Causes of work stress

The factors leading to stress among individual are called as stressors. Some of the factors/stressors acting on employees are-

1. Organizational factors – With the growth in organizational stress and complexity, there is increase in organizational factors also which cause stress among employees. Some of such factors are-
   1. Discrimination in pay/salary structure
   2. Strict rules and regulations
   3. Ineffective communication
   4. Peer pressure
   5. Goals conflicts/goals ambiguity
   6. More of centralized and formal organization structure
   7. Less promotional opportunities
   8. Lack of employees participation in decision-making
   9. Excessive control over the employees by the managers
2. Individual factors – There are various expectations which the family members, peer, superior and subordinates have from the employee. Failure to understand such expectations or to convey such expectations lead to role ambiguity/role conflict which in turn causes employee stress. Other individual factors causing stress among employees are inherent personality traits such as being impatient, aggressive, rigid, feeling time pressure always, etc. Similarly, the family issues, personal financial problems, sudden career changes all lead to stress.
3. Job concerning factors – Certain factors related to job which cause stress among employees are as follows-
   1. Monotonous nature of job
   2. Unsafe and unhealthy working conditions
   3. Lack of confidentiality
   4. Crowding
4. Extra-organizational factors– There are certain issues outside the organization which lead to stress among employees. In today’s modern and technology savvy world, stress has increased. Inflation, technological change, social responsibilities and rapid social changes are other extra-organizational factors causing stress.