Organizational Stressors
Organizational stress seems to be an inevitable consequence of doing business in today�s fast-paced
global society. But what are the causes of organizational stress?
What is the impact of these stressors on an organization? How can these sources of stress be effectively
mitigated and managed? Critically reviewing the body of research on these questions may yield valuable
insight that will allow you to enable organizations of which you are a part to better manage stress.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRESSORS: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 2
For more information and an example of an annotated bibliography, refer to the Walden University Online
Writing Center�s annotated bibliography resource in this Module�s Learning Resources.
By Day 7 of Week 5, submit an annotated bibliography for the three resources. For each article, be sure
to include the following:
�A full APA-style bibliographic reference including the author, title, publisher, and place of publication
�A summary of the document including the main points, its purpose, the theoretical perspective on which
it is based, and the scope
�Evaluation of the source following the guidelines outlined under �To prepare�
Organizational Stressors: An Annotated Bibliography
Marija Rok. (2011). Stress and stress management in a higher education tourism institution,
Tourism and Hospitality Management, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 279-290.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRESSORS: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 3
The article aimed at finding out the nature of stress found in institutions of higher
learning, and how they affect the employees as well as methods used to handle them. The author
conducted a case study in one tertiary institution and targeted employees of one faculty, i.e. the
tourism department. The study followed a phenomenon approach focused on participants’
subjective experiences. Employees were subjected to a semi-structured interview with open-
ended questions. Data was analyzed using a general analytical strategy where the author
compared the findings of the study to other similar studies done both in that country and
worldwide. The results indicated that employees in higher education institutions face stress
similar to those in an enterprise.
The author did not base his study on any specific theory but instead, compared his data to
other studies done previously. This was intentional as he wanted to get an unbiased result, which
could be used or applied in any other higher education setting.
Typical answers given by participants on what they found stressful include dissertation
work, diverse curricula, research obligations, lack of job safety, ambiguous roles, non-
transparent leading, lack of opportunity for empowerment, organization climate, family
obligations, and lack of time. Surprisingly, these issues were similar to those of employees found
in corporates as well as previous studies done in tertiary institutions elsewhere.
Effects of these stress factors included tiredness, frustrations, irritability, aggression, and
loss of interest among others. The participants understood how to relieve stress and engaged in
activities like regular exercise, proper nutrition, regular sleep, engaged in hobbies, social
gatherings, positive thinking, laughter, and relaxation. The organization, on the other hand, did
nothing except hold meetings.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRESSORS: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 4
The case study method used was appropriate as it gave an opportunity for thorough
investigation and a small sample size; hence, comprehensive results were gotten. The analysis
the author draws from this study is that most of the stressors found in this institution were
extrinsic i.e. based on bad tourism industry performance. His conclusion that stress is an
unavoidable factor is true but it is rather a shallow recommendation, and he should have offered
solid solutions instead of living the research hanging.
Lineta Ramonienė and Olena Gorbatenko. (2013). Managing Occupational Stress In Human
Service Nonprofit Organizations In Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Organizations & Markets In Emerging
Economies, VOL. 4, No. 2(8)
These authors sort to identify stressors in nonprofit organizations in a town in Ukraine
using the transactional theory model that views stress as caused by relationship of a person and
work. The study was conducted on the entire population of the non-profits of the town i.e. eleven
institutions and six hypotheses were formulated using fourteen stressors. Using the regression
model for analysis, the findings revealed that three stress factors were dominant i.e. demands
exceeding abilities, demands falling short of abilities, and clients’ needs for emotional support.
The study shows that too many stress factors were chosen and out of original fourteen
chosen, only eleven were applicable. Out of those, only six had positive results. Out of the six,
only two revealed strong indicators to stress. Two stress factors had mild relation to stress and
the other three had a weak link to stress. The three stress factors that failed to be used were
career development opportunities, job insecurity, and dysfunctional relationships with
supervisor. These are normally the main factors that contribute to stress among employees.
However, it could be that this does not apply in the NGO sector as staffs here aim to “serve” and
ORGANIZATIONAL STRESSORS: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 5
not “benefit” from the work. In addition, the lack of use of qualitative methods like interview
that would have explained certain responses was an oversight. Lastly, even though the goal was
accomplished i.e. to find out the stress factors that are found in NGO’s, the study left more
questions than answers.
Caitlin Finney, Erene Stergiopoulos, Jennifer Hensel, Sarah Bonato and Carolyn S Dewa.
(2013). Organizational stressors associated with job stress and burnout in correctional officers: a
systematic review. BMC Public Health, 13:82
The authors reviewed the relationship between organizational stressors and employee
stress and burnout in adult correctional facilities. The authors conducted a literature review and
used Cooper & Marshall’s model of job stress to choose which stressors to use. The findings
indicated that organizational structure and climate was the main cause of stress and burnout for
employees.
The aim of the study was to identify areas that organizational interventions could target to
reduce employee stress and burnout. The study was done using eight articles chosen from
credible databases and journals, and five stressors including role in the organization, rewards at
work, supervisory relationships at work, and the organizational structure and climate were
applied. Negative consequences of burnout included high turnover rates, high absenteeism, and
low productivity. Limitations of the study were many, especially that the articles selected used
varying measures for organizational stressors. Moreover, the fact that this study used a cross
sectional design as opposed to longtitudal design, which is more appropriate for behavior related
researches is another weakness. In addition, the articles chosen were mostly from one country
and involved public correctional institutions.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRESSORS: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 6
The authors in their conclusion recommended increase in communication between
management and employees, while mild and more radical solutions might be necessary,
especially when giving staff more decision-making power and reviewing job descriptions.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRESSORS: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 7
References
Caitlin Finney, Erene Stergiopoulos, Jennifer Hensel, Sarah Bonato and Carolyn S Dewa.
(2013). Organizational stressors associated with job stress and burnout in correctional
officers: a systematic review. BMC Public Health, 13:82
Lineta Ramonienė and Olena Gorbatenko. (2013). Managing Occupational Stress In Human
Service Nonprofit Organizations In Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Organizations And Markets In
Emerging Economies, Vol 4, No. 2(8)
Marija Rok. (2011). Stress and stress management in a higher education tourism institution,
Tourism and Hospitality Management, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 279-290.
