Career Choice and Workplace Stress

Contents
Career Choice and Workplace Stress..........................................................................1
Introduction:............................................................................................................... 2
Stressors in the Workplace......................................................................................... 2
Workplace Interaction and Relations..........................................................................3
Counseling Approaches to Managing Workplace Stress..............................................4
Evaluating Effectiveness of Workplace Counseling.....................................................5
Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 6
REFERENCES.............................................................................................................. 6

Keyword: Workplace Stress; Counseling Approaches; Workplace Counseling

Abstract: Making a wrong career choice or decision can later affect ones ability to effectively
perform their duty. This paper examines the causes and meaning of workplace stress, and goes
ahead to describe a few counseling approaches that can be used to address the problem. Briefly it
also touches on the type of evaluation process that can be used to determine the effectiveness of
counseling in the workplace.

Career Choice and Workplace Stress

Introduction:
The career choices that people make can sometimes indirectly lead to workplace stress,
and negatively impact on an individuals level of productivity. This, as has been established by
various research findings, normally come as a result of wrong career choices. A study conducted
by Brown (2005), shows that careers do not just spontaneously unfold. Rather, they become
manifest as individual constructions based on choices that express self-concepts which
substantiates a persons goals in the social reality of work roles.
Many people take time and invest enormous resources to prepare for a particular career.
After completing college, and undergoing other forms of training, they throw themselves into the
working environment hoping to put the best of their potentials to good use. But unfortunately for
some, feelings of job dissatisfaction immediately set in which ultimately end up in workplace
stress. Daily, people encounter various challenges in their places of work. Some of these can be
exciting and a source of great interest, but other challenges can be distressing and debilitating.
Since the normal reaction to stress can be seen in form of either tension, excitement or anxiety,
the duration or spell of time during which one is immersed in any of this emotions determines
the nature of stress and its consequences. Work-life should revert to normal shortly after
experiencing any of the highs and lows, but if this persists and becomes overwhelming; or it
occurs all the time, then there is a problem.

Stressors in the Workplace

There are several factors that can lead to stress. Stress in the workplace can be broadly
classified into two. There are psychological stressors that may be as a direct result of poor job
content, poor social relationships and social conditions at work, or poor work organization. The
other source can be as a result of physical stressors at the workplace like lack of safety,
ergonomic shortcomings and other stressful ambient factors. One of the most obvious
manifestations of this form of stress is when demands at work turn out to be excessive or
extreme despite the amount of effort one makes. Increasingly, people spend most of their
working time on high-speed work requiring faster and faster work-pace within limited time
constraints. This is particularly true of those who work in the service industry where
technological advances make work more efficient, but in the end actually forces workers to
perform more tasks. The consequence of this is that some workers may, against their actual
needs, be forced to work under strains which eventually may cause work-related psychological
health problems (Kompier 1999).
The new type of work environment based on technological platforms compels workers to
be ever competitive, remain constantly on the lookout for new technological breakthroughs and

to always perform at near peak levels. For those who are in their careers of choice, this can be
very stimulating, but for those who find themselves in a particular profession due to mounting
life demands and because they must earn a living, this can cause stress, which coupled with the
inability to slow down the pace of work can trigger health threatening physical and emotional
reactions, thereby compromising a persons ability to work. Apart from stress related illnesses
like depression, peptic ulcers, asthma and irritable bowel movements, one major negative effect
of workplace stress is an increase in absenteeism which comes along with decrease in
productivity and enterprise in workers (Kompier 1999)
This calls for adjustments. Brown (2005) postulates that workplace adjustment should be
based on the assumption that as living beings people have wants that need to be met, and ought
to be satisfied by the environment in the workplace. But where there is a disproportion between
the employees and the workload; or there is poor physical working environment, information
overload leading to mental stress or an ineffective and inefficient management that leaves
employees feeling they are at a point of no return, job dissatisfaction obviously will prevail.
Different workers have different sets of skills and different jobs require different sets of skills. To
be fit for any position workers should have the set of skills that a job requires. This brings about
a healthy working environment. It has been noted that the level of workplace interaction between
employees and employers can often cause stress. Good working conditions ought to be based on
a mutually beneficial give and take environment because the environment in which workers
function and the workers themselves are not static or unchanging but are entities subject to
change

Workplace Interaction and Relations

Dissatisfied workers will always attempt to improve debilitating working conditions by
talking and complaining to the management, or by working harder in order to prove to the
management that they deserve better treatment. In such a situation management can react
negatively by laying off workers or positively by improving working conditions and increasing
pay. A healthy employer/employee relationship in a workplace setting is vital in offsetting fear
and anxiety which causes stress. People react to situations differently and so it is important to
understand individual needs since human variability affords a way to describe human
individuality which may result to different consequences for different people. It is advantageous
to be aware of the trade-off nature of career choice, and the need to balance between the
advantages and disadvantages in order to determine what is most important. Therefore
knowledge of ones values, needs, skills, abilities and styles characteristics can help one in
reaching wise career decisions. It is therefore important for one to identify occupational
possibilities that reinforce ones particular patterns of needs and values which can make use of
ones particular skills and abilities. It is a proven fact that job and organizational problems come
as a result of absences which are related to stress, especially where workers feel that their health

is negatively affected by their work and that they are working under poor conditions (Brown
2005).

