Your Attitude Is Showing: A Primer of Human Relations, Tenth Edition

Attitude and Stress

Job stress is self-imposed when workers set too many difficult goals for themselves and, as a result, move in an unorganized manner in too many directions at the same time. Most stress, however, is caused by the job itself. Some jobs—such as those of television news personnel, air traffic controllers, and police officers—are recognized as stressful.

Excessive stress can cause job burnout, which results in impairment of work productivity. Warning signals include feelings of frustration (Chapter 11), emotional outbursts, and withdrawal. Human relationships usually deteriorate.

Do those who maintain positive attitudes handle stress better than others?

Generally speaking, “yes.” When you focus on the positive elements of a work ...