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Understanding workplace stress requires insight into both physiological and psychological frameworks. The following three theories offer foundational models that explain how stress emerges, evolves, and impacts employees in organizational settings
1. General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) – Hans Selye (1936)
1. General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) – Hans Selye (1936)
Hans Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) is one of the earliest and most influential models of stress. It focuses on the biological response to stressors over time, explaining how the body reacts to prolonged or repeated pressure.Chronic exposure to unresolved stress can harm employee health, morale, and productivity. Employers must intervene before staff reach the exhaustion stage.
The Three Stages of GAS:
The Three Stages of GAS:
Alarm Stage: This initial reaction triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response. Stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol are released, increasing heart rate, alertness, and energy levels. In the workplace, this might occur during unexpected crises like tight deadlines or conflict with supervisors.
Resistance Stage: If stress continues, the body enters a state of resistance, attempting to cope by sustaining high alertness. Employees may appear to function normally but are often fatigued and irritable.
Exhaustion Stage: Over time, if the stressor persists, the body’s resources become depleted, leading to burnout, weakened immunity, or mental health breakdowns.
2. Job Demand-Control (JDC) Model – Robert Karasek (1979)
2. Job Demand-Control (JDC) Model – Robert Karasek (1979)
The Job Demand-Control Model is a widely used framework in Organizational Behaviour. It emphasizes how the combination of job demands (e.g., workload, time pressure) and job control (decision-making autonomy) influences employee stress.
Key Components of the JDC Model:
Job demands - which are the physical or mental efforts required by a job.
Job control - which is the level of autonomy employees have over their tasks and decisions.
High job demands increase stress, especially when job control is low, while greater control helps employees manage stress and feel more accomplished.
The Four Work Environments (based on Job Demands and Control):
High Demand / Low Control (High-Strain Jobs): Jobs with high demands and little control cause significant stress and negative health effects.
High Demand / High Control (Active Jobs): Demanding jobs with high control can be stressful but also motivating and rewarding.
Low Demand / Low Control (Passive Jobs): Low-demand jobs with little control often lead to boredom and disengagement.
Low Demand / High Control (Low-Strain Jobs): Jobs with low demands and high control provide an ideal, low-stress work environment that promotes satisfaction and productivity.
3. Burnout Model – Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)
3. Burnout Model – Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)
The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), developed by Christina Maslach and Susan Jackson in the 1980s, is a psychological model focused on chronic workplace stress. It identifies burnout as a multi-dimensional syndrome, not just fatigue.
Three Core Dimensions of Burnout:
Emotional Exhaustion: Feeling emotionally drained, fatigued, or overwhelmed by one’s work. Common in helping professions like healthcare or education.
Depersonalization: Developing a cynical or detached attitude toward clients, coworkers, or the job itself. Employees may show irritability or sarcasm as a coping mechanism.
Reduced Personal Accomplishment: Feeling ineffective, unproductive, or lacking a sense of achievement despite effort.
Organizational Implication: Burnout affects not only individual well-being but also team dynamics, client relations, and long-term retention. Proactive organizational strategies, like job redesign, mental health resources, and leadership support, can help mitigate burnout.
Comparing the Three Models
Comparing the Three Models
Comparing the Three Models:
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) focuses on the physiological response to stress, showing how long-term stress can lead to physical and psychological exhaustion.
The Job Demand-Control Model emphasizes how high job demands combined with low control are key predictors of stress, and how increasing control can reduce its negative impact.
The Burnout Model centers on the psychological effects of chronic stress at work, identifying three key components of burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment.
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