hrm - excel books - chapter 29

8/9/2019 HRM - Excel Books - Chapter 29

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JOB STRESS,

COUNSELLING

AND

MENTORING

EXCEL BOOKS29-1

29Chapter


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ANNOTATED OUTLINE

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INTRODUCTIONStress may be understood as a state of tension experienced by

individuals facing extraordinary demands, constraints or opportunities.

Stress is the spice of life and there is way to avoid it totally. A certain

minimum level of stress, in fact, may help executives to stretch their

capabilities fully. This is where psychologists draw the line between

constructive stress and destructive stress.

Eustress: this is positive stress that accompanies achievement

and exhilaration

Distress: this is harmful stress, characterised by a loss of feelings

of security and adequacy.

An optimum level of stress, as research evidence indicates, is needed

to spur people to peak performance.

Job Stress, Counselling And Mentoring


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Two faces of stress


Constructive stress Destructive stress

High

Rustout Burnout

Low

Low Moderate High


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General Adaptation Syndrome


Hans Selye called the three phases of the defence reaction that aperson establishes when stressed as the general adaptationsyndrome.

The alarm stage

The reaction stage

The stage of exhaustion

Symptoms of Stress Biological

Psychological

Behavioural


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Sources of Stress

Important sources of stress may be listed thus:

Organisational factors1. Organisational demands

2. Role conflict

Intrasender conflictIntersender conflict

Interrole conflict

Person-role conflict

3. Role ambiguity

4. Role overload5. Role underload

6. Interpersonal relationships

7. Ineffective communication

8. Responsibility



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9. Job change10. Climate within a company

Personal factors11. The impact of life change


The Social Readjustment Rating ScaleLife event Scale value

Death of spouse 100

Divorce 73

Marital separation 65

Jail term 63

Death of close family member 63Major personal injury or illness 53

Marriage 50

Fired from work 47

Marital reconciliation 45

Retirement 45

Sources of Stress

Cont


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Major change in health of family member 44

Pregnancy 40

Sex difficulties 39

Gain of a new family member 39

Business readjustment 39

Changes in financial state 38Death of a close friend 37

Change to a different line of work 36

Change in number of arguments with spouse 35

Mortgage over $ 10,000 31

Foreclosure of mortgage or loan 30

Change in responsibilities at work 29

Son or daughter leaving home 29Trouble with in-laws 29

Outstanding personal achievement 28

Wife begins or stops work 26

Begin or end school 26

Change in living conditions 25


The Social Readjustment Rating Scale


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Revision of personal habits 24

Trouble with boss 23

Change in work hours or conditions 20

Change in residence 20

Change in schools 20

Change in recreation 19Change in church activities 19

Change in social activities 18

Mortgage or loan less than $ 10,000 17

Change in sleeping habits 16

Change in number of family get-togethers 15

Change in eating habits 15

Vacation 13Christmas 12

Major violations of the law 11

Source: Rahe. L.O. & Holmes. T.H. Scaling of Life Change: Comparison of direct and indirect methods, Journalof Psychosomanic

Research, 1971.

The Social Readjustment Rating Scale


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12. Type A and Type B personalities

Characteristics of type A personality Always moves, walks and eats rapidly

Feels impatient with the pace of things, hurries others, dislikes waiting

Does several things at once

Feels guilty when relaxing

Tries to schedule more and more in less and less time

Uses nervous gestures such as clenched fist, banging hand on table

Does not have time to enjoy life

Sources of Stress


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Characteristics of type B personality


Is not concerned about time

Is patient

Does not brag

Plays for fun, not to win

Relaxes without guilt

Has no pressing deadlines

Is mild mannered

Is never in a hurry

13. Externals vs. Internals and the belief in external locus of control

14. Other reasons.


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Stress reveals itself in a number of ways


Consequences of Stress

Subjective effects: Anxiety, aggression, apathy, boredom, depression, fatigue,frustration, guilt and shame, irritability and bad temper, moodiness, low self-esteem,tension, nervousness, and loneliness.

Behavioural effects: Accident proneness, drug use, emotional outbursts,excessive eating or loss of appetite, excessive drinking and smoking, excitability,impulsive behaviour, impaired speech, nervous laughter, restlessness andtrembling.

Cognitive effects: Inability to make decisions and concentrate, frequentforgetfulness, hypersensitivity to criticism and mental blocks

Physiological effects: Increased blood and urine catecholamines andcorticosteroids, increased blood glucose levels, increased heart rate and bloodpressure, dryness of the mouth, sweating, dilation of the pupils, difficulty inbreathing, hot and cold spells, lump in the throat, numbness and tingling in partsof the limbs.

