There is a clear analogy between job stress and the engineering characterization of stress. In engineering, stress is a force that induces strain a deformation. An excessive force, or overstress, leads to rupture. In job stress, some combination of work factors interact with a person to disrupt his physiological or psychological well-being; his reaction to those stress factors is called strain.
The analogy becomes a little fuzzy when you examine some of the basic sources of job stress. For example, stressors include such things as too much or too little to do; extreme ambiguity or extreme rigidity associated with tasks; extreme role conflict or too little conflict; and extreme amounts of responsibility or little responsibility.
As this list suggests, some job stress is not only acceptable, it can be beneficial. But overstress is as potentially dangerous to humans as it is to engineering structures.
In cases of job overstress you wont hear a sharp crack as something fails nor will the human mechanism simply cease to function. But the job-related strain will be there, in several possible forms: short term effects (anxiety, tension, anger, paranoia); chronic psychological states (depression, feelings of fatigue, alienation, a general malaise); clinical-psychological changes (level of blood lipids, blood pressure, gut motility); physical health status (gastrointestinal disorders, coronary heart disease, asthmatic attacks); and a fall off in work performance (severe decrease in productivity, increase in error rates, high absenteeism, inflexible behavior).
No one in a responsible production position can ignore these effects of overstress in others or himself. One source has estimated that 80% of industrial accidents may be caused by a lack of psychological well-being. Job success is highly correlated with the ability to cope with stress. In short, effective management of stress is a worthy goal.
Learning to cope, or manage stress, involves three major components physical activity, nutrition, and intellectual activity. Physical activity is concerned with relaxation techniques, control of bodily activities, and physical exercises. It is an outlet for the release of energy built up during stressful activity. Nutrition is concerned with a balanced program for eating and drinking. A nutrition program helps to eliminate eating and drinking habits as a stress factor. Intellectual activity is concerned with communication skills, goal setting, assertiveness, elimination of self-defeating attitudes, and improving self-concept. It serves to lower the effects of stress by developing specific resistances and coping mechanisms.
Success also depends upon first mastering the physical and nutritional components of stress management. In short, to state the obvious, good intellectual activity is enhanced by good health. And various activities that promote good health are particularly relevant to stress management.
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| stress, n | , , |
| strain, n | , , , |
| rupture, n | , , , |
| disrupt, v | , |
| fuzzy, adj | , |
| beneficial, adj | , |
| cease, v | , , |
| crack, n | , , |
| fatigue, n | , |
| malaise, n | |
| gut, n | , |
| fall off, n | , , |
| absenteeism, n | ( ), , |
| accident, n | |
| correlate (to, with), v | , ; |
| cope (with), v | , |
| worthy, adj | , , |
| nutrition, n | , |
| concern, v | , ; , (-); , |
| outlet, n | ; |
| release, n | , |
| eliminate, v | , , , |
| skill, n | , , , , |
| goal, n | , |
| set, v | , |
| self-defeating, adj | |
| self-concept, n | |
| attitude, n | |
| resistance, n | |
| obvious, adj | , , |
| enhance, v | , , |
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I. Transcribe the words consulting a dictionary. Read them in transcription:
rupture, fuzzy, associate, ambiguity, cease, anxiety, chronic, fatigue, alienation, malaise, coronary, technique, asthmatic, absenteeism, accident, cause, nutrition, assertiveness, enhance, obvious, particularly, analogy, psychology.
II. Guess the meaning of the following international words:
engineering, characterization, deformation, analogy, extreme, technique, effect, clinical, physiological, psychological, component, relaxation, program, function, energy, conflict, potentially, activity, reaction, management, induce.
III. Define the stem of the following words, name the suffixes and prefixes. Translate the words:
stressor, overstress, rigidity, disorder, inflexible, relaxation, assertiveness, resistance, particularly, nutritional, communication, management, deformation.
IV. Read the adjectives and the nouns derived from them. Translate the nouns:
| rigid | , , | rigidity - |
| active | , | activity - |
| flexible | flexibility - | |
| ambiguous | , , | ambiguity - |
| stable | , , | stability - |
| responsible | responsibility - | |
| possible | possibility - | |
| alien | , | alienation - |
| particular | , | particularity - |
| anxious | , , | anxiety - |
| motile | , | motility - |
| assertive | , , | assertiveness - |
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V. Match the words on the left with their definitions on the right:
| 1) to cope | A) to be busy with, interest oneself in |
| 2) to induce | B) to add to (the value, attraction, etc) |
| 3) to concern | C) to help to organize and start |
| 4) to cease | D) to persuade or influence; to lead or to cause |
| 5) to eliminate | E) to manage successfully |
| 6) to enhance | F) to come or bring to an end; to stop |
| 7) to promote | G) to remove, to take or put away |
Answer key: 1E; 2D; 3A; 4F; 5G; 6B; 7C.
VI. Look through the text A Healthy You Can Cope with Work Stress and find the English equivalents for the following words and expressions:
; , () ; (); , ; ; ; (, ); ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; () ; ; () ; ; ; ; ; ; .
VII. Read the sentences and explain their grammar structures. Translate them using a dictionary.
1. In cases of job overstress you wont hear a sharp crack as something fails nor will the human mechanism simply cease to function.
2. No one in a responsible production position can ignore these effects of overstress in others or himself.
3. In job stress, some combination of work factors interact with a person to disrupt his physiological or psychological well-being.
4. Overstress is as potentially dangerous to humans as it is to engineering structures.
5. In short, to state the obvious, good intellectual activity is enhanced by good health.
VIII. Read the text A Healthy you Can Cope with Work Stress silently. Find the sentences with the attributive and adverbial clauses. Translate them.
IX. Answer the following questions. The text A Healthy You Can Cope with Work Stres will help you.
1. Why is there a clear analogy between job stress and the engineering characterization of stress?
2. Why does the analogy become a little fuzzy when you examine some of the main sources of job stress?
3. What are the basic sources of job stress?
4. What are the possible forms of the job-related strain?
5. What causes most industrial accidents?
6. What are the major components to cope and manage job stress?
7. Does success depend on good health?
8. Have you ever suffered from work stress? Did you manage to cope with it?
9. Do you think that physical exercises and a balanced program for eating and drinking can help humans to cope with work stress?
X. Agree or disagree with the following statements. Give your reasons. Use the phrases below.
| For agreement: | For disagreement: |
| Thats just what I thought | Yes, thats quite true, but |
| Yes, thats exactly what I think | Im not sure I quite agree |
| I also think that | Perhaps, but dont you think that |
| I agree entirely | I see what you mean, but |
| Thats a good point | I just cant accept that |
| I quite agree (with, that) | I very much doubt that |
| I accept that | Its completely wrong to say that |
| You are right in saying that | Well, I dont really see your point. |
1. There is a slight analogy between work stress and the engineering characterization of stress.
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2. Overstress is acceptable and it is not potentially dangerous to humans.
3. A fall off in work performance is one of several forms of job-related strain.
4. If you are in a responsible production position you cant ignore the effects of overstress.
5. If you want to cope with work stress, you must control your physical and intellectual activity.
6. Your success does not depend on your physical and psychological activity.
XI. Make up the summary of the text A Healthy You Can Cope with Work Stress.
