Characteristics of organizations and departments with high levels of stressed workers.

What is it about?

This study examines the questions of whether and why the employees of some organizations and departments exhibit more stress than the employees of other organizations and departments. The study reports two major findings. First, departments characterized by high levels of employee task cohesion, which is defined as shared commitment toward work goals, tended to exhibit significantly lower department-average employee stress; the reverse was also the case. This tendency did not differ across organizations. Second, organizations that offer office environments that support work collaboration tended to exhibit lower organization-average employee stress. This tendency was stronger for larger organizations, i.e., those with more employees.

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Photo by Redd F on Unsplash

Photo by Redd F on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This study is important because it addresses issues faced by many contemporary organizations. That is, many organizations assess the stress levels of their employees not only with the aim of managing voluntary turnover but also with the goal of complying with occupational health laws. The results of this study suggest that promoting task cohesion among department members and designing offices to help employees concentrate on work collaboration might help reduce employee stress at department and organization levels.