Occupational Stress in South African Work Culture

Book excerpt: This book explores avenues for organisations to better understand the origins of occupational stress so as to enable their managerial employees to effectively manage stress levels. By way of the work locus of control as a personality variable, the book identifies stressors both within and outside the organisation that underpin high stress levels in organisational culture. In grappling with what is required in the new workforce of ‘Generation Y’ millennials in a hyper-networked and mobile age, the authors present examples from everyday professional situations in South Africa to contribute to critical understanding of today’s working world. By applying neuroscientific principles developed from a foundation of empirical research, the authors introduce the concepts of a 'red zone’ and ‘blue zone' to explain differences between the brain areas controlled either by its stem-limbic areas, or the limbic-cortical cortex areas, respectively. This becomes a psychological shorthand for describing and applying knowledge to encourage practitioners in leadership and management roles to achieve desired behaviour outcomes, and to establish a framework for understanding employee values and worldviews. The book is relevant to practitioners, postgraduate students and researchers interested in industrial psychology, personality psychology, business management and human resources.