Organisational effects: Absenteeism, poor industrial relations and poorproductivity, high accident and labour turnover rates, poor organisationalclimate, antagonism at work and job dissatisfaction.(Source: T.Cox, Stress, Baltimore, University Park Press, 1978)


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Management of Stress

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Job Stress, Counselling And MentoringJob Stress, Counselling And Mentoring

There are a variety of ways in which individuals cope or deal withstress at work. Broadly speaking, these could be classified into twocategories:

Individual coping strategies

Time management

This would require identification of factors that cause wastage oftime and finding appropriate solutions to each one of the identifiedtime wasters.


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Time wasters: causes and solutions

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dapt our communication to the needs ofothers.

Telephone Not able to terminate Define p re-set time limi ts (I can talk

interruptions conversations for a couple of minutes.) 6 re-handle (before we

hang up).#

e frank and assert that ou would like

to end now.

8ack ofdelegation Set ti me for taking calls.

2a v e a scree ning

methodology.

No organisation orplan forhandling

Unplanned Unclear purpose Set objectives, evaluate alternatives

travel8ike phone cal l, letteror conference call.

6 ooruse o f travelling time Take early flights to, late flights out.Keep reference

diary/folder in hand-baggage, keep it on the top.

Cont


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Not delega ting while you are Define what can be done by o thers

a w a y. wh ile you are out

9

eetings@

ack of objectives Don t meet without a purpose oragenda

Too many/too few Only involve those who are needed.A

ailure to summarise or follow up Identify wh ich areas need meeting and which dont.

Set time limits.B

lways summarise conclusions and take

commitments.

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isitorsD

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pecting subordinates to check Implement F uiet hour , no meeting hour etc.,

unannounced with y o u e xcessive ly

Wanting to be informed on every-G

e available but on a need assist basis. Stand up

thing. when people come in, keep stand ing.No prioritising orplann ing ofyour

own non-availab ility

Lack of self Lack of standards Set personal standards for all your key areas

discipline (conditions which will exist when the job iswe ll done).

Lack of setting deadlines. Set deadlines for yourself and for others.

Leaving tasks unfinished .H

ememberpeople focus on what you inspect,not expec t, including you.

Comp lete tasks once started.

Socialising Desire for change in environment Take breaks where no one is workingThinking it is important foryour Con trol yourself

busine ss.Distingu ish be tween necessary socia lisin g a n d

needless socialisingProcrasti- Do ing the easy things first and Attack the difficul t f irs t, the easy is

Nation leaving the difficult for later easy.H

ecogn ise this as rationa lisation.I will work under pressure, Just do it.

syndrome .

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ear of forgetting Use a planner.A

ollow a to do l ist.

disorgan i-D

xcessive use of paperwork Don t t r y to rememberwhat can bezation Fearof loss of control retrieved.

I syndromeI

ave systems to provide need based information,do not clutter yourself with all the information and

file.H

ecogn ise that excessi ve power also ind ic ates

indecision, procrastination and insecurity.

Time wasters: causes and solutions


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Physical exercise

Meditation and relaxation

Useful Individual Coping Strategies Keep a pet

Say your prayers

Sing aloud

Laughter, the elixir

Sleep right

Be good at loving

Spend time with children

Take a walk

Make friends

Enjoy the idiot box

Cultivate interests

Dare to dream



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Organisational coping strategies

Role clarity

Supportive climate

Clearer career paths Company-wide programmes



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Company wide programmes tomanage stress

Job enrichment

Employee counselling

Training and development programmes

Establishing autonomous work groups

Establishing variable work schedules

Setting up health clubs and offering health facilities

Service benefits including marriage gifts, birthday bonus, transport subsidy, longservice bonus ( IIT for example, offers this to those employees who stay withthe company for more than 5 years. Infosys Technologies offers the stock optionplan to all employees who remain committed and loyal etc.) family planning gifts,

health club memberships, credit cards, housing/car loans etc.


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Burnout

Burnout is the total depletion of physical and mental resourcescaused by excessive striving to reach an unrealistic work-relatedgoal. The following self-test clearly reflects what executive burnoutis

Burnout self-test Are you working more now and enjoying it less?

Do you find it more difficult to confide in others?

Must you force yourself to do routine things?

Are you listless, bored, constantly seeking excitement?

Would you rather be somewhere else?

Have you lost the joy of sex?

Do you drink more than you used to?

Do you need a tranquiliser to face the day..a sleeping pill to get through thenight?

Are you resigned about your future?

Is your need for a particular crutch increasing? (smoking, nail biting etc.)


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Reducing burnout

Identification

Prevention

Mediation

Remediation

Burnout

Checklist of temporary escape techniques

Spend time reading those books you have been promising yourself you would read.

Go to the movies.

