The Effects of Learned Helplessness on Organizational Behavior Stress

by Lynne MacDonald, Demand Media

More than one-third of employees report that they experience workplace stress regularly.

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Organizational Behavior
Organizational behavior describes how people behave in the workplace. This may differ from how they behave in other situations, such as in a family or social setting. Behavior is the outward display of the beliefs and values held by managers and employees within the organization. These shared beliefs and values define the organization's culture. If the culture of an organization makes it apparent that the authority of managers is absolute and that employees' concerns will not be investigated, employees learn not to complain, no matter how unreasonably their manager behaves. In this way, the employee learns to feel helpless in the face of unacceptable behavior.

Learned Helplessness
Learned helplessness was first identified by psychologist and author Martin Seligman in 1968 during psychological experiments studying the behavior of dogs. Seligman noticed that dogs who were restrained while he administered a mild electric shock became unable to escape from the situation, even when the restraints were loosened. Seligman noted that the resulting passivity and inability to act appeared similar to the behavior of depressed individuals, who believe that they are unable to influence or change their situation.

Resignation
A feature of learned helplessness is the person's inability to change the situation, even if it is in his power to do so. If you experience conflict with your manager, you have options that you can pursue. You can lodge a complaint with the human resource department or seek alternative employment. However, someone in a state of learned helplessness feels unable to influence or change his situation and so does not pursue these options. Instead, he gives up and resigns himself to tolerating the unpleasant situation.

Stress

Everyone experiences stress from time to time. Tight deadlines or periods of high workload cause transient stress. Employees who experience stress over long periods disengage from an organization and may become ill. Learned helplessness can be a cause of stress in the workplace. If an employee tolerates an unpleasant situation because he has formed the opinion that he cannot influence or change it, his self-efficacy -- or belief in his own competence -becomes adversely affected. An international study conducted in 2002 and published in the "Journal of International Management" concluded that low selfefficacy correlates to a higher likelihood of stress and burnout.
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References

"American Journal of Health Behavior"; The Culture-Work-Health Model and Work Stress; Michael Peterson, et al.; 2002 Foundations of Psychology; Nicky Hayes; 2000 "William and Mary Law Review"; How the New Economics Can Improve Employment Discrimination Law, and How Economics Can Survive the Demise of the "Rational Actor"; Scott A. Moss, et al.; 2009 American Psychological Association; Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards; 2011 "Journal of International Management"; Are Work Stress Relationships Universal? A Nine-region Examination of Role Stressors, General Self-efficacy, and Burnout; Pamela L. Perrewe, et al.; 2002

About the Author

Lynne MacDonald has experience in the fields of human resource management, training, organizational development and law. MacDonald received a law degree from the University of Dundee in 1990 and holds diplomas in personnel management and legal practice. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development.

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