Workplace

Stress
Jessica Fernandez, Angelica Murray, Mitzy
Sanchez, Daisy Martinez, Laileha Vermy,
Sheana Medina
 ❏ What is workplace stress?
Outline
❏ Healthcare Professionals and Workplace Stress

❏ Evidence-Based Intervention

❏ Multicultural Implications

❏ Implementation of Evidence-Based Interventions

within the scope of Healthcare Professionals

❏ Healthy People 2020 Objectives

What is
“Job stress can be defined as the harmful physical
Workplace and emotional responses that occur when the
Stress? requirements of the job do not match the
capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker”

Physical Stress

Emotional Stress

Mental Stress

Poses threat to health of workers and health of

organizations
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/d
ocs/99-101/
 Leading Stressors
➢ Workplace stress accounts for 60% of
stress related factors Americans face
today.

○ Two thirds of Americans say work is a

main source of stress in their lives.

Stress related illnesses cost businesses $200-300

billion/yr in productivity.

● Stress related fatigue- 60-80% of

accidents at work

● Absenteeism

American Psychological Association ● Loss of productivity at work

 70.5% Nurses reported acute
and chronic effects of stress
interfere with delivery of care.
Health
Workload
Professionals ●
● Understaffing
and Workplace ●
●
Shift hours
Coping with emotional
Stress ●
needs of patients families
Exposure to toxic
substances
● Exposure to infectious
Stress in the Nursing patients
● Leadership and
Workplace management style

American Holistic Nursing Association

http://www.ahna.org/Resources/Stress-
Management
Registered
Nurse
Employment
>Over 3.1 million nurses
nationwide
>85% of all licensed RNs
are actually employed in
nursing

Sources
U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services & Health Resources
and Services Administration
Gender of
Registered
Nurses

>Male: 1/9

>Female: 8/9
Registered
Nurses by Age

>Median Age for Male

RNs: 35

>Median Age for

Female RNs: 31

Sources
USDHHS & HRSA
Race &
Ethnicity of
Registered
Nurses

Sources
USDHHS & HRSA
Education of
Registered
Nurses
>Asians w/ Bachelor’s degree or
higher: 69.6%

>African Americans w/
Masters/Doctoral degree: 14.6%

>White w/ Masters/Doctoral
degree: 13.4%

Sources
USDHHS & HRSA
Evidence
Based
Intervention
Mindfulness-Based Stress
Reduction for Health Care
Professionals
Target Health Care Professionals
Population -Focus on Nurses

Health care professionals also include doctors,

psychologists, physical therapists, and social
workers from the Palo Alto and Menlo Park
Divisions of the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health
Care System
What is Derives from a Buddhist form of meditation

Mindfulness? Focuses on the ability to to focus on the “here and

now” rather than past or future

Mindfulness differs from relaxation in that it is a

form of mental training to increase awareness

and build an ability to let go of patterns that

increase our likelihood of stress responses.

(Sapiro, Astin, Bishop, & Cordova, 2005).

Selection 18 years of age or older

and current health care professional

Eligibility English speaking

Excluding criteria

Substance abuse problems

Suicidal ideations
Methods The intervention was to test the hypothesis that MBSR
would “decrease overall psychological distress,
decrease stress, and decrease job burnout” and have
positive effects which include “overall life satisfaction
and increased self compassion” (Sapiro, Astin, Bishop,
& Cordova, 2005).
Experimental Group
8 week MBSR program

Control Group
 Experimental Group
Intervention Lead by clinical psychologist

8 week MBSR program

2 hour sessions once a week for 8 weeks

sitting meditation, involving awareness of body sensations,

thoughts, and emotions while continually returning the
focus of attention to the breath

body scan, a progressive movement of attention through the

body from toes to head, observing any sensations in the
different regions of the body

Hatha yoga, which consists of stretches and postures designed

to enhance greater awareness of and to balance and
strengthen the muscu- loskeletal system
 Experimental Group vs Control Group
Results (27% vs. 7%) in perceived stress

Increase in self-compassion (22% vs. 3%)

88% of the participants improved their stress

scores while 90% demonstrated increases in
self- compassion

Greater satisfaction with life (19% vs. 0%)

Decreased job burnout (10% vs. 4%)

Decreased distress (23% vs. 11%)

Multicultural Implications
 Job Demand

❏ Work overload Increase in workload.

