Question 1
Everyone experiences stress in their day to day lives, many cite the workplace as a main cause for their stress due to intense workload, long hours and uncertain job expectations (Avey, Luthans & Jensen, 2009). Stress can be defined as a pattern of emotional and physiological reactions which occur in response to various demands, which can be internal or external of an organization (Greenberg, 2011). Symptoms of stress result in causing suffering to an individual, which affects absenteeism and productivity levels. Stress can also result in lower levels of job satisfaction, self-esteem, motivation, depression and heart disease (Giga, Cooper & Faragher, 2003).
A recent stressful experience I have had this year is working long hours,
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If the employee can handle the intense workload then the employee will feel a sense of achievement which in turn could lead to a promotion or raise which is an example of the benefits of challenge stressors (Webster, Beehr & Christiansen, 2009). The challenge stressor in my situation was the lack of time I had to complete my academic work on the weekends which led to me being motivated to do it during the week and far in advance. Challenge related stressors have been positively related to motivation (Webster, Beehr & Christiansen, 2009). After experiencing the damaging effects of stress such as burnout I realised I could utilize my time and finish my assignments in advance. I would only be motivated do this is the presence of a challenge stressor. People are more motivated to engage in certain behaviours when they identify that they have the means to meet the objective of the demand (Webster, Beehr & Christiansen, 2009). I felt a sense of achievement and a boost in self-esteem when I realised I could overcome my challenge stressor by preparing far in advance and using my spare time during the week to complete my academic