Impact of workplace stress on employee satisfaction

There are various workplace factors that causes stress and are referred to as stressor or job stressor. Job stressors either make physical demands on physical needs or make psychological demands (Thomas and Hersen, 2002). These job stressors not only make jobs stressful and difficult for the employees but also impact the interpersonal relationships at work.

Stress is a condition which happens when one realizes the pressure on them or requirements of situation are wider than they can handle, and if these requirements are huge and continue for a long period of time without any interval, mental, physical or behavioral problems may occur (Mansoor, Fida, Nasir and Ahmad, 2011, p.g. 51).Workplace stress or job stress is among the major workplace health risks for employees across the globe.

Generally, job stress is viewed as a precursor of job satisfaction, and it has a significant negative impact on job satisfaction. The lack of satisfaction can be a source of stress, while high satisfaction can lighten the effects of stress. Therefore, experts believe that both job satisfaction and job stress are interrelated (Mansoor, Fida, Nasir and Ahmad, 2011).

With intense competition in every industry, organizations are exerting more and more pressure on employees. Excessive stress arising out of extreme workload and physical working condition tends to make individuals feel less satisfied with their jobs. This is because under excessive stress some of their intrinsic or extrinsic needs may not met sufficiently. Also, employees with lower job satisfaction are found to experience more stress in the form of workload, role conflict and physical environment compared to those with higher job satisfaction.

Thus, it is important for an organization to understand the needs of its employees and make constant efforts to reinstate motivation among employees. This can be achieved through various appraisal programs and by appreciating employees for their endeavor through reward and recognition program.  In this way, employees will feel happier and are more willing to work for their organizations (Ahsan, Abdullah, Fie and Alam, 2009).

References:

• Thomas, J., and Hersen, M., 2002. Handbook of mental health in the workplace: Sage Publication
• Mansoor, M., Fida, S., Nasir, S., and Ahma, Z., Journal of Business Studies, 2011
• Ahsan, N., Abdullah, Z., Fie, D., and Alam, S., European Journal of Social Sciences, 2009