Psychology

This paper aims at looking at stress, its causes and its effects in the radiography department. However it is important to note that there is not much information on this topic as there is about the other medical departments such as the dental and surgery departments. Vinu (2006) indicates that personality, level of education and the goals to be achieved cause stress. Chukwuka (2009) on the other notes that technological and life changes cause stress. Halbesleben (2008) notes that it is important that people know how to cope with stress. Marian (2001), states that employees in the health sector suffer more from stress. William (1993) indicates that the stress occurs because they deal with living human beings and not object. There are various methods for measuring the stress levels for example those considered by the following authors Kenneth (2001), Kate (2001) and Cameron (2008). Change which is the main cause of stress is inevitable. Employees or people in general will have to know how to deal with stress.

Introduction
Vinu (2006) notes that occupational stress is the discomfort or anxiety experienced by people due to work related issues. The employees affected by stress could be suffering from headaches or anxiety. Occupational stress can result into very many hazards at the work place. This is because the employee is not concentrating properly at work which could lead to accidents. He also notes that it is caused by social, individual and workplace factors. In addition he observes that it is not clear how stress affects the treatment options given by radiographers as well as how it impacts on the performance of radiologists.

Main body.
The causes of stress are influenced by some factors such as personality, educational background and goals to be achieved. Vinu (2006) also defines occupational stressors as any psychological or physical demand met when accomplishing tasks in the course of duty.

Chukwukwa (2009), states that workers as well as families are experiencing higher levels of stress due to the fact that life is changing rapidly and the technological changes taking place. He also observes that it is important to study the stress experienced by radiographers since it can affect their performance. Stress can reduce the patients care which means that the radiographers do not deliver their services effectively.

This study seeks to carry out a research on the factors which cause stress. According to Vinu (2006) the factors are as follows and therefore need to be considered in coming up with the stress inventory. The factors include workload, leadership style, role conflict, role ambiguity, organizational stress, boundary extensions, career development, technological changes as well as life changes.

The stress occurs when an employee is given a lot of work to be accomplished within a set time frame. The tasks could be more than can be accomplished. These are known as quantitive stressors. Secondly, there are qualitative stressors which occur when an employee feels that he or she does not have the required skill or knowledge to undertake the assigned task. These factors affect the productivity of an individual since he or she feels strained ad cannot cope with the stress. In some cases it even leads to some employees quitting their jobs.

Leaders or managers who are authoritarian and do not regard the junior staff as human beings contribute to workplace stress. The managers behaviours affect the self esteem of the subordinate staffs who feel as if they are lesser people and they cannot perform well. However for an organization or a department such as the radiography department in our case to run effectively the staff should interact and relate freely. Each and every persons contribution is very necessary and should be given a thought. In regards to communication both top down and down top communication should be encouraged. This means that it is not only the senior staff who should give orders but they should also listen to the subordinates.

Role conflict occurs when there is no definite job for an employee. He or she undertakes different jobs which do not even match. That is the employee is assigned duties which have nothing in common. This causes stress to an employee because he is not prepared psychologically for the kind of job he is to do. Secondly, the jobs may not even match up with his level of education or experience and as a result an employee feels strained.

Role ambiguity on the other hand occurs when an employee is not very clear about what is expected of him or her. The results required from a task may not be clearly stated. Therefore to avoid the stress from role conflict and role ambiguity the tasks of the workforce in the radiography department should be clearly outlined and the employees briefed on them before they start working in the department.
Organizational stress takes place when the organization or department is faced with work demand. This means that in some cases there is a lot of work in the radiography department. In such a case the cleaners may be called upon to assist in some other duties other than cleaning. However, it is important to control this since it causes role conflict and even the individuals may end up misunderstanding each other. One may feel that he or she is being misused and not being paid for the extra job.

During boundary extension the employees are required to work under different organizations or departments. This can cause stress to the employees since there are different rules and regulations in the various departments, the performance standards also differ and the employees or people the employee relates with in the different departments are different. However in case this is very important the employees should be made to understand the reasons and for how long they will work under the terms.

Career development deals with the process of trying to advance in ones career area which mostly involves changing jobs. This process can be very stressing. This is because each and every workplace has different cultures or ways of survival which a new entrant is not conversant with. On the contrary if one sticks to one job for a very long period of time it is also stressing. This is because the individual becomes bored with his or her current job. The boredom later translates into stress.

Technological changes causes stress in that the technology is advancing in a very rapid pace. It is therefore important that the employees as well as the managers of the department such as the radiographic department are trained in order to keep up with the change. Technological changes cause stress before the employees assimilate the new technology.

Life changes are another cause of stress. A change such as marital status of an individual comes with additional responsibilities and before the employee is used to them her productivity is affected. When a person is healthy her productivity is high unlike when she is unwell.

Vinu (2006) states that employees in the health sector are not spared and they do suffer from work related stress just like the employees in the other sectors. He continues to elaborate that the technologists such as the radiographers or the radiologists likewise deal with stress. Halbesleben (2008) additionally states that if employees do not cope with stress burn out can occur. Burn out causes the affected employees to suffer from negative psychological and emotional feelings. This in turn affects their productivity since they cannot concentrate with their jobs.

Marian (2001) also supports the view that the employees in the health sector suffered a lot from the work related stress.  He notes that the following factors are the main occupational stressors for radiographers inability to meet patients needs, inadequate pay, staffing shortages, disrespectful physicians, demanding radiologists, unnecessary exams, and lack of respect.

The radiographers in most cases could not meet the patients need because they had so much work to do and the hospital administration did not support the radiographic department well. The department is expected to take care of emergencies but there is little or no input regarding the procedures to be undertaken on the patients. To alleviate this stress enough inputs should be available for the radiographers use.

The radiographers feel that they are lowly paid and this results into stress. This affects their productivity and it is important that their salaries be reviewed in order for them to achieve job satisfaction.

The number of staff in the radiographic department is less than required. The staff is therefore required to undertake a number of tasks which later translates into role ambiguity and role conflict.  More staff that is qualified should be employed to avoid stress.

Disrespectful physicians look upon the radiographers as subordinate staff which in turn cause stress to the radiographers. The demanding radiologists cause fear and intimidation to the radiographers and this leads to stress. Radiographers should also not be subjected to exams which the staffs in the other departments of the health sector are not taking. This is intimidating and should be discouraged. However if the exams are for promotion purposes they should be encouraged.

William (1993) notes that the intensity of work related stress is mostly very high since the employees in the health sector are working with human beings or animals whose health is in danger. They are therefore expected to treat the ailing humans until they feel well. However in some instances there is loss of life even after prolonged nursing or medication. This may translate or cause stress to the medical practitioner.

Kenneth (2001) states that the occupational stress indicator can be used to study the stress levels in an organisation or department. However, the measure is not very accurate since a combination of measures is done and later an analysis is carried out. Various efforts have been made in order to understand the work related stress. Kate (2001) explains that the demand control model could be used to study the phenomenon. Cameron (2008) also feels that the demand control model is appropriate for measuring the stress levels.

Conclusion.
The productivity of an organization or department is affected if the employees are stressed out. It is important for the leaders in the radiographic department to ensure that work related stressors are avoided in order for the employees productivity and that of the department to be high. For the personal stress it is important that the manager supports any employee to overcome his or her stress. This boosts the morale of the employee who becomes very productive.