Oregon State University|blogs.oregonstate.edu

Archives: November, 2021


Assessments and stress at work November 27th, 2021

Through the three surveys, I learned that I have a high life stress inventory that puts me 50% at risk of a major health breakdown in the next two years. Apparently I tend to lean more towards problem-focused strategies which is more helpful for actual problems but not for cases that cannot be controlled. Luckily, the type A survey results showed that I’m not likely to have an elevated rate of heart disease.

Ideas to help manage stress at work include tracking my stressors through journaling. Staying active and making more time for hobbies are also ways to lessen work stress. According to the CDC, early warning signs of job stress are headaches, sleep disturbances, difficulty in concentrating, short temper, upset stomach, job dissatisfaction, and low morale. St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company conducted several studies on the effects of stress prevention programs in hospital settings. These studies analyzed employee and management education on job stress, changes in hospital policies and procedures to reduce organizational sources of stress, and establishment of employee assistance programs.

Although there is no specific “how to” on how to prevent work stress, some companies are taking proactive approaches like building general awareness about the causes, costs and control of job stressors. Organizations are also implementing new programs with management commitment and involvement of employees for valuable input and decision-making. Research has shown that participatory efforts between management and employees can be effective in dealing with ergonomic problems in the workplace because they capitalize on workers’ firsthand knowledge of hazards present in their roles.

A specific example of this is a study performed on a large manufacturing company. The organization created a labor management team to focus on work-stress prevention. The program they designed was divided into two parts. The first focused on management practices and job conditions while the second was comprised of 12 weekly training sessions that were made available during both work and non-work hours. This company had no existing evidence of abundant stress and designed this program purely for prevention of future stress-related occurrences.

https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/work-stress

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/99-101/default.html#Job%20Stress%20and%20Health

Read the post...


Compensation Decision November 21st, 2021

Recently, my husband was offered a management position with his company. However, the compensation was salary opposed to his current hourly compensation with quality overtime pay, included. While the management position would include bonuses, there is more of an opportunity to make higher compensation in his current role. Combined with this difference in the roles and the idea of being over-worked for less pay, he chose to decline the offer. This situation makes me think of this week’s chapter readings for “First, Break all the Rules”. Instead of relating higher compensation to higher roles in the company, some organizations are paying front-line workers up to three times more than managerial roles. This relates to my husband’s position because even though he’s not in management, his company doesn’t cap their compensation in order to keep representatives in that role, motivated. In addition, this type of decision also allows workers to be a better fit for management instead of deciding solely on the aspect of receiving higher compensation.

Read the post...


Training Effectiveness November 6th, 2021

Onboarding processes that I have experienced have varied across the jobs I’ve held. Out of the handful of positions I’ve been a part of, there are two that greatly contrast in my opinion of effectiveness. In one of my jobs, not only did I have peers that I felt comfortable going to for help, but I also trusted my boss to have my best interests at heart. In the other position, there was only one other coworker in my work environment and although we got along, I felt more alone during my time on the job. I feel these aspects relate to my over-all success and happiness due to my perception of my job security and confidence in the role.

The article “Your New Hires Won’t Succeed Unless You Onboard Them Properly” makes some great points that relate to my experiences in these two instances. For example, the article describes how a meta-analysis was conducted that examined the findings of 70 separate studies. From this data, a connection between employees feeling socially accepted and their success was found. In my first position, I felt welcomed by my coworkers and was confident that they would help me when I needed it. I especially took to one coworker that went out of her way in the beginning of my employment to mentor me. This relationship set a solid foundation to the success I found down the road.

However, I had a very opposite experience with the next role. In this role, I felt very separated from my peer and we started working at the same time. As a result, we both relied on our boss for training. This training resulted in being self-guided and we were directed to wing it and learn on our own without interrupting much of his day. Where one role I felt socially accepted and supported, the other I felt that I was isolated. This difference in onboarding could have had an impact on my over-all success, especially seeing that I was not only happier in the first role, but also performed significantly better.

Citation: Ellis, A., Nifadkar, S., Bauer, T., and Erdogan, B. (2017) Your New Hires Won’t Succeed Unless You Onboard Them Properly.Links to an external site. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles 

Read the post...