Excessive Workloads and Stress

Heavy workloads can negatively affect the psychological well-being of employees, their blood pressure and heart health, the stability of their family relationships, and their safety in the workplace. All of these negative effects can fluctuate on a daily basis based on the employees' perception of the amount of work they have to do.

According to a study published in the summer 2010 issue of Personnel Psychology, (Ilies, R., Dimotakis and De Pater, 2010) employees who reported feeling overworked also reported feelings of psychological and emotional distress and a reduction in their overall levels of well-being. These effects were found to be less severe when employees felt the organization placed a high level of value on their work and gave them a sense of control over their circumstances. Negative effects were more severe when employees felt not only overworked but also powerless and not valued by the organization.

The study published in Personnel Psychology also found that employees who felt overworked had higher blood pressure than those who did not. This negative effect was more severe when the overworked employees also felt undervalued and powerless. Because high blood pressure is correlated with higher rates of cardiovascular disease, chronically heavy workloads could be associated with higher risks for heart attacks and other heart health problems. The study found that blood pressure levels would spike on the same day as the increased workload, so the effect is immediate.

A safety study conducted by Towers Watson (Under pressure to remain relevant, employers look to modernize the employee value proposition, 2016) found that employee perceptions of high workload correlated with a 62 percent increase in accident rates at a petrochemical company. According to the report prepared by Towers Watson, industrial accidents cause a worldwide loss of up to 4 percent of the gross domestic product every year, so the financial impact of accidents caused by excessive workloads must be considerable. However, the study also found that worksites with good teamwork were able to keep accident rates down despite heavy workloads. When high workloads cannot be avoided, companies can mitigate the negative effects by encouraging teamwork, giving employees as much power over their circumstances as possible and letting them know that their work is value.

References

Ilies, R., Dimotakis, N. And De Pater, I. (2010). Psychological And Physiological Reactions To High Workloads: Implications For Well-being. Personnel Psychology, 63(2), Pp.407-436.

Willis Towers Watson (2016). Under pressure to remain relevant, employers look to modernize the employee value proposition. [ebook] Willis Towers Watson. Available at: https://www.willistowerswatson.com/-/media/WTW/PDF/Insights/2016/09/employers-look-to-modernize-the-employee-value-proposition.pdf [Accessed 24 Mar. 2019].

What is stress? How it impacts employees in a workplace?

The word stress is introduced by Hans Selye. (Selye, 1976) Stress is the response to change by brain and body. He also extends that it is a pain self-produced occurring in thoughts and completely depended on various situations and environments.

There are various contributors to workplace stress ranging from given work beyond the capacity of the employee, non - safe work environment to workplace harassment and bullying (ComPsych, 2016). Major factors that contribute to the workplace stress will be focused individually. The following info graphic shows the impact due to workplace stress which emphasis on it's magnitude and why it should be address now more than ever. Most of these stats are provided by the American Psychological Association from their 2017 Stress in America survey.

Lack of stress management in the workplace contributes to illnesses, absenteeism and employee turnover. (APA, 2017) Another primary indicator of stress is under performance at work. To deal with stress in workers, it is vital to take effective actions and procedures. These measures not will not only benefit the stressed employee but also, improves the scope for organizational development.

References

Selye, H. (1976). The stress of life. 1st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.

ComPsych (2016). ComPsych® StressPulse® Report. Chicago: ComPsych. 

APA (2017). Stress in America. American Psychological Association.

BDA (2013). Sources of Work-related Stressamong Salaried Primary Care Dentists in the UK. England: British Dental Association.

MMPI (2019). MMPI-2. Minnesota: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.