Organisational Stress

组织压力：动荡时期的新闻

简介

最近的危机遍布全球，世界上的许多经济体都陷入其中。最大的经济巨人都没有幸免，正如我们所见证的，并不是马来西亚。虽然最初看似安全，坐落于一些不幸的经济体中，如冰岛、美国和英国，马来西亚经济衰退的迹象有点晚。

随着出口率的下降，企业被迫处理日益减少的销售和底线。这反过来又使企业对管理层和员工带来了不利消息。管理层在业务的决定上和管理上遭受着巨大的压力，而员工在预知管理层的行动上也遭受着同样的命运，这可能会影响他们的生活。

就经济上而言，这种周期性的事件已经带来了一个中心问题，就是人们经常说的、写的和读的：职业压力。

什么是职业压力？

职业压力已经被许多不同性格的人以许多不同种方式下了定义，在1994年由纳尔逊和奎克进行了证实。

ORGANISATIONAL STRESS: MAKING THE NEWS IN TURBULENT TIMES

Introduction

The recent crisis that spread across the globe wreaked havoc for many of the worlds' economies. The largest of economic giants were not spared, and as we all bear witness, neither was Malaysia. Although seemingly safe initially, situated on somewhat higher ground than some unfortunate economies like Iceland, United States and United Kingdom, Malaysia has of late displayed signs of weakening economy.

With exports down, businesses are forced to deal with dwindling sales and bottom lines. This in turn leaves business with unfavourable news for management as well as employees of such businesses. Management are left with overwhelming stress in making decisions pertaining to their business and those under their care, whilst employees suffer the same fate in anticipating their managements' actions, that may very well affect their livelihood.

This cyclical turn of events as far as economies are concerned has brought to the forefront, an issue that has often times been said, written and read about, occupational stress.

什么是职业压力——What is Occupational Stress?

Occupational stress has been defined in many different ways by many different personalities and this was attested to by Nelson and Quick in 1994. Varca, Oleanas and Kleiner, Vermunt and Steensma, and Topper viewed occupational stress as the "perception of a discrepancy between environmental demands (stressors) and individual capacities to fulfill these demands"[i].Ornelas and Kleiner on the other hand, argued that stress is "the by-product of modern life that results from our efforts of trying to balance the demands of the workplace and of family life"[ii]. In essence, the term is, until today ambiguous and rather confusing, especially when added to the proposition that stress comes in two forms, good stress (Eustress) and bad stress (Distress).[iii]

压力的起因——Causes of Stress

Christo and Pienaar (2006) contended that causes of occupational stress include perceived loss of job, and security, sitting for long periods of time or heavy lifting, lack of safety, complexity of repetitiveness and lack of autonomy in the job[iv]. Bland (1999) included in his works, financial insecurities as contributing factors to stress. Buchanon and Huczynski (2004) also listed some causes of organizational stress and the list includes uncertain future. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) added to these contentions, a few more causes of stress which would be worth highlighting in view of the examples we set forth later. The causes identified include job future ambiguity, employment opportunities and responsibility for people. The causes discussed, taken with Bland's financial insecurity as a stressor, would seem to be prevalent causes of organizational stress in the hard times we currently face.

With the current economic crisis, many Americans for example, are facing severe stress from multiple sources that covers risk of job loss, home loss, sudden declines in income and net worth, shrinking retirement accounts, and the loss of health coverage. The physical and emotional toll of economic stress on people in the US was reflected in the American Psychological Association's (APA) newly released Stress in America Survey (2008) whereby, almost half of Americans say that they are increasingly stressed about their ability to provide for their family's basic needs when asked about the looming financial crisis. Eight out of ten say that the economy is a significant cause of stress. Compared with men, more women say they are stressed about money (83% vs. 78%), the economy (84% vs. 75%), job stability (57% vs. 55%), housing costs (66% vs. 58%) and health problems affecting their families (70% vs. 63%). This is interesting somewhat as the more chronic examples of manifestations of occupational health that we highlight later, centres around men.

