Reducing Occupational Stress Report

Choose a specific health care challenge faced in your current work environment . ? Describe the problem you want to address. ? Describe the innovation techniques you would use to identify a feasible and innovative solution to the problem. ? Describe your proposed innovation. ? Indicate how you will implement it as a revenue/value creating service in your own setting. ? Clearly indicate how the practical implementation and financial sustainability of the proposed innovation will be ensured. Pay attention specifically to key barriers and how these will be addressed proactively. Please note that this must be in a South African context. I have also attached the rubric

Running head: REDUCING OCCUPATIONAL STRESS
Innovation to reduce occupational stress
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1REDUCING OCCUPATIONAL STRESS
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................2
Occupational stress.................................................................................................................2
Techniques to identify innovation..........................................................................................3
Proposed innovation...............................................................................................................4
Implementing the innovation.................................................................................................4
Resolving the chief barriers...................................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
References..................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
Occupational stress is the most widespread challenge faced by the 14 million
workforces of South Africa. Increased complexity and load of work heightened by over-
reliance on digital technologies have led to significant stress and related problems in the
country. Chief consequences of occupational stress are cognitive fatigue and information
overload. Prolonged subjection to these consequences results in a decline in job performance
and increasing perceptual distractions. Recently, occupational stress has become a recognised
issue globally but is yet to cover all sectors of employment. Several organisations have
realised the concern and adopted measures to ease the workload. Existing interventions
include mandatory leaves, breaks during work hours, stress-relief activities at work such as
fun games and unlimited caffeinated beverages. These interventions have proved successful
to a considerable extent. However, improved strategies are under research to address this
global concern. This paper discusses occupational stress as a significant health challenge
faced in South Africa, innovation in the traditional stress management interventions and
discusses the possible benefits and barriers faced on implementing the proposed strategy.
Discussion
Occupational stress
Occupational stress is a type of psychological condition caused by workplace pressure
such as work roles, responsibilities, culture and environment (Khamisa et al., 2015).
Cognitive fatigue and information anxiety are two direct implications of this type of stress.
Cognitive fatigue is specific tiredness experienced when excessive work needs to be
completed within a short deadline (Chirico, 2016). Information overload also called
infoxication, refers to unreasonable exposure to information leading to anxiety and difficulty

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in the correct comprehension of the data provided (Naidoo et al., 2014). According to the
World Health Organisation (WHO), a healthy workplace refers to one where the workload on
the employee fits their expertise and available resources and to a controlled amount. As being
healthy refers to both physical and mental well-being, a healthy workplace not only refers to
a lack of hazards but also ones that enhance individual health. Adverse effects may also
accompany occupational stress on the body such as depression, anxiety disorders, imbalances
in metabolism, muscular and cardiovascular issues (Steyn, & Vawda, 2014). Common
behavioural signs include absent-mindedness, social withdrawal, confusion and irritation.
Other consequences of this stress include sleep deprivation, mood disorders and emotional
collapse. There is a strong inverse correlation between the degree of stress and work
performance (Carpenter et al., 2015). As increasing stress affects job performance, it is
harmful to both the employees as well as the organisation. Lowered performance, continued
absenteeism and frequent errors from the employees’end directly impact the overall growth
of the organisation. Despite being a widespread concern globally, occupational stress is
recognized to a small extent in South Africa. Comparatively, very few are available for
reliable screening and testing instruments, analyses of the prevalence of occupational stress
and organisational stress management interventions.
Techniques to identify innovation
There are several techniques and tools for more creative innovation ideas. These
techniques have different dimensions depending on the purpose of innovation. The various
useful tools include ecosystem economy modelling tool, design burst, GOES ideation session,
concept effect mapping tool and storyboarding. Ecosystem economy modelling tool enables
effective decision making by incorporating the dynamic interactions prevalent within the
business ecosystem. Storyboarding involves envisioning the future of the organisation
realising the cause for innovation (Walker et al., 2015). The GOES ideation is based on a

