning & development practices
• Health promotion programs (e.g., gym memberships)

Considerations: pre-training conditions (e.g., leader attitudes, prior training), training design (e.g., focus of training, framing) and post-training conditions (e.g., opportunity for application, leadership support).

Tertiary Interventions

• Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)
• Counselling and assistance for problems with substance abuse, marriage/family problems, other personal problems and work problems that have got out of hand.

Considerations: cultural aspects of the organisation (e.g., stigma, concerns about career), Specific knowledge of providers (e.g., understanding the employment context) and access issues that limit ability to attend (e.g., shift work, unpredictable hours).

STEP 4: Pro-actively implement, maintain, monitor, and review control measures

• Clear accountabilities
• Regular reviews
• Results from control reviews considered
• Strategies for early intervention
• Appropriate compensation for workers
• Hazard and risk reporting system should be suitable for the organization