Reference no: EM132283260
Original question: Stress at the workplace is a constant problem especially since technology has placed the worker in a 24/7 work environment.
Using the articles listed below and your required learning materials from our week 4 course content, consider this statement: The modern day worker lives and works at the same place and it is placing family life at risk.
Why Work stress is Bad for Your Relationships
Google a place to work and play
What is employee engagement?
My homework is to provide a response to this student answer to this question, Response must have in text citations AND references from the course material below
Scott Gray student answer/post: Achieving the appropriate work-life balance is dependent on a variety of factors. This balance can become exponentially more difficult when an individual's workplace is their home and vice versa. The amount of workers who telecommute is increasing rapidly (Saylor Academy, 2012, pg. 30). This work environment is not for everyone. For this reason, several companies allow employees to test this method of working out, and also require employees to prove they have a conducive work environment (Saylor Academy, 2012, pg. 31). Taking these steps up front enables both organizations and employees the ability to determine if telecommuting from a home office is organizationally the most effective decision.
When working from home, it is important to find balance between work life and family life. According to Hall (2018), it is important to remain mindful that work commitments don't spillover into your family commitments and family commitments don't crossover into your work commitments (para. 3-4). The author continues that when the two do intersect and overlap, it is important to be aware of the cause of the issue and take steps to reduce the overall impact (para. 10). To ensure that these two do not intersect, it is important for individuals to be mindful of their own stress levels and emotions.
Stress in the workplace can be managed. However, when not managed by the employee or the employer, studies show that factors such as the inability to achieve a work-life balance can lead employees to seek other jobs (Dill, 2014, para. 3). According to Saylor Academy (2012), stress is cumulative (pg. 9). Employers driving workload challenges and tasks can try and manage those stressors so that they do not overwhelm employees. However, employers are generally not able to assess stressors that are external to the workplace.
Therefore, Saylor Academy (2012) asserts that in situations where employees work from home, it is important for supervisors to be engaged and supportive of an employee's family life (pg. 12). Additionally, the author believes that providing employees coping mechanisms such as flexible scheduling, creating a collaborative team atmospheres, providing clear expectations, and connecting employees to external support networks are all effective tools to manage employee stress (pgs. 11, 25-27 and 32).
Teleworking is a proven method to increase employee performance, satisfaction and commitment (Saylor Academy, 2012, pg. 31). The key to making this arrangement effective for both employee and employer is to not offer it to everyone, but to first vet if the employee is the correct fit for the teleworking relationship. If the determination is that the employee is, then ensure the supervisor is engaged in the employees work-life balance, stressors, and overall performance to ensure he or she can remove any workplace stressors or impediments. Similarly, the employee should work to remove any family life stressors from crossing over into work.
My homework is to provide a response to this student answer to the question, Response must have in text citations AND references from the course material below
Kevin Anderson student answer/post: Traditionally, the employee went to work at a set time, performed their assigned duties during their normal working hours and then went home. Work time was the time they were at work, and home life was the rest of the hours in the day. Occasionally, the employee might have to perform extra duties outside of normal working hours, but this was few and far between. Employers rarely called a person at home.
They rarely required people to stay late, because it was considered wrong for an employer to expect a person to be away from their families. However, those days are long over. With the advances of technology, people are constantly connected. Employers send emails, text messages and phone calls at all hours of the day and night. People are now expected to be available 24/7 to their employers. It is now common for people to bring uncompleted work home, taking away from family or leisure time. Instead of spending time connecting with their families, people remain focused on their work issues. The erosion of the separation between work and home effects the stress level of the employee, but also the family. It's hard to turn off the ill effects of a bad day at the office once you walk through the door of your home.
Families are now experiencing the pressure, the lack of intimacy, the lack of interaction with their children, and the lack of being involved in family duties. Now, people are disconnected, still trying to finish their work assignments instead of focusing on family events. Now it is a common scene to see a parent on their phone or computer working at their child's event. Or worse, just simply not being there at all.
Additionally, stress causes emotional and physical issues that can have lingering effects, like high blood pressure, cholesterol, hypertension, Stress can also affect the heart and unchecked, can lead to death. Employees who are constantly stressed at work usually don't last at a company (Hall, 2018). If employers provide a hostile work environment, employees are not connected and usually have no desire to perform well for the company. If the company establishes a rapport with their employees, foster a bond with their workers, people will want to come to work, will want to find new innovative ways to perform their duties and go above and beyond to ensure the company succeeds (Kruse, 2012).