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stepwise development of innovation, consisting of the steps generate-organise-expand-select
the most suitable technique. Design burst is another tool which helps in forming a charette-
based framework for planned innovation. Lastly, the concept effect mapping tools analyse the
pros and cons of the technique considered. Thus, these steps help in the development of an
innovation strategy most suitable and feasible for the organisation.
Proposed innovation
As the prevalence of occupational stress is increasing with limited management
interventions, the need for an appropriate innovation is of primary importance in all
organisations. It can involve one dynamic strategy or maybe a combination of more than one
strategy for overall enhanced output. A suitable innovation can be to reduce the work
pressure on the individual employee and to distribute the load over a large number of
employees. An increase in the total number of employees, hired at relatively lower wages
distributes the total work among a higher number of employees and reducing individual
pressure. This innovation is feasible for the organisation as the overall revenue remains
unchanged with more excellent output.
Implementing the innovation
The proposed innovation is based on the principle of distribution of workload and
requires a large workforce of the organisation. Distribution of the work eases the role of an
individual employee and decreases the pressure considerable on the employee. A stress-free
mind can produce better outcomes. Sharing the workload enables employees to discuss
problems that may arise during work with more number of experts. This increases the
availability and quality of assistance received. Also, hiring the employees at relatively lower
compensation balances the financial status of the organisation and makes this strategy

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feasible. At about the same time, the output of the company increases as the workforce
increases and aids in expanding the market value of the organisation.
Along with increasing the workforce, employees must be grouped to perform specific
tasks within their expertise. This reduces the risk of stress associated with lack of knowledge
or skills required to do a piece of work. Allocating tasks within expertise also takes less time
to complete the work and hence, enhances the yield or productivity of the organisation. The
allocation of the task must be discussed and agreed by the employee to avoid confusion in
future. Tasks of the same expertise must be allocated to a group of employees to avoid
pressure on individuals during leaves. Also, a proper scheme of incentives for additional
work done by the employee keeps the employees motivated to perform better which again
benefits the overall output of the organization. The incentives give scope to the employees to
earn extra based on individual working capacity and motivation to make up for the
standardised salary.
Another beneficial side to this innovation is that by increasing the total workforce, the
shift hours of the employees can be regulated and the duration of the shift can be reduced to
7-8 hours per day. Long work hours or excessive overtime shifts affect the body as well as
the mind of the person. In most cases, it impacts sleep patterns and causes sleep deprivation.
Reduced work hours allow more personal time to the employees with family and friends
which helps the employees keep a balance between personal and professional lives.
Excessive work pressure often follows the employee back to their homes and intervenes with
their family time. As a result, the employee feels stuck with work everywhere. This may have
a negative impact on family relations as well and harm the personal life of the employee.
Evidently, South Africa’s divorce rate is one of the highest in the world. Along with reduced
duration, the daily targets of the employees must be such that they are achievable. High-
reaching targets nullify the effect of reduced work hours and in a way, aggravate it.

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To increase the efficacy of the plan, inputs such as refreshments can be useful. With a
rapid advancement towards digital technology, the nature of most of the work has become
sedentary with extended hours in front of the computer screens. This makes work tedious
after a while. Little refreshments and physical activities in between work revitalises the mind
and enhances the employee’s focus and performance after the break. Physical activities may
include frequent rounds around the office, 2-3 short breaks in between the work hours for
about 15 minutes each for tea or coffee or fun activities organised in the premises. These
breaks also enhance employee interactions and small talks among them which may refresh
their minds. These measures are necessary to release the stress of employees for a while and
helps minimise the risk of various coronary disorders. Thus, to summarise all the points as
mentioned above, inculcating these strategies aids in the overall production of the
organisation and raises its market value.
Resolving the chief barriers
The innovation focuses on increasing the working staff of the organisation, hiring the
employees at relatively lower compensation and reducing the load on the individual
employee. It seems an exciting strategy at the beginning but is accompanied by several
potential barriers which must be sought for effective results. These barriers may be
categorised as structural or attitudinal. Structural barriers consist of innovation-related and
organisational barriers while attitudinal barriers involve people-related barriers. Project or
innovation-based barriers are those that are intrinsic to the strategy proposed or in its
management. Dimensions of these barriers involve designing, executing and controlling the
implementation of the plan (Krause & Schutte, 2015). Organisational barriers include the
effect of the organisation hierarchy, culture, managerial procedure and working environment
on the plan implemented. Attitudinal barriers consist of the perception of the employees and

