Work Psychology Week 5

I wasn't able to attend Tuesday's lecture on account of a doctor's appointment. Gosh, don't get me started on that appointment. OK, I'll tell you anyway before I jump into today's Psychology lecture (I'll be posting about Tuesday's lecture tomorrow when I would normally post about today's).

Right, so I've got a rather large and, frankly, ugly mole right in the center of my back. I've had it for as long as I can remember and when I hit puberty it raised. When I first noticed it raised I've had checked out every couple of years. At every appointment they've said that it's completely normal and to come back in a couple of years or if I notice any change. At one appointment they even said they needed to remove a different mole because it looked cancerous. Anyway, I've started catching this mole on bra straps and my fingers when I put lotion on and if I toss and turn in the middle of the night I will sometimes wake up with blood on my sleep shirt. So, in December I went to my GP and asked for it to be removed. They said that since it wasn't cancerous they couldn't make it a priority but they would make an appointment for me in a couple of months for the dermatology clinic and they would remove it. Made the appointment for this past Tuesday and went in expecting for them to remove it. I took off the whole day. I went in and spent 5 minutes in the office where they went, "Oh it's not cancerous." Yes! I know that! Grr...they said that they couldn't get an appointment for me for another five months and that it would be quicker for my GP to do it! ARGH! Annoyed.

Anyway...on to today's Psychology lecture:

Occupational Stress

Occupational stress is focused on stress due to the conditions of the workplace instead of personal stress. Personal stress can add to occupational stress, but it shouldn't be the absolute cause. It is the emplyer's job to monitor the workplace and watch over the employees. There were three key terms that we discussed today.

Stressors: the physical or psychological demands that are responded to
Strains: the responses to these stressors
Stress: psychological reaction when there is a perceived imbalance between the task demands and the individual's capabilities

It is important to note that this is only a perceived imbalance. There might not actually be an imbalance but the individual believes that there is one. It is all about how an individual perceives themself.

Some people are more resilient to occupational stress than others. There is research to suggest that it has to do with the specific person's personality.

I would like to say that I have more, but I haven't had a chance to read the chapter yet and the lecturer isn't the best out there. She tends to put a lot on the slide show that she doesn't go into and doesn't really talk about. And then she goes on random rants of nothing.