Listen to good music.Work it off by exercising.

Avoid striving. Shun the Superperson urge.

Give in more often.

Create a quiet scene and escape for a while Cont


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Use "not now" buttons.

Plan your work.

Write a letter.

Take an adult education course.

Take a walk..

Talk it out, confide in someone you trust.Cry.

Take a bubble bath.

Focus on enjoyment.

Avoid making too many big changes at once.

Be realistic.

Tackle one task at a time.Hit a tennis ball against a wall and work off your anger.

Do something for others.

Go easy with criticism.

Establish a nutritious diet

Checklist of temporary escape techniques


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Employee Counselling

Counselling is a dyadic relationship between a manager who isoffering help and an employee to whom such help is given.Counselling helps a person overcome emotional problems andweaknesses related to performance.

Features of Counselling The focus is on developmental, educational, preventive concerns

Processes such as guidance, classification, suggestion etc., are commonlyemployed

The emphasis is on problem-solving and situational difficulties

The relationship between the counsellor and the counsellee is friendly,advisory, helpful and trustworthy.

The aim is to clear the mind (of a counseller) of cob-webs, mentalblocks and improve personal effectiveness.

Source: .K Singh,HRM, Excel Books, ew Delhi 1999.


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The process of counselling

Rapport building

Exploration

Action planning

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The process of performancecounselling

PP Q

se HelR

fulS

eP Q T

iour HinderingS

eP Q T

iour

I.U Q R R

ortS

uilding

Attend ing Rituals

Conversation on persona l matters Discussion of behaviour from the beginning

Smile

Listening (to) Physical attention (Posture) Distraction

fee lingsV

ye contact (attention to other things,

concerns Response (verbalW

non-verbal) te lephones)

problems Keep ing out telephones, noise,

disturbances etc.

Accep tan ce Communication of feelings and Lack of response; Passive listening

(empathy) concerns fora long period

Paraphrasing fee lings

sharing own experience

II. X x Y l ra ti ` b

Exploring Mirroring or paraphrasing Criticising

Open questions Avoiding or hedging

Encouragement to explore

Identification of Questions to explore Suggestion ofa problem

problems possible problems

Encouragement to generate information

Identification ofa probable problem

Diagnosis Exp loratory questions Suggesting the cause

Generating several possible causes

III.c

dti

` bPl

a b bi

b e

Searching Questions on possible solutions Adv isi ng

Generating alternative solutions

Decision-making Questions on feasibility, Directing

priority, pros and cons

Discussion of one solution

Discussion of an action plan

Contingency plan

Supporting Identification ofneeded help Promise ofgeneral help

MonitoringContract on help


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Effective counselling requires active participation from thesubordinates, fair and objective evaluation of performance-relatedfactors by the superior with an intention to rectify mistakes andimprove subordinates performance and a proper organisationalclimate built around mutual trust and understanding.



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Helping

A helping relationship is one in which at least one of the parties hasthe intent of promoting the growth, development, maturity, improvedfunctioning, improved coping with the life of the other. Helping canbe reactive or proactive.

Helping relationship

Helper

ENI RO M E N T

Feedback

PSYCHOLO

GICAL

CLIMATE

O R G

O

A

N

SI

A

T

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Task

Receiver


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Helping behaviour, thus, depends on three essential things

The task

The helper

Communicate

Be positive

Give freedom

Show empathy

Accept the client's personality unconditionally The receiver

The helping climate

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Helping


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The rewards of effective helpingrelationship

In effective helping relationships, the recipient is able to:

explore new possibilities

visualise things about oneself that one was not aware of

able to unfreeze himself

face the realities of the situation confidently

get on well with colleagues, by having a better grip over events and situations

notice the consequences of ones actions

take a holistic view of people, events, situations, behaviours, andconsequences.


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Mentoring

Mentoring is the use of an experienced person to teach and trainsomeone with less knowledge in a given area. Technical,interpersonal and political skills can be conveyed in such arelationship from the older to the younger person.

Mentors ways of helping the protg Share knowledge and skills related to the job

Explain unwritten rules of conduct and behaviour of the organisation

Prevent the protege from doing wrong things and committing mistakes

Provide important insights into the corporate affairs Extend emotional support and guidance continuously so that the protege

can develop his skills and knowledge over a period of time and stand on hisown.


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Steps in Mentoring

Establishing trusting relationship between the mentor and theprotg

Modelling behavioural norms for the young persons

Listening to the job related problems of the protg

Helping the protg to find alternative ways to resolve theproblems

Responding to the emotional needs of the protg, without

making him dependent on the mentor Developing a long lasting relationship based on mutual trust and

understanding.

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Mentoring

hrm - excel books - chapter 29

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