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Chapter 3

Chapter 3. The Environmental and Occupational Basis of Stress. Overview. This chapter Provides an overview of the environmental and occupational sources of stress Describes several different kinds of environmental and occupational stress and ways to address and cope with them

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Chapter 3

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  1. Chapter 3 The Environmental and Occupational Basis of Stress

  2. Overview • This chapter • Provides an overview of the environmental and occupational sources of stress • Describes several different kinds of environmental and occupational stress and ways to address and cope with them • Explains these sources of stress using a transactional model

  3. Outline • Our personal environment • Ergonomics • Work-related stress • The NIOSH Model of Job Stress • A transactional model for explaining occupational and environmental stress

  4. Our Personal Environmental • Physical environmental factors (demands or stimuli) that can exert strain on us • Environmental and occupational factors are potential stressors until we appraise them as threatening or harmful

  5. Lighting Strain • Four major sources of potential lighting stress • Inappropriate luminance • Reflected light • Glare • High-contrast lighting conditions

  6. Climate • Both hot and cold temperatures can cause strain • Sedentary work best performed at 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit • Light physical labor best performed at 66-72 degrees Fahrenheit • Manual labor best performed at temperatures in the low to mid 60s Fahrenheit

  7. Air Quality • Both outdoor and indoor air pollution cause strain on lungs and health • Major sources of indoor air pollution • Particulates from combustion-based sources • Tobacco particulate matter (secondhand smoke) • Construction materials • Pesticides • Naturally occurring radioactive particles (radon gas) • Build-up of particles associated with poor ventilation

  8. Outdoor Air Quality • Major sources of outdoor air pollution • Ozone • Nitrous oxide • Sulfur dioxide • Lead • Volatile organic compounds • Particulate matter • Mercury

  9. Graffiti: Art or Eye Pollution? • Creates visual blight for many • Strains the aesthetic sensibilities of some area residents • Some cities support local graffiti contests • What do you think? Is graffiti a viable art form or a public nuisance?

  10. Noise Pollution • Noise: Any sound that is undesired or interferes with one’s hearing of something • Noise usually defined on the basis of safe decibel levels or community standards • The term “perceived noisiness” acknowledges subjective nature of noise

  11. Health Effects of Noise • Hearing loss • Sleep loss • Emotional and mental disorders

  12. Major Sources of Noise • Machinery, manufacturing • Construction, public works • Roads, traffic

  13. Ergonomics (Human Engineering) • The study of the physical and mental characteristics of people and the tasks they perform for the purpose of designing appropriate living and working environments • Goals are to make activities safer and enhance people’s well-being, both at home and at work

  14. Ergonomics in Action: Computer Workstations • Guidelines for the design of computer workplaces at home or work • How will the workstation be used? • What kind of computer, desk furniture, and chair will be used? • What will be the primary use of the computer? • What are the sight lines? • How is your posture? • Is everything close, and are you relaxed? • What are the other environmental conditions? • Are you taking enough breaks?

  15. Work-Related Stress • Job conditions that make work stressful • Interpersonal dynamics that contribute to worker stress • Both have been studied around the world in various countries and economies

  16. Measuring Occupational Stress • The NIOSH model of occupational stress combines in a transactional model: • Stressful job conditions • Individual factors • Situational factors • Very similar to Lazarus and Folkman’s Stress Appraisal Model

  17. Stressful Job Conditions • The design of tasks • Critical decision-making responsibility • Excessive complexity and/or difficulty • Repetitiveness • Simplicity • Boredom • Lack of personal safety • Excessive time urgency

  18. Other Potential Stressors at Work • Time demands • Management style • Interpersonal relationships • Discrimination/unequal treatment • Sexual harassment

  19. Sexual Harassment • Unwelcome sexual advances • Requests for sexual favors • Verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature • When . . . • Submission made a condition of employment or advancement or basis for decisions about individual • Behavior creates a hostile environment

  20. Other Stressful Job Conditions • Work role conflicts or ambiguities • Career concerns (job insecurity, lack of advancement opportunity) • Physical environmental conditions • Individual factors (personality factors, styles) • Situational factors (other factors in worker’s life such as stress spillover between home and work)

  21. A Transactional Model • The transaction between the individual and the general or work environment is perceived as stressful to the extent that the individual perceives it as threatening, harmful, or beyond his or her ability to cope with it.

  22. Chapter 3: The Environmental and Occupational Basis of Stress • Summary

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