Exam 5: Stress

Kwame, Rosalinda, and Sven work at Security First Trust and National Reserve, a medium-sized bank with 240 branches in eight states. Kwame works as a teller. Rosalinda works as one of five regional supervisors, each of whom is expected to supervise a team of tellers. Kwame recently received instructions from his supervisor that all tellers will be evaluated on the number of people they assist at their window per day. Serving more customers means higher performance effectiveness. However, Kwame is also expected to follow the bank's number-one goal of customer satisfaction. Rosalinda is facing her own challenges. Two of the regional supervisors suddenly left the bank for other opportunities, resulting in a significant increase in work responsibility and time pressure for Rosalinda and the remaining two supervisors. Just two days before the two regional supervisors quit, the bank hired Sven as a supervisor trainee. With the bank suddenly short-handed, Sven was asked to take up all the responsibilities of a regional supervisor. He has been given very few instructions or guidelines about how things are supposed to be done. Instead, the bank expects him to learn on the job. Kwame, unable to meet both types of expectations associated with his role, is facing

Which of the following statements is True about the effects of stressors?

Kwame, Rosalinda, and Sven work at Security First Trust and National Reserve, a medium-sized bank with 240 branches in eight states. Kwame works as a teller. Rosalinda works as one of five regional supervisors, each of whom is expected to supervise a team of tellers. Kwame recently received instructions from his supervisor that all tellers will be evaluated on the number of people they assist at their window per day. Serving more customers means higher performance effectiveness. However, Kwame is also expected to follow the bank's number-one goal of customer satisfaction. Rosalinda is facing her own challenges. Two of the regional supervisors suddenly left the bank for other opportunities, resulting in a significant increase in work responsibility and time pressure for Rosalinda and the remaining two supervisors. Just two days before the two regional supervisors quit, the bank hired Sven as a supervisor trainee. With the bank suddenly short-handed, Sven was asked to take up all the responsibilities of a regional supervisor. He has been given very few instructions or guidelines about how things are supposed to be done. Instead, the bank expects him to learn on the job. Kwame is facing which type of stressor?

Hindrance stressors such as role ambiguity, conflict, and overload not only cause strain but also decrease commitment and job performance.

Which of the following is a work challenge stressor?

The transactional theory of stress deals with

________ are the negative consequences that occur when demands tax or exceed one's capacity or resources.

Which of these is an example of problem-focused coping?

Work-family conflict is a type of ________ stressor.

Which of these is a work hindrance stressor?

The first step in managing stress is to assess colleagues in the workplace.

As manager of the accounting department at the Low Price Warehouse, Babette noticed that the cohesion of the collections team was rather low. Each team member was assigned a section of the alphabet, A-D, E-G, etc., and was responsible for calling only those customers within that particular range. In terms of division of labor, this worked well, but it also kept her employees in their own specific bubbles, resulting in few interactions between team members. To address this, Babette instituted mandatory Friday afternoon meetings where she would provide coffee and brownies, and employees would pair up, and each person would present the other's weekly report to the entire group. She felt this would give the entire team a sense of what others were working on and would encourage healthy competition once everyone knew what everyone else's stats were. As soon as she began holding the meetings, one of her best employees, Jermaine, began leaving the office just before the meetings began. He always turned his reports into her before he left, and they were always accurate and well written, but he never showed up at the meetings. When Babette talked to Jermaine about his absences, he sheepishly explained that he had a fear of talking in front of groups. Applying the concepts behind secondary appraisal, how should Babette deal with Jermaine's avoidance issue?

Kwame, Rosalinda, and Sven work at Security First Trust and National Reserve, a medium-sized bank with 240 branches in eight states. Kwame works as a teller. Rosalinda works as one of five regional supervisors, each of whom is expected to supervise a team of tellers. Kwame recently received instructions from his supervisor that all tellers will be evaluated on the number of people they assist at their window per day. Serving more customers means higher performance effectiveness. However, Kwame is also expected to follow the bank's number-one goal of customer satisfaction. Rosalinda is facing her own challenges. Two of the regional supervisors suddenly left the bank for other opportunities, resulting in a significant increase in work responsibility and time pressure for Rosalinda and the remaining two supervisors. Just two days before the two regional supervisors quit, the bank hired Sven as a supervisor trainee. With the bank suddenly short-handed, Sven was asked to take up all the responsibilities of a regional supervisor. He has been given very few instructions or guidelines about how things are supposed to be done. Instead, the bank expects him to learn on the job. Sven is encountering stress resulting from

People who experience higher levels of challenge stressors tend to have higher levels of

When people first encounter stressors, the process of ________ is triggered.

________ refers to a work hindrance stressor that occurs when the number of demanding roles a person holds is so high that the person simply cannot perform some or all of the roles very effectively.

Kristen attempts to address time pressure by working harder and seeking assistance in devising a strategy for accomplishing the work more efficiently. In the example, Kristen uses

Tina is a highly ambitious graphic designer. She has a constant sense of urgency and tends to be impatient with persons who do not live up to her sense of perfection. Her general activity level is very high, and she sets high standards for herself work-wise. She puts much more effort into her work than other people do. What type of behavior pattern does she have? How would this influence her work? Are there any risks associated with her behavior pattern?

Describe the nature of hindrance stressors, and give one example each of three different hindrance stressors.

Charene is a product development manager for Unique Automotive Accessories. When she was first hired, she proved herself to be one of the most productive new employees. Lately, Charene's supervisor, Ivan, has noticed that her productivity is slipping from its previous high point. Whenever Ivan stays late at the office, he sees that Charene is always at her desk, eating take-out, and she is always the first to arrive in the morning. He also observes that her e-mail replies are often time-stamped on the weekend. Ivan decides to hire Charene an assistant to ease her workload and improve her work-life balance. Ivan's approach to alleviating Charene's stressors is an example of