职业压力的影响——Effects of Occupational Stress

Occupational stress contributes to low motivation and morale, decrease in performance, high cturnover, sick leave, accidents, low job satisfaction, low quality products and services, poor internal communication and conflicts.?[v]?Sapountzi-Krepia (2003) recognized stress as a major health hazard of the contemporary century and undertakes diverse conditions such as psychosomatic diseases, behavioural changes and is a major contributor to disturbances in ones emotional, social and family life.[vi]

近年来职业压力的表现——Manifestations of Occupational Stress in Recent Times

Workload has often been argued by researchers as the main cause of occupational stress?[vii]?leading to what has been termed as "Karoshi" or death due to overwork. Nevertheless, we would not want to play down the impact job of layoffs and fear of job security, aspects of occupational stress that has come under the spotlight since the fourth quarter of last year. The effects of layoffs and fear of job security has manifested itself in the form of troubling news reports since late 2008 and it is still making the news as we speak. Perhaps one of the most widely spoken cases arising from the economic crisis that has yet to show signs of receding, was the death of Adolph Merckle. A notable German billionaire, Merckle, in January 2009 was reported to have laid himself down on a railway track and waited for a moving train to run over him. According to his family, "The desperate situation of his companies, caused by the financial crisis, the uncertainties of the last few weeks and his powerlessness to act, broke the passionate family entrepreneur," resulting in him taking his own life.[viii]

In another incident in the United States, Ervin Antonio Lupoe shot dead his wife and five young children, and then himself, after he and his wife lost their jobs at a hospital in west Los Angeles. To this tragic event, the Deputy chief of police in charge, Kenneth Garner had this to say "This was a financial and job-related issue that led to slayings. In these tough economic times, there are other options"?[ix]?And we would have to agree with this proposition, that there are alternatives to dealing with occupational stress.

The problems that the economic crisis has caused did not only create irrational behaviour among workers at the international front. Malaysia too has seen its fair share of alarming news stemming from the current economic landscape. On 19 February this year, a worker from China shot dead his employer, an owner of a rubber factory in Kajang. The killing was allegedly an act of revenge caused by the worker's layoff two months earlier.?[x]?An after effect of the economic crisis? Quite likely.

The above cases are among many extreme examples of how people react to the effects of the current economic crisis. In Merckle's case, the responsibility for people - family, business partners, employees could have been a factor linked to his suicide. Ervin Antonio Lupoe, as a former employee on the other hand, had to deal with job future ambiguity after being laid off. The fact that he was also laid off in a very degrading manner by being told by his former superior that "He should have never been hired and he should blow his brains out"?[xi]?could have been the detonator that set of the bomb, that was waiting to explode, in Lupoe.

Extreme or not, attention needs to be paid to the causes of such actions or reactions. As the economy is an external business factor beyond the control of any business entity, manner or dealing with these factors is of utmost importance. Was it wise of Lupoe's supervisor to be so brash? Was there anything anyone could have done to save Merckle from such an unfortunate end? Employers, the government, associations, and even employees themselves, have a role to play in taming the effects of occupational stress.

Malaysians, not being immune as earlier mentioned, has recently heard news on layoffs, particularly in the manufacturing and industrial service sector. It was reported on 20 February, fairly recently, that 80,000 employees in such sectors were facing job layoffs, a sharp increase from the 45,000 reported end of January.[xii]

Although it was also report that less than 20 factories have closed down[xiii]since the economic crisis began, we cannot say for certain that, that is as far as Malaysia's predicament goes as more and more news of job layoffs hit the pages of the local dailies. Very recently, specifically, 4 March, Flextronics International (FLEX.O), one of the world's largest contract manufacturers announced that it would be shutting an assembly plant here in Malaysia. The shutting down of the plant will see 1,382 workers being let go at the end of the month as a result of wilting demand for the country's key technology exports.?[xiv]?Not a significant number for some, it still acts as signal of where employment trends are headed. Flextronics is not alone in its decision to layoff its workers; as we shall see later, a few other prominent names have also acted in similar fashion. With falling exports, more factories are expected to close down, hence leaving potentially more manual workers jobless.