Counseling Approaches to Managing Workplace Stress

In order to minimize the effects of workplace stress, many organizations adopt different
approaches. However, by and far, many experts in this field concur that workplace counseling
ought to take place in specific contexts. Working environments and individuals involved are so
varied that no one approach would be deemed to be effective. The most important thing for an
organization to do is to offer counseling for their employees in an environment they can relate to
and interact with well. Highly skilled counselors who can deal with individual counseling needs
and at the same time effectively manage the counseling process to include professional concerns
within a workplace setting are very crucial to the entire process. A generic, integrative model of
employee counseling as presented by Carol (1996) shows the importance of organizing,
administering and managing the counseling process so that right from the time employee
assessments are made to the commencement and end of the exercise, everything should take
place within an organizational setting.
This might entail taking into account the three main forces of psychodynamics,
humanistic and cognitive behavioral approaches. One important factor that must not be overly
stressed but which must form the basis of managing workplace stress is the fact that these days
workplaces bring together people from diverse backgrounds. This necessitates the need to
include multicultural or cross-cultural counseling and assessing the impact of the environment on
the counseling provisions. Where only external counselors are involved, there is always a
tendency to handle the clients in a more professional way by insisting on things like client
confidentiality. However, this has a way of creating a disconnection between the counseling
session and the problems in the workplace that may be responsible for the stress in place.
No single approach to giving counseling can be said to be adequate because the stressors
are invariably different and individuals also respond to them in various ways. Therefore to
effectively combat workplace stress, a combination of counseling approaches would be desirable.
Sometimes for certain individuals, stress factors may have nothing to do with the workplace. In
such a scenario, problem-focused models of counseling would be appropriate. This is because
this model sometimes functions as a means of inculcating life skills counseling. Problems such
as alcoholism or marital issues sometimes may follow one up to the place of work. In such a
case, using Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) as part of the process can yield a lot of
benefits. This can begin by provision of physical fitness facilities so that workers can improve
both their mental and physical wellbeing. As part of the package, an organization can include,
personal counseling, counseling for couples or for the entire family. This would be a way of
helping employees grow out of problems that remotely affect their performance in the work
environment (Carol 1996)

Another reason why a problem-focused form of counseling would be good is because this
can enable the management to focus on important issues that may be work related. If it comes
out that workers are being stressed directly as a result of what appertains in the work
environment, then obviously an in-house type of counseling approach would be called for. This
can be done in terms of offering therapies, where workers state of health seems to be the
stressors. Employers would therefore see the need to improve work conditions, and to act with
the knowledge that the work place can cause both problems and resolve others. The workplace
can also be humanized by developing new work regimes and practices which might elicit
positive responses from everyone concerned. One major cause of stress is the fear and anxiety
that sometimes grip workers especially when organizational changes are anticipated. A problemfocused model of counseling would definitely psychologically prepare workers for such
inevitable upheavals.
Maintaining good management and avoiding abrupt decisions, indifferences,
inconsistencies and bullying tactics can create stable conditions. Any approach adopted should
mostly ensure that individuals understand their job and they have the requisite skills to do it. In
order to address real issues at the core of individual problems, there should also be
individual/personal counseling formats to help workers cope with personal problems, and
professional counseling to help with career related problems. To achieve the desired results, an
organization can institutionalize extensive counseling programs by setting up stress awareness
and stress management courses.

Evaluating Effectiveness of Workplace Counseling

In order to effectively do a follow up and assess the effectiveness of a counseling
program, I would use various tools. The most obvious would be to look for positive indicators of
interest and enthusiasm amongst targeted workers, especially those who have recently been
subjected to a counseling program. I would do this by relying on physical observation of the
workers pattern of behavior, but mostly I would rely on proven scientific methods of data
analysis using statistical applications and methods in order to evaluate the effectiveness of all
workplace programs
Secondly, I would assess all aspects of organizational functioning in terms of motivation,
morale, physical work environment, communication systems, group interactions and
organizational structure by conducting a brief research study. I would also study organizational
effectiveness, the levels of productivity as compared to what has been happening, and monitor
efficiency, including the nature of workplace supervision and leadership. Lastly, I would also
observe and interview workers with a view to obtaining information about their physical, mental,
and educational preferences in relation to their current job specifications as a way of determining
their current levels of satisfaction. Verifying and establishing correct information about aspects
such as job satisfaction would be integral to my evaluation process.

Conclusion
From the foregoing, it is clear that workplace stress can come as a result of many factors
such as wrong career choice, sudden organizational changes, poor working conditions and
working environment which collectively can lead to fear and anxiety. Other causes of stress
might be unrelated to the conditions in the work environment but might be as a result of personal
problems at home like bad relationships. For all these, organizations can help their workers cope
by providing counseling services in the workplace.

REFERENCES
Brown, D.S., & Lent, W.R., (2005) Career Development and Counseling: Putting Theory and
Research to work. New Jersey: John Willey & Sons, Inc, Hoboken
Brown, D., (2002) Career Choice and Development. Ney Jersey: John Wiley & Sons
Carol, M., (1996) Workplace Counseling. London: Sage Publications
Hannabuss, S., (1997) "Counseling approaches and the workplace", Library Management, Vol.
18 Iss: 8, pp.373 379. Doi 10.1108/01435129710183726
Kompier, M., & Cooper,L.C., (1999) Preventing Stress, Improving Productivity: European Case
Studies in the Workplace. London: Routledge
Patton, W., & McMahon, M., (2006) Career Development and Systems Theory. London: Sense
Publishers