STRESS MANAGEMENT

BY: JYOTI DAVE

• Today in the world of competitiveness it is very important for the employer as well as the employees to tackle the

problem of job stress smartly as it can directly affect the productivity in the

employees and can increase the cost to the employer. To understand the factors affecting job stress it is necessary to understand what job stress is.

Job:

• Job is the word to describe something that has to be done; a task: an undertaking requiring unusual exertion; a specific duty, role, or function: a regular remunerative position.

STRESS

• Stress is defined as a dynamic condition consisting of a unique set of emotional, intellectual and physiological responses to a stimulus. This stimulus, or stressor as it is commonly called, can be a constraint, a demand, or even an opportunity, which is perceived, be an individual to have a potentially important, though uncertain, outcome.

• The National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety defines stress as: “the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources and needs of the workers.”

Job Stress:

• Through this the relevant definition of job stress would be:” job stress can be defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources and demands. Job stress can lead to poor mental health as well as physical health and can cause dangerous injuries to the employees.

Types of Stress

• POSITIVE STRESS• NEGATIVE STRESS

ORGANIZATIONAL STRESSORS

• Role Ambiguity• Role Conflict• Environment Of The Workplace Which

Includes:Physical EnvironmentTechnological EnvironmentCultural Environment• Time Management• Attitudinal Factor

ORGANIZATIONAL STRESSORS

• General Stressors• Motivational Factors• Alienation Factor• Satisfaction And Performance Factor• Mental Strain Factor• Conflict At Workplace Factor

Role Conflict

• "Role conflict is a conflict among the roles corresponding to two or more statuses.

• "Role conflict is a special form of social conflict that takes place when one is forced to take on two different and incompatible roles at the same time. When an individual is torn out by conflicting demands or by doing things he/she does not really want to do, or do things which the individual does not believe are part of their job. Role conflict occurs when accomplishing one job inhibits or greatly reduces the chance at completing another assigned task.

Time Management• Time management: Time management in the

workplace is an important skill that employees must possess. It can determine the not just their career success but their work - life balance. Being new in the workforce, sometimes it can get quite stressful especially when employees are learning new roles and responsibilities.

• If the priorities are changing constantly every minute it becomes difficult to complete any of the tasks and the mind keeps on racing about them without any output. Time management can solve the biggest problem and the employees should learn to prioritize their work according to the demand of urgency.

Attitudinal Factor

• A satisfied attitude allows us to have a positive attitude towards work. This can support employees’ goals now and help them achieve more in the future.

• A satisfied, positive attitude towards work means that the employees can thrive on their job, have more job security during tough times, and even get promoted.

• The attitudes and values of an organization, team, or group, are the ones that its managers and employees demonstrate. High performing teams illuminate their own strengths and allow others to do the same even if they are different.

• The management can help employees motivate themselves, which in turn helps them have a more positive experience at work. Positive energy is contagious.

Workplace Environment

• The Importance of Workplace Environment: An employee’s workplace environment is a key determinant of their level of productivity. How well the workplace engages an employee impacts their level of motivation to perform. This then influences that employee’s:

error rate level of innovation collaboration with other employees absenteeism how long they stay in the job

• Technology can cause stress to employees. When the employees are suffering from information overload and they feel that they have to perform and they are expected to do too many things at once. This is the time when the employees need to realize that sometimes saying no can be beneficial. They should say no to multi-tasking and then prioritize the work and do it. Rather being the master of the technology the employees easily become the victims of technology.

Role Ambiguity• Role Ambiguity - Norms for a specific position

are vague, unclear and ill-defined. Role ambiguity is when an individual is not sure of what their job entails. It makes it hard for a person to decide on what their priorities are and how to manage their time. Ambiguity can come from a number of different things. A transfer, promotion, new boss, or new co-workers can all cause an individual to experience some type of role ambiguity and added stress. Role ambiguity is when the employees do not have a clear understanding of what is expected of him or her. People who have never found themselves saying in frustration, “but that is not my job” can relate.

CONFLICT AT WORK:

• The main areas to be addressed in conflict are that there is a communication gap between the employees and their immediate boss.

• There is no space given to their opinion or their opinion is not valued for a particular task. The employees are not free to share their problems with their superiors.

• It is also found that employees are very weak and they are frequently expressing their emotions like anger, disgust and helplessness.

SATISFACTION & PERFORMANCE FACTOR:

• The employees feel that if they are allowed to work according to their way of working then they are able to perform and give best results.

• They feel that too closely monitoring one’s work becomes a hindrance and it raises the stress level of the employees as they feel they are being watched every moment.

• They feel that there should be more recognition given to their work.

MENTAL STRAIN FACTOR:

• The experience of tension headaches• They often convey that they are suffering from

short temper and fatigued.• The main factor which gives mental strain is

that the employees are not so open to share with their colleagues when they need help. They just want to avoid such difficult situations where they need to answer many questions in return of their information, which they have shared. They feel stressed by this kind of information sharing.

• The employees get stressed due to the situation at workplace and they quickly try to withdraw themselves from other employees.

GENERAL FACTORS:

• The employees who take their gut feeling into consideration while taking important decisions at workplace are suffering from high stress level as they tend to ignore the real facts and just go by gut feeling.

• It is seen that many a times people take wrong decisions when considering their gut feeling as whole and sole.

ALIENATION:

• Employees strongly feel that they are included in the decisions which are related to their department but not in major decisions of the company as a whole.

MOTIVATIONAL FACTOR

• Employees need adequate motivation to perform the job properly.

• He needs both intrinsic as well as extrinsic motivation to remain in the job.

• It he does not get that motivation at workplace he feels stress.

COGNITIVE SYMPTOMS:

• Indecisiveness• Inability To Concentrate• Poor Judgment• Seeing Only The Negative And Negative

Self Talk• Anxious Or Racing Thoughts• Loss Of Objectivity• Not Having Enough Energy To Get Things

Done• Feeling You Can’t Cope• Lack Of Sense Of Humor

EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS:

• Agitation• Restlessness• Short Temper• Feeling Tense And On The Edge• Sense Of Isolation • Depression• General Unhappiness

PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS:

• Headaches• Backaches• Muscle Tension• Insomnia• Chest Pain• Heart Disorder• Weight Loss Or Gain• Dizziness

BEHAVIOURAL SYMPTOMS:

• Eating More Or Less• Sleeping Disorders• Neglecting Social Responsibilities• Using Alcohol & Cigarettes To Relax• Feeling Insecure• Angry Outbursts• Crying Spells• Relationship Conflicts 

REMEDY

• Emotional Intelligence • Health And Wellness Program For

Employees. • Valuing Employees’ Efforts: • Recreation Room For Employees• Laughing Club• Improve Communication• Career Development Opportunities

REMEDY

• Cultivate a friendly social environment• Employee assistance programs• The employees should never be

encouraged to work overtime as they can become sick and their productivity can be affected.

• Reward and recognition system• To maintain a positive attitude at work

place as negativism sucks the energy and motivation out of any situation.

THANK YOU