Stress has long been associated with the onset of
significant physical and mental health problems. In the 1980s,
stress began to be implicated in areas beyond the bounds of physical and mental health. In the organizational environment, stress has been implicated in the deterioration of performance efficiency by both managers and subordinates (Gibson, 1993, p. 15). When performance efficiency suffers, the quality of the overall organizational environment deteriorates, and organizational productivity deteriorates (Fox, 1993, pp. 289-318). A deterioration of the organizational environment is accompanied by a deterioration in organizational communication (Gilberg, 1993, pp. 8-9).
Stressors in organizational environments have been investi-gated within the context of occupational, or on-the-job, stress (Edwards, 1992, pp. 238-274). Two primary sources of occupational stress have been identified. The first source of these stressors is the job itself. The specific characteristics of a job are the source of what are called task-related stressors (MacBride, 1984, pp. 1-24). The second source of occupational stressors is the organizational environment itself. Stressors associated with the organizational environment are referred to as context-related.
Context-related stressors are external to the tasks associated with a job (MacBride, pp. 1-24). Context-related stressors typically develop as a result flawed organizational structures, ineffective organizational development, the inability of an individual to pursue successfully achievement goals within an organization, or some combination of all three.
Task-related stressors, as indicated above, are directly
related to the specific characteristics of the job itself. These
stressors involve role ambiguity, conflicting task demands, work overload or work under load, inadequate resource support, no provision for meaningful participation in decision-making, and insecurity, amon...