Organizations will face stress on a daily basis. One model, the demand-control model, suggests that workplace stress is a function of both job demands and job control. According to the model, when job demands are high and control is limited, stress is greatest. Stress induced by high demand and low control does not appear to be the case at Whole Foods due to their organizational structure. Team members are empowered to make critical decisions regarding their work. Therefore, although demands may be high, the amount of control that is given to employees over product areas means that stress is low. Whole Foods executives would have less stress to deal with because trivial matters are handled at lower levels. Another model, the effort-reward imbalance model, suggests that stress is the result of the effort required by an employee relative to the rewards they receive (Hitt et al, 2015). For high-performing Whole Foods team members and leaders, the stress of being rewarded for performance is low. Employees are paid well and even receive bonuses when they perform exceptionally well. It's clear that Whole Foods experiences a lower stress environment than its competitors. Their turnover rate is a negligible 7% in contrast to the industry average 90%.
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