Stress at Work

Job Stress
• According to the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health, job
stress can be 
defined as the harmful physical and
emotional responses that occur when
the 
requirements of the job do not match
the capabilities, resources, or needs of
the worker.
Explanation:
• Stress, on the other hand, is when job
demands can't be met, relaxation has
turned to 
exhaustion, and a sense of satisfaction
has turned into feelings of tension.  In
short, the 
worker feels overly taxed both
psychologically and physically, and the
stage is set for 
illness, injury, and job failure.
What Are the Causes of Job
Stress?
• Quite simply, job stress results from
the interaction of the worker and the
conditions of the work.  Views differ on
the importance of worker
characteristics versus working
conditions as the primary cause of job
stress.
Causes of Job Stress:
• Infrequent rest breaks; 
• Long work hours and demanding work
shifts;
• Hectic and routine tasks that have little
inherent meaning, do not 
utilize a worker's skills, and provide
little sense of control.
• Management styles - a lack of
participation by workers
in decision-making, poor
communication in the organization, 
lack of family-friendly policies;
• Interpersonal relationships - poor
social environment, lack
of support or help from co-workers and
supervisors.
• Work roles - conflicting or uncertain job
expectations, too much
responsibility, too many "hats to wear";
• Career concerns - job insecurity, lack of
growth opportunity, 
rapid changes for which workers are
unprepared.
• Environmental conditions - unpleasant
physical conditions
such as crowding, noise, air pollution;
ergonomic problems;
• Work conditions that pose risk to
health and safety.
• Different personalities and individual
differences.
Consumer Behavior
 Consumer Psychology
• Consumer psychology is a specialty
area that studies how our thoughts,
beliefs, feelings and perceptions
influence how people buy and relate to
goods and services.
 Definition
• One formal definition of the field
describes it as "the study of
individuals, groups, or organizations
and the processes they use to select,
secure, use, and dispose of products,
services, experiences, or ideas to
satisfy needs and the impacts that
these processes have on the consumer
and society".
• According to the Society for Consumer
Psychology, division 23 of the
American Psychological Association,
consumer psychology "employs
theoretical psychological approaches
to understanding consumers."
• This field is often considered a sub-
specialty of
industrial-organizational psychology
and is also known as the psychology of
consumer behavior or the psychology
of marketing.
What do Consumer
Psychologists Study?
• How consumers choose businesses,
products and services.
• The thought processes and emotions
behind consumer decisions.
• How environmental variables such as
friends, family, media and culture
influence buying decisions.
• What motivates people to choose one
product over another.
• How personal factors and individual
difference affect people's buying
choices.
• What marketers can do to effectively
reach out to their target customers.