whs
AWA
is looking
What is Stress?
“The state of mental or emotional
strain or tension resulting from
adverse or demanding circumstances.”
Both positive and negative stresses can
be present at any given time. Employees
build up their own resilience and skills
to deal with stresses as they arise in
normal circumstances, which is a positive
phenomenon. Stress, one would say, is
normal and necessary. It’s when this stress
changes and builds in intensity, is continuous
and repeated, leaving a person being unable
to cope, with lack of support being shown,
where stress then becomes negative,
leading to physical illness and psychological
disorders.
In a report written by Hurrell (Hurrell et
al., 1997, pp. 163-170), it was concluded
that assaults may occur more frequently
among highly stressed workers than those
experiencing less stress.
Knowing what physical and psychological
violence is, is the first step in establishing
a framework to manage both physical and
psychological violence in the workplace.
This brings me back to the beginning of the
article; so what went so incredibly wrong
last month and in other workplaces I have
worked in?
Stress was a common denominato