Workplace Stress：工作压力.doc

Workplace Stress Adapted from the Candian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/stress.html Can workplace stress be defined? We hear a lot about stress, but what is it? Tabers Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary defines stress as the result produced when a structure, system or organism is acted upon by forces that disrupt equilibrium or produce strain. In simpler terms, stress is the result of any emotional, physical, social, economic, or other factors that require a response or change. It is generally believed that some stress is okay (sometimes referred to as challengeor positive stress) but when stress occurs in amounts that you cannot handle, both mental and physical changes may occur. Stress in the workplace can have many origins or come from one single event. It can impact on both employees and employers alike. As stated by the Canadian Mental Health Association: Fear of job redundancy, layoffs due to an uncertain economy, increased demands for overtime due to staff cutbacks act as negative stressors. Employees who start to feel the pressure to perform can get caught in a downward spiral of increasing effort to meet rising expectations with no increase in job satisfaction. The relentless requirement to work at optimum performance takes its toll in job dissatisfaction, employee turnover, reduced efficiency, illness and even death. Absenteeism, illness, alcoholism, petty internal politics, bad or snap decisions, indifference and apathy, lack of motivation or creativity are all by-products of an over stressed workplace. (From: Canadian Mental Health Association, Sources of Workplace Stress Richmond, British Columbia) I have heard stress can be both good and bad. Is this true? Some stress is normal. In fact, it is often what provides us with the energy and motivation to meet our daily challenges both at home and at the workplace. Stress in these situations is the kind that helps you rise to a challenge and meet your g