al costs, and overtime pay costs all have increased, while productivity and profits have decreased.
The anticipation is that the findings of this study will indicated that many of the problems being experienced by the Frick Company can be ameliorated through the implementation of an employee stress management program. A reduction of the adverse effects stemming from unmanaged job-related stress is expected to lead to improved productivity and profits.
Literature relevant to the problem investigated is reviewed. Topics covered in the literature review are occupational stress, employee assistance programs, and employee fitness programs.
Stress is defined as "a state of tension, strain, or pressure" (Selye, 1974, p. 312). It is a "normal reaction resulting from the interaction between an individual and the environment" (Selye, 1974, p. 312). Those actions or conditions which induce stress are referred to as stressors. In any individual life or in any organizational environment, stress may produce either positive or negative results.
In the earlier years of stress research, stress was recognized as a major contributor to the onset of significant physical and mental health problems. Beginning in the late-1970s, 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). When performance efficiency suffers, the quality of the overall organizational environment deteriorates, organizational productivity deteriorates, and personnel turnover increases (Fox, 1993).
Personnel turnover is one of the most costly problems which afflict organizations. The costs of personnel are not limited to those incurred directly in relation to those employees leaving the organization, such as the loss of productive workers, lost training costs, the necessity...