Long hours or shifts (strict/inflexible).

❏ Time pressure High expectations of getting

job done in a timely manner;
insufficient time.

❏ Work pace Pressure to get job duties done

fast and efficiently; working too fast
or too slow.
 Hierarchical Structure
❏ Unclear communication Leads to:
between doctors and
supervisors ✓ Bullying

❏ Lack of organization ✓ Hostility

❏ High levels of personal ✓ Chaotic work

involvement environment

❏ Conflicts w/ other
colleagues
 Career Growth
Poor opportunities for
Career Advancement

➔ Lack of promotion

➔ Inadequate pay

Source:
American Psychological Association.
(2011). Stress in the workplace.. Retrieved
from
https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases
/phwa-survey-summary.pdf
Negative Work Environment
LEADS TO:

Decreasing resources ➔ Lack of relationships

with coworkers
Understaffed
➔ Sickness/ absence
High staff turnover

Hostility ➔ More pressure

➔ Uncomfortable
Implementation
of Evidence-
Based Stress
Management
Strategies
Strategies Used Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

to Reduce Included four practices:

Stress Sitting Meditation

Body Scan

Hatha Yoga

Three Minute Breathing Space

BREATHE: Stress Reduction for Nurses

Study

An online program comprised of seven main

components including:

Welcome and Introduction

Strategies Used Dhammakaya Buddhist Meditation
A study was made on 52 males ages 20-25
to Reduce The resulting biological measurements made
showed a(n):
Stress (Cont.) Decrease in:
Serum Cortisol
Blood Pressure
Heart Rate
Increase in:
Total Protein levels in Blood
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
An example of an implemented intervention to help
the government employees
 Offer or require Healthcare Professionals to
Implementation practice stress reduction techniques such
of Strategies as Mindfulness and by attending
workshops.

Have the Health Care professionals fill out a

form telling their employers their various
workplace stressors.

Offering online programs that have

information about stress and easy daily
tips to reduce the buildup of stress.

Refer healthcare professionals to locations

that can offer more stress reduction
exercises.
Healthy People 2020

OSH-9: Increase the proportion of employees who have

access to workplace programs that prevent or reduce
employee stress.

Baseline: 36% of all adult workers indicated that they

had access to stress management/reduction
programs in the workplace in 2010.

Target: 40%

Target-Setting Method: 10 percent improvement

 References
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2011). Nursing Facts Sheet. Retrieved from
http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media-relations/fact-sheets/nsing-fact-sheet
American Psychological Association. (2011). Stress in the workplace.
Retrieved from
https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/phwa-survey-summ
ary.pdf
Mosadeghrad, A.M. (2013). Occupational stress and turnover
intention. Implications for nursing management. International
Journal of Health Policy and Management, 1(2), 169–176.
doi: 10.15171/ijhpm.2013.30
Sudsuang, R., Chentanez, V., & Veluvan, K. (1991). Effect of buddhist meditation on serum cortisol and total protein
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https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9384(91)90543-W
Health Resources and Services Administration, and National Center for Health Workforce Analysis. (20130. The U.S.
Health Workforce Chartbook – In Brief. Retrieved from
http://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bhw/nchwa/chartbookbrief.pdf
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stress: A randomized controlled trial of a web-based stress management program for nurses. Applied Nursing Research,
32, 18–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2016.04.003
What is an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)? - OPM.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2016, from
https://www.opm.gov/faqs/QA.aspx?fid=4313c618-a96e-4c8e-b078-1f76912a10d9&pid=2c2b1e5b-6ff1-4940-
b478-34039a1e1174
References
Brunetto, Y. and Teo, S.,(2013) Retention, burnout, and the future of nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing.69(12), 2772-2773.
Occupational Safety and Health. (n.d). Healthy People 2020. Retrieved from:
https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/occupational-safety-and-health/objectives

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