Living in fear of job loss or having suffered a layoff can cause a great deal of stress on employees or former employees. It can lead to those affected taking extreme measures like that taken by the Chinese national who lost his job at the rubber factory. This is not however startling considering that American Institute of Stress (AIS) has indicated that homicide is the second leading cause of fatal occupational injury, although in this particular Malaysian case, death was the result.[xv]Those having to deal with loss of, or possible loss of livelihood could exhibit various symptoms of stress, that take physical, emotional, behavioural, mental or health form.

All five categories can be linked to layoffs and fear of job security - anxiety, nervousness, worries, depression, anger, loss of enjoyment of life, lack of confidence, restlessness, lack of energy, insomnia, impulsiveness, aggressiveness, frequent lapse of memory, constant negative thinking, distorted ideas, high blood pressure, migraines, heart attacks, angina, strokes and many more.[xvi]

Given the evident dangers of what occupational stress bears for the affected employees and employers, the issue that arise then is, what can, should be and in some instances, should have been done in addressing the issue of occupational stress under the current economic conditions? Should employers carry about their business as usual and deal with employee layoffs as and when layoffs are to be carried out? Or should there be an obligation on employers to do more, be more supportive, in addressing their employees' fears and concerns? Should the government take on a more prominent role in addressing employment concerns? Has the government done enough? What can employees themselves do in managing stress arising from uncertain times? How should they handle situations beyond their control?

可以做些什么-建议——What Can Be Done? - Recommendations

Having highlighted the current events relating to occupational stress, it is thus crucial for people to react accordingly to the functions of the individual as well as the functions of one's type of occupation. As mentioned, there are obvious evidences of the impact the current economic condition has on employees. Apart from that highlighted earlier, employees consequently also display reducing level of job satisfaction and productivity. There is a need as such, to identify the solutions in handling occupational stress, after having learned that negative effects of stress are undeniably significant.

Interventions need to be made to effectively manage stress. Primary interventions require redesigning of jobs to modify work place stressors. At this stage, the organizations would definitely value the outcome and compliment this effort by increasing the employees decision-making authority or providing co-worker support groups.?[xvii]?Following this, secondary interventions can be implemented. Here, the interventions are designed to expose the employees to training sessions which include seminar programmes in order for them to identify and deal with organizational stressors. This is especially important in current times, where the potential benefit of reducing the severity of work stress before it escalates into serious physical health problems in an individual and the organization at large should be considered crucial. A tertiary intervention is conducted where employees are already suffering from the effects of stress. This group of people will need to seek professional consultation through employee assistance programmes and mental health consultants.[xviii]

The importance of these measures and the need to come up with innovative and effective ways to address the needs of employees in dealing with work stress is undeniable as lack care for employees welfare ultimately affects bottom line when employees indulge in absenteeism and sick leaves as a result of stress.

In Malaysia, the Ministry of Human Resources in Malaysia has been offering guidance throughout the past years to address the prevention level of occupational stress in the work place.[xix]The Ministry uses selection tools such as written tests, interviews and performance tests to help in identifying individuals who are more tailored to certain jobs, less likely to get stressed, frustrated and angered. The hard times we are forced to face currently makes it relatively more important for selection tools to be used. This is to cater for the increasing number of the unemployed staff and the dramatic decrease in demand of employment.

Training and education is another essential element as far as occupational stress prevention is concerned. Setting up a "core group" of mature and specially competent employees is a necessity to attend to more responsibilities in complicated interactions. This will prepare them when left to face difficult circumstances that occur during troubled times. With the issue of layoff that most multinational companies have no choice but to deal with now, employees need to work in a cross-functional management structure where they are well-equipped with skills to handle multi-tasking jobs.

