Organizational Behavior, 17e

Managing Stress

1. 7 Describe individual and organizational approaches to managing stress at work.

What should we do about stress? Should we do anything? Because low to moderate levels of stress can be functional and lead to higher performance, management may not be concerned when employees experience them. Employees, however, are likely to perceive even low levels of stress as undesirable. It’s not unlikely, therefore, for employees and management to have different notions of what constitutes an acceptable level of stress on the job. What management may consider to be “a positive stimulus that keeps the adrenaline running” is very likely to be seen as “excessive pressure” by the employee. Keep this in mind as we discuss individual and organizational ...