The purpose of this research will be to determine whether a communication skills training class (The Clear Communication: Breaking Down the Barriers Program; CCBDB Program) will effectively decrease employees' levels of work stress by improving their communication skills. Studies show that poor communication results in job stress and that this stress has resulted in a steady increase in workers compensation claims. In the United States, government workers' compensation claims for stress related emotional illness rose more than four-fold between 1981 and 1990.
The theoretical base for this study is a learning theory model of the communication process. This model postulates five components that are central to the process: the sender, the receiver, the message, the channel or method, and feedback.
The subjects will be 30 males and 30 females who volunteered from a large local organization. Differences due to the study participants' ages, gender, or number of years working for the company will also be examined.
The study will use a pretest-posttest, matched groups design. The study's hypothesis states that there will be a significant difference between the control group and the experimental group due to the communication program.
Stress is a state of arousal provoked by specific stressors. According to Sue, Sue and Sue (1994), these stressors call on the body's physical and mental reserves, triggering physiological, psychological and biochemical changes. For example, they will raise blood pressure and increase secretion of catecholamine (stimulant) hormones such as adrenaline and noradrenaline. Any stressor is any force, change or event that calls upon a persons inner resources (Sue, Sue & Sue, 1994).
In their discussion of stress and stressors, Sue, Sue and Sue (1994) note that stressors can be environmental (excess noise, bad fumes), job-related (a bullying boss) or personal (an abusive spouse). They can be acute (s...