Counselling and psychological support would be an even more important aspect of managing situations involving high levels of occupational stress. Employees themselves are encouraged to seek professional advice from psychologist, psychiatrics, clinical specialist and social workers, or to refer to peer counselling and support groups within their respective organizations. Appropriate and promptly rendered counselling reduces psychological trauma and general stress levels among victims and witnesses. The quicker the response, the more effective and less costly it will be. For instance, we should acknowledge our anxiety on work force challenges, prepare our approach and talk about our feelings with the human resources personnel and outplacement professionals.

The recent downturn in the economy has caused negative implications on engagement levels and this is where OSHA (Occupation Safety and Health Academy) has come forward to offer a variety of safety and health consulting services through experienced professionals, whom are at a high level of customization to perform these services. This is indeed important to develop a successful approach and create a healthy working environment to challenge stressful working conditions. The safety and health committees that organisations have or should have, function as the medium that regularly provides advice on dealing exclusively with occupational stress among employees. A regular walk-around inspection, investigation of incidents related to occupational stress and review of changes in work-practices and procedures for potential stressors, for instance are the initiatives that needs to be undertaken seriously by such committees in curbing or controlling the issue of work stress.

In Malaysia, the economic downturn has somehow affected small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and institutions such as Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (Asli) has been rather supportive. Datuk Michael Yeoh of Asli even came up with a suggestion that the second stimulus package should address job layoffs and include help for small businesses.?[xx]?According to him, a retrenchment fund for retraining workers and a rationalisation fund for small and medium enterprises to enable them to level up the value chain should be in place to reduce dependence on foreign workers through mechanization. This, if had been implemented would provide a boost for the local SMEs market and indirectly creates more job opportunities to the local employees, especially in SMEs sector where the entrepreneurs are facing stressful conditions more than ever.

The Malaysian government has also played a role by allowing a 3-day work practice mainly in manufacturing sector in order to prevent layoffs, as to avoid what has happened to Panasonic and Intel (M).[xxi]Companies that are facing signs of trouble as that faced by some of its counterparts should consider implementing this 3-day work practice as an alternative to layoff in safeguarding the livelihood and manage anxiety among their employees. The Government has further stated its determination to protect the local employees whilst ensuring that companies do not have to lose out. The Mini Budget 2009 which was carried out recently, showed that the Malaysian Government has moved forward to overcome the slowdown in global crisis.

Looking globally, the UN labour agency has made calls for work and social initiatives to offset the current global crisis.[xxii]There are many elements of Decent Work Agenda to promote job creation, deepening and expanding social protection and more use of social dialogue. Director-General Somavia has addressed his concerns that governments should be more decisive and take coordinated international action is to avert a global social recession. This is an essential move by the UN and government on employment and social protections for workers and to include labour considerations in their planning alongside financial issues.

The employees themselves, in fact should play their role in overcoming the occupational stress at workplace especially in today's uncertain climate. Appropriate steps have to be taken to reduce both overall stress levels and stress found on the job and in the workplace. For example, employees should take responsibility to improve their physical and emotional well-being by identifying the situation that may cause negative and self-defeating thinking in their mind.[xxiii]Self-awareness and self-management are key elements in controlling the emotions and behaviour and adapt to changing circumstances. Putting in effort in learning better communication skills would ease and improve the relationships with management and co-workers. This would guide management as well as staff when engaging in dialogues and discussions pertaining to their job security and their future direction in difficult times. The better the employee self-manage stress, the easier it is for them to adapt to the job and workplace stress which becomes more prominent in times of economic crisis.

In conclusion, initiatives and efforts taken by the academicians, associations, governments and even an international corporation are relatively important in overcoming the issue of occupational stress especially in turbulent time. There is a need in paradigm shift in managing occupational stress in order to minimize its impact towards employees with a more aggressive approach. This human-related issue, perhaps, is seemingly facing a challenge yet can be reduced and solved with appropriate actions by various parties. The employees will be beneficiary in the end.