10.1 The Problem of Stress 373 Common Stressors at Work TABLE 10.1 Common Stressors in the Workplace k成cold.no6 Work stressors fall into two major categories:physical/task stressors. Role stessors such as noise,light,heat,and cold,and psychological stressors.which involve a multitude of subtle and not-so-subtle factors that an indi- vidual may find demanding. Woridoad 称hp笔，time pressur Physical/Task Stressors Nork schedule (e.g.hnae由 In their early studies of work stress,I-O psychologists focused on physical stressors and their effects on the experience of stress and sub sequent strains.According to many experimental and field studies, Interpernal demands and canfict uncontrollable noise is particularly stressful and leads to lower task performance and diminished motivation (Szalma Hancock,2011: Situational constraints Wickens Hollands,2000).Although we may associate noise with factories where loud machinery is in operation,the effects of noise are Perceivedcontrol not limited to manufacturing environments.Evans and Johnson (2000)found that exposure to low-level noise in an open office setting Emotional labor is associated with elevated levels of stress hormones and lower task performance.The importance of the increased hormone levels is that Traumatic job stressors (e.g workplaceviolence) stressors may exist even when the worker is not aware of the stressor. For example,work psychologists often interview workers about their work on noisy factory floors.When asked,the workers typically report that their work environments are not noisy. despite the fact that the response-"No. it's not noisy"-has to be shouted. Interestingly,the same is true of workers in gambling casinos. The demands of a given job (eg.pace of work,workload,the number of hours worked)can also contribute to the experi- ence of stress and to subsequent strains (Ilies,Dimotakis,De Pater.2010).For example,a study of 936 British employees from 22 call centers investigated relation- ships between workload demands and back disorders (Sprigg.Stride.Wall, Holman,Smith,2007).Call-center employees were asked if their workload Employees in physically stressful workplaces are often not conscously aware of the was heavy,demanding.and time pres. stressful effects of oise,poor ventilation,orther adverse conditions. sured.The authors found that call-center employees who had a heavier workload were more likely to subsequently report upper body and lower back disorders than those with lower workloads.Although it may be dear that physical and task stressors have negative effects on employee health.more recent research in work stress has focused on psychological stressors that may not be as intuitively linked to health outcomes.As we will see in the following section,such psychological stressors play an equally important role in employee health and well-being.Keep in mind,however,that one type of stressor(eg.physical or task)is not made less important by the presence of another stressor;thus,the effects of multiple stressors can be cumulative