Psychological stress

Psychological stress

Psychological stress (or, simply, stress; hereinafter, the Stress) is a feeling of strain and pressure. This feeling emerges as a response to one or more stressors or a lack of those. The reaction can possibly be pleasant, but the term, stress, is usually used to describe unpleasant ones because constant and unpleasant reactions can cause serious health conditions. Some researches argue that human beings need some level of the Stress in order to function normally.

Definitions

According to Organizational Behavior by Robbins and Judge (17th edition),

Stress. An unpleasant psychological process that occurs in response to environmental pressures.

According to Management by Robbins and Coulter (14th edition),

Stress. The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure placed on them from extraordinary demands, constraints, or opportunities.

As a human factor

The stress factor (or, simply, stress) is the human factor that is characterized by mental, emotional or physical tension, strain, or distress. This factor is one of the Dirty Dozen of Human Factors.

In aviation maintenance

According to the FAA AMT Handbook,

Aviation maintenance is a stressful task due to many factors. Aircraft must be functional and flying in order for airlines to make money, which means that maintenance must be done within a short timeframe to avoid flight delays and cancellations. Fast-paced technology that is always changing can add stress to technicians. This demands that aircraft maintenance technicians stay trained on the latest equipment. Other stressors include working in dark, tight spaces, lack of resources to get the repair done correctly, and long hours. The ultimate stress of aviation maintenance is knowing that the work they do, if not done correctly, could result in tragedy.

Everyone handles stress differently and particular situations can bring about different degrees of difficulty for different people. For example, working under a strict timeline can be a stressor for one person and normal for another. The causes of stress are referred to as stressors. They are categorized as physical, psychological, and physiological stressors. Following, is a list of each and how they may affect maintenance.

Physical Stressors. Physical stressors add to the personnel's workload and make it uncomfortable for him or her in their work environment.

• Temperature - high temperatures in the hanger increases perspiration and heart rate causing the body to overheat. Low temperatures can cause the body to feel cold, weak, and drowsy.
• Noise - hangers that have high noise levels (due to aircraft taking off and landing close by) can make it difficult for maintenance personnel to focus and concentrate.
• Lighting - poor lighting within a work space makes it difficult to read technical data and manuals. Likewise, working inside an aircraft with poor lighting increases the propensity to miss something or to repair something incorrectly.
• Confined spaces - small work spaces make it very difficult to perform tasks as technicians are often contorted into unusual positions for a long period of time.

Psychological Stressors. Psychological stressors relate to emotional factors, such as a death or illness in the family, business worries, poor interpersonal relationships with family, co-workers, supervisors, and financial worries.

• Work-related stressors - over anxiousness can hinder performance and speed while conducting maintenance if there is any apprehension about how to do a repair or concerns about getting it done on time.
• Financial problems - impending bankruptcy, recession, loans, and mortgages are a few examples of financial problems that can create stressors.
• Marital problems - divorce and strained relationships can interfere with one's ability to perform their job correctly.
• Interpersonal problems - problems with superiors and colleagues due to miscommunication or perceived competition and backstabbing can cause a hostile work environment.

Physiological Stressors. Physiological stressors include fatigue, poor physical condition, hunger, and disease.

• Poor physical condition - trying to work when ill or not feeling well can force the body to use more energy fighting the illness and less energy to perform vital tasks.
• Proper meals - not eating enough, or foods lacking the proper nutrition, can result in low energy and induce symptoms like headaches and shaking.
• Lack of sleep - fatigued, the maintainer is unable to perform to standard for long periods of time and can become sloppy with repairs and miss important mistakes.
• Conflicting shift schedules - the affect of changing sleep patterns on the body's circadian cycle can lead to a degradation of performance.

People cope with stress in many different ways. Specialists say that the first step is to identify stressors and the symptoms that occur after exposure to those stressors. Other recommendations involve development or maintenance of a healthy lifestyle with adequate rest and exercise, a healthy diet, limited consumption of alcoholic drinks, and avoidance of tobacco products.

Mitigating the risk: (a) Take time off or a short break if you are feeling stressed, (b) Healthy eating, exercise, and a sufficient amount of rest can reduce stress levels, (c) Discuss with a co-worker and ask them to monitor your work. Stress is the subconscious response to the demands placed on a person.

Related concepts

• Stress administration. Practice and a set of concepts, based on that practice, that define culture of coping or dealing effectively with psychological stress.
• Need. (1) Something that is wanted or required; (2) Circumstances in which something is necessary, or that require some course of action.
• Change risk. A risk, positive and/or negative, of some change.

Related lectures

• Human Motivations Quarter.