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their participation in the plan suggested. Each of these barriers is discussed, followed by a
suggestion to meet these barriers.
Innovation-based barriers are the chief kind of barriers and a significant cause of
failure of most strategies. It is crucial to analyse these barriers before implementing the plan
to meet the limitations successfully. The proposed innovation may also have many inherent
obstacles. A chief hurdle is the unwillingness of employees to work at standardised salaries.
It is natural for employees to prefer working for other organisations paying comparatively
higher for the same type of job. To motivate individuals to work in the organization, the
lower salary has to be supplemented with other benefits. These benefits may be in terms of
high incentives for extra work or overtime or available rewards in the form of family tours
every year, educational funding to employees’ children and bearing other such expenditures.
This acts as a compensation for the employees’ reduced salaries. Another natural barrier
which may be associated with the innovation is acquiring a significant workforce extremely
distinguished in their expertise. This is difficult to meet but can be overcome by
incorporating specific training duration depending on the job role and requirement of the
employee to acquaint the personnel with the nature and practices of the work. A short training
session before joining the work yields better quality of output later.
Another class of barriers called the organisational barriers affect the execution of the
plan due to the environment and culture prevalent in the organisation. The organisation must
have sufficient space to incorporate a large workforce. Space constraint is a primary
limitation of this scheme. Along with space, provisions such as the equipment required for
the job must be enough for all the employees. Limited equipment provisions with a
considerable workforce lead to chaos or fruitlessness of the increased working staff. The last
class of barriers, the attitudinal barriers include the perceptions of the employees of the plan
implemented. Probable barriers in this regard include resistance to change (Carolan & de

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Visser, 2018). A major obstacle in creating a considerable workforce is the understanding
among people and cooperation difficulty within the team. A large number of people would
indicate greater diversity in opinions and working style, which creates problems in the output
of the group. The most effective way to deal with this hurdle is to have an unbiased authority
or leader managing the team and resolving the problems faced by the team. Thus, addressing
these mentioned obstacles while implementing the strategy is essential for optimal results.
Conclusion
In conclusion, occupational stress is a leading healthcare concern in South Africa and
increasing incidences of workplace stress are one of the prime detriments for any
organisation. According to the current scenario and an increasing load of work, stress
associated with work has also increased. As the growth of an organisation is dependent on the
health of its employees, managing workplace stress is essential for all organisations. The
strategy described is one such proposal towards creating stress-free working environments.
Wide-ranging working staff to distribute the load to reduce the pressure on the individual
worker is a useful tool. Like every strategy, this strategy too presents some limitations as
discussed and are required to be carefully implemented for higher productivity.

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References
Carolan, S., & de Visser, R. O. (2018). Employees’ perspectives on the facilitators and
barriers to engaging with digital mental health interventions in the workplace:
qualitative study. JMIR mental health, 5(1), e8.
Carpenter, G. S. J., Carpenter, T. P., Kimbrel, N. A., Flynn, E. J., Pennington, M. L.,
Cammarata, C., ... & Gulliver, S. B. (2015). Social support, stress, and suicidal
ideation in professional firefighters. American journal of health behavior, 39(2), 191-
196.
Chirico, F. (2016). Job stress models for predicting burnout syndrome: a review. Annali
dell'Istituto superiore di sanita, 52(3), 443-456.
Khamisa, N., Oldenburg, B., Peltzer, K., & Ilic, D. (2015). Work related stress, burnout, job
satisfaction and general health of nurses. International journal of environmental
research and public health, 12(1), 652-666.
Krause, W., & Schutte, C. S. L. (2015). A perspective on open innovation in small-and
medium-sized enterprises in South Africa, and design requirements for an open
innovation approach. South African Journal of Industrial Engineering, 26(1), 163-
178.
Naidoo, S. S., Van Wyk, J., Higgins-Opitz, S. B., & Moodley, K. (2014). An evaluation of
stress in medical students at a South African university. South African Family
Practice, 56(5), 258-262.
Steyn, R., & Vawda, N. (2014). Job characteristics: their relationship to job satisfaction,
stress and depression. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 24(3), 281-284.

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Walker, R., Ap Cenydd, L., Pop, S., Miles, H. C., Hughes, C. J., Teahan, W. J., & Roberts, J.
C. (2015). Storyboarding for visual analytics. Information Visualization, 14(1), 27-50.