WORK STRESS AND BURNOUT Work Stress And Burnout Name University Roll No Page 1 WORK STRESS AND BURNOUT Work stress is known world wide as a major problem to workers health and performance of the organisation Workers in the organisation who are stressed cannot perform well in the organisation This will ultimately give negative profits to the organisation if the workers are not performing well in the organisation The stressed workers are also more likely to be unhealthy uninspired less productive and less safe at work Because of this their organizations are less likely to be successful in a competitive market and cannot sustain in the market for longer period of time Stress can be brought about by pressures of work at home and at work Employers in the organisation cannot usually protect workers from stress that is arising outside of work but they can protect and eliminate stress that arises through work Stress at work can be a real and a major problem to the organization and also for its workers Good management of work and good working conditions in the organization are the best forms of stress prevention If employees are already stressed in the work place their managers should be aware of it and know how to help the workers in combating stress Work related mental health problems is one of the main challenges faced by organizations in today s world This is particularly because of their serious consequences in the work place and extent for these organizations Not only this it has been also found that there is a direct link between stress and heart disease dissatisfaction at work accidents and certain forms of cancer Because of this there is work related mismanagement and individual health problems which in turn causes in increase in non attendance rates Pressure at the workplace is inevitable due to the demands of the contemporary work environment Pressure apparent as acceptable by an individual may even keep workers alert motivated able to work and learn depending on the available resources and personal characteristics of the employees However when that pressure becomes too much or Page 2 WORK STRESS AND BURNOUT otherwise unmanageable it leads to stress Stress can damage employees health as well as mental ability to perform the well work What is work related stress Work related stress is the response of the employees that may have when presented with work demands and pressures and the employees do not have abilities and capabilities to perform the work He doesn t have the ability to cope with the working environment Stress occurs in a wide range of work circumstances but is often made worse when employees feel they have little support from supervisors and colleagues as well as little There is sometimes lot of changing environment and constant work pressure This results in control over work processes work related stress on the employees Stress in the organisation can be because of the following situations Physical pressures it includes the geography and climatic condition in which the organisation is set up It helps the organisation to attract and retain the employees and increase the capacity to work Geographic environment helps to determine the demand and supply of the workers or the employees in that particular area Sometimes the organisation is not set up in a proper environment and this effect the working conditions of the organisation Technological pressures in the age of specialisation there is lot of technological pressures on the employees He has to deal with the changing day to day environment He has to have perfect knowledge about the changing environment and technological changes in it Political pressures politics is an important part of the organisation Organisational Politics can be helpful or harmful to the business organization Page 3 WORK STRESS AND BURNOUT Social pressures social pressures are related to employees and subordinates who are working in the organisation It is related with the attitudes and behaviour of the employees The employees should be properly motivated in order to attain the goals of the organisation If they are not properly motivated they won t function properly and hence the goals cannot be achieved High performance level Motivated employee put higher performance as compared to other employees High performance level of work leads to increased productivity Organisational changes It is a common tendency that employees oppose the change As technology is changing at a fast rate in the current scenario it is necessary to keep speed with it for the survival Motivated employees are certainly regarded as change agents For proper motivation employees should not be in a stressed condition Therefore they will accept the change easily as compared to the non motivated employees Optimum utilisation of resources Motivation inspires employees to make best possible use of different factors of production for achieving the goals of the organisation They work whole heartedly to apply their abilities and potential and minimising waste and cost The enterprise can make maximum use of its physical and financial resources Better industrial relations increased labour output results in higher wages for the employees And also helps the organisation to attain the goals of the organisation at a faster rate For creating better relations with the outside environment the employees have to work more and perform well This increases the work pressure in the organisation Organisation should try to fulfil all the needs and demands of the employee which are in due favour of the organisation They should provide rewards and recognitions on timely basis to motivate the employee for efficient work flow and effective use of human resources not only Page 4 WORK STRESS AND BURNOUT the physical factors should be taken into consideration but how mentally is the employee prepared for a working environment Human resource management should not pressurise the employee but should make him feel comfortable at work The decisions should be in the favour of the employee as well as the organisation This also helps in faster work and also increases the productivity of the department were decentralization is practiced The employees are also motivated when they are given authority to make decisions for their functional units By practicing this principle the organization can make their employees more productive and improve their satisfaction level at work This will help the organization in decreasing