Psychological Stress in the Workplace

A sound theory of psychological stress must be capable of helping us understand the variations in the ways individuals appraise adaptational transactions with their environments. On the basis of knowledge gained from traditional research methods, there are three main strategies for reducing stress in the workplace. One is to alter the conditions of work so that they are either less stressful or less counterproductive for effective coping. The second strategy is to try to help those who are having difficulty adapting to conditions that are impossible or difficult to change to cope more effectively. The third strategy is transactional and requires that we identify the individual or group relationships with the work setting that are stressful, and try to change them for the individual or group on the basis of relational findings. Emotion-focused coping consists of efforts to regulate the emotional distress caused by harm or threat.