Causes of Work Stress | Civil Service Employee Performance

Causes of Work Stress | Civil Service Employee Performance: Work-related stress has many causes, including long working hours, heavy workload, job insecurity, the threat of job loss or redundancy, and conflict with other workers or bosses. According to Anyanwu (2011) some common causes of stress in the workplace are:

1. Excessive high workloads with unrealistic deadlines, making people feel rushed, under pressure and overwhelmed.
2. Insufficient workload making people feel that their skills are being underused.
3. A lack of interpersonal support or poor working relationships leading to sense of isolation.
4. People being asked to do a job for which they have insufficient experience or training.
5. Difficulty settling into a new promotion, both in terms of meeting the new role’s requirements and adapting to possible changes in relationships with colleagues. 

Read:Overview of Teachers’ empowerment and the teachers’ empowerment policies


 Also, Uduigweomen (2012) identified other causes of work related stress to include:

1. The design of tasks: Heavy workload, infrequent rest breaks, long work hours and shift work; hectic and routine tasks that have little inherent meaning, do not utilize workers’ skills, and provide little sense of control. For example, David works to the point of exhaustion. Theresa is tied to the computer, allowing little room for flexibility, self-initiative, or rest.
2. Management style: Lack of participation by workers in decision-making, poor communication in the organization, lack of family-friendly policies. For example, Theresa needs to get the boss approval for everything, and the company is insensitive to her family needs. 
3. Interpersonal Relationship: Poor social environment and lack of support or help from coworkers and supervisors. For example, Theresa’s physical isolation reduces her opportunities to interact with other workers or receive help from them. 
4. Work Roles: Conflicting or uncertain job expectations, tool much responsibility, too many “hats to wear”. Example, Theresa is often caught in a difficult situation trying to satisfy both the customer’s needs and the company’s expectation.  
5. Career Concerns: - Job insecurity and lack of opportunity for growth advancement, or promotion, rapid changes for which workers are unprepared. Example, since the reorganization at David’s plant, everyone is worried about their future with the company and what will happen next.
   
   
6. Environmental Conditions: Unpleasant or dangerous physical conditions such as crowding, noise, air pollution, or ergonomic problems. Example, David is exposed to constant noise at work.

In addition to the above causes of work related stress, Igweobi (2010) identified more causes of work related stress:

1. Work-life Balance: The demands of work have the potential to spill over and affect personal and home life and so put a strain on relationships outside work, for example: long hours; being expected to or having to work additional hours at workplace to the detriment of personal, partner and family relationships. Other cause of work-life in balance in the workplace include over-demanding and inflexible work schedules, unsocial hours, excessive ravel time and work interfering with home/personal life.
   
2. Resources and Communication: To perform a job effectively, individuals need to feel that they have appropriate training, equipment and resources. They also need to feel that they are adequately informed and that they are valued. 

 Stress may result from lack of:

1. Information about what is going on in the organization.
2. Feedback on performance 
3. Adequate training to do the job. 
4. Equipment/resources to do the job. 
5. Pays and benefits: The financial rewards associated with a job are important in terms of life style. They are also often perceived to be an indication of an individual’s worth and value to the organization. Although financial reward may not be a prime motivator, it could become a factor if there are other negative aspects of the job.
    
6. Aspects of the job: These are potential sources of stress that relate to the fundamental nature of the job itself. Factors such as the physical working conditions, type of tasks and the amount of satisfaction derived from the job. Other sources of stress in the work place may include:
   
7. Poor physical working conditions
8. Fear of physical violence
9. Work performance closely monitored 
10. Lack of enjoyment of job 
11. Dull and repetitive work. 

Concept of Employee Performance | Civil Service Employee Performance

    Employee performance refers to the job related activities expected of a worker and how well those activities were executed. Many business personnel directors assess the employee performance of each staff member on an annual or quarterly basis in order to help them identify suggested area for improvement. According to Oduma (2005) employee performance refers to job related activities and performance standard or employee behaviour at work. Employees are rated on how well they do their jobs compared with a set of standards determined by the employer.

Read:Overview of Teachers’ empowerment and the teachers’ empowerment policies


    Also, Nwankwo (2008) stated that, employee performance is a rating system used in most corporations to determine the abilities and output of an employee. Employee performance is basically related performance appraisal in-terms of individual performances in an organization. Job performance is how well a person performs his/her job well. Performance is an important criterion for organizational outcomes and success. According to Anyanwu (2007) employee performance refers to an individual level variable, or something a single person does in the process of achieving an organization’s goals.

    Hence, employee performance refers to the ability of an employee to accomplish an assigned or given task measured against preset known standards of accuracy, completeness, cost and speed. It is the fulfillment of an obligation by an employee. Thus, Longe (2010) assets that, employee performance can be regarded as those activities or roles an employee performs while pursuing the corporate objectives of an organization. Employee performance refers to the standard to which an employee carried out his job in an organization. It refers to the speed and effectiveness of an employee while performing an assigned duty in an organization.

    To achieve strong employee performance managers conduct employee performance appraisals, implement training and development programs, and decide when to promote and reassign employees. The performance review generally looks back at an employee’s performance over the past year and involves setting new plans and goals for the year ahead.

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