Ethical and emotional strain
Ethical strain refers to experiences of stress and strain caused by ethical challenges. Ethical strain is caused by conflicts between personal values and the operating environment.
Emotional (affective) strain is typically caused by various experiences of psychological and social threat, such as distrust, injustice, being ignored and excluded from the group, lack of appreciation or psychological insecurity.
Ethically straining situations refer to situations in which a person is unsure of what is right or of sufficient quality or to situations involving too much responsibility in relation to the means of action.
Examples of ethical strain:
- making difficult decisions alone
- allocating scarce resources
- feelings of helplessness and inadequacy in social situations.
Emotional strain is typical among those working in customer service. The tasks can be demanding and customers encountered at work can be facing difficult situations. People’s fates and suffering inevitably affect the person helping them. Employees may also experience harassment, inappropriate treatment or the threat of violence at work.