The impact of Work Stress on Employee Productivity

This article explores the impact of work stress on employee productivity and discusses workplace conditions that contribute to stress. It also provides strategies to reduce work stress and improve productivity. The article references studies on the job demands-resources model and offers insights on how job resources can buffer job demands. The importance of social support and performance feedback is highlighted. The article concludes with examples of workplace experiences and measures employers can take to improve workplace wellness and increase productivity.

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The impact of Work Stress on Employee Productivity
Work related stress is the increasing problem in the industrial sector that affect not
only the health and well-being of employees but also impact organisation productivity. This
stress caused by various events such as pressure if the demands of their job are higher than
their capability to cope. The workplace conditions linked to the employee stress include long
working hours, poor appraisal, tight deadlines, organisational change, lack of
decentralization, job insecurity and potential redundancy (Richardson & Rothstein, 2008). To
more explicitly recognize the relationship between workplace conditions in association with
employee stress, job demands-resources model can be used to predict employee burnout and
engagement and consequently enterprise performance. It includes short list of various
assumptions and premises.
The interaction between job demands and job resources is significant for the
development of job strain as well as employee satisfaction (Demerouti & Bakker, 2011). The

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example of job design can be work pressure and emotional demands whereas the examples of
job resources can be employer coaching, career growth, autonomy and role-clarity. Social
support and Performance feedback are the great examples of job resources having potential to
buffer job demands. For instance, when employees are faced with high emotional demands,
the colleague's social support might become more instrumental and visible (Sonnentag,
Binnewies & Mojza, 2010).
I would also like to share one of the important workplace experience during my job
that helps me towards growth and development in a particular area. At that time, it was the
appraisal period and everybody was stressed due to getting of low appraisal from the
company (averagely – 10 – 15 %). However, only one of the employee among total
employees got 40% appraisal. I ask him the reasons and he told me while comparing to all
other employees, he started work more on initial days and at the end, he left out with no
burden and this helps him to meet the company target effectively as well as without any job
stress. Job resources specifically influence work engagement or motivation when job
demands are high. In refer to JD-R model, each occupation has its own particular working
characteristics and thus this tool can also be effectively used under human resource
management (Tims, Bakker & Derks, 2013).
In relation to the impact, it motivates me to work hard during initial period so that at
the time of appraisal, no employer or senior has the reason to question me. My various other
experiences including this also make me understand that a person suffering from work related
stress can help themselves in number of ways, such as thinking about the changes to make at
work for reducing the stress levels with cooperation’s of others. Other than this, talk with the
peers and employers about the concern also help you to make your goal achieved effectively.
One also needs to be well organized with his work by scheduling difficult tasks with each day
for time. However, if work related stress still continues to be an issue irrespective of all these
efforts, one may consider another job in relation with career growth.
To reduce down the work stress, there are various measures adopted by the employer
to improve workplace wellness such as educating and coaching employee by offering various
other ways to do the task in more effective way. It not only supports work life balance but
also encourages employee to do more towards the achievement of corporate goals. The
employer also has implemented new shifting in align with the buddy plan to reduce work-
load at the organisation floor. In this buddy plan, with every junior employee, there is placed

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a senior employee to help in his/her task. This change not only helps the employee in
increasing their productivity but also raise organisation performance. The effectiveness of
these measures is noted after six months when the company performance is relatively
increased by 18 %.
Hence, if management and organisation effectively undertake necessary practices
towards workload stress, organisation performance and productivity can increase
significantly.

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References
Demerouti, E., & Bakker, A. B. (2011). The job demands-resources model: Challenges for
future research. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 37(2), 01-09.
Richardson, K. M., & Rothstein, H. R. (2008). Effects of occupational stress management
intervention programs: a meta-analysis. Journal of occupational health
psychology, 13(1), 69.
Sonnentag, S., Binnewies, C., & Mojza, E. J. (2010). Staying well and engaged when
demands are high: The role of psychological detachment. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 95(5), 965.
Tims, M., Bakker, A. B., & Derks, D. (2013). The impact of job crafting on job demands, job
resources, and well-being. Journal of occupational health psychology, 18(2), 230.