Introduction.
The presence of stress in the work organization is a problem which
creates operational problems and additional costs for American businesses.
The organizations in which people work affect their thoughts, feelings, and
actions in the workplace and away from it. Likewise, people's thoughts,
feelings, and actions affect the organizations in which they work.
Organizational behavior is an area of inquiry concerned with both areas of
influence: the affect of work organizations on people and people on work
organizations. The slice of the organizational behavior literature this
paper addresses has to do with the feelings of workers, how organizations
affect them and how they affect organizations. As will be seen in the
following section, we focus on the affective dimensions of organizational
behavior because organizational researchers have begun to demonstrate a
serious interest in moods and emotions in the workplace.
The problem faced by organizations and their leaders is how to help
individuals adapt to changing the workplace without developing maladaptive
behaviors. Change is inevitable, and in the current business environment,
the rate at which change is being demanded is also increasing. Businesses
can no longer adapt business policies and practices which are suitable for
regional issues, because the economy is becoming global. The organization
which settles into specific patterns and practices which in the past would
have successfully guided them for a generation now finds that competition
half way across the world is forcing change, adaptation and innovation on a
constant basis. The organization which stands still is soon left behind,
However, in the lives of the organization's members, constant change
is a source of stress, and the constant stress can negatively affect the
organizations efficiency, and effectiveness. ...