Stress Prevention and Management

Chapter 1- Stress prevention and management

Key terms

- Stress

- Stressors

- Prevention

- Stress management

- Coping

- Wellnes

People experience stress in private life and at work place. People have to work effectively against time and in the parameter of various rules and regulations. But not always it is possible to create an organizational climate conducive to work. Various departments, groups and external environment factors affect individual behavior. Minimal level of stress is required for organizations to operate effectively. Excessive stress is harmful for the individual and it may causes mental and physical disequilibrium and subsequently leads to physical and mental disturbance. It is therefore necessary to identify causes of stress and modify behavior so that the individual energy is directed towards organizational productivity and healthy organization climate is created.

1.1. Preliminary notions related to stress

1.1.1. Defining stress

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines stress as an ‘adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them’.

As a result of these pressure, employees develop various symptoms of stress that can affect their job performance and this are: nervousness and tension, chronic worry, inability to relax, excessive use of alcohol, drugs and/or smoking, problems with sleep, uncooperative attitudes, emotional instability, digestive problems and high blood pressure.

1.1.2. Stress causes

Things (factors) that cause stress for individuals are named stressors. Some of stressors can be related directly to what people experience in the workplace whereas others derive from nonwork and personal factors.

Work-related stress occurs when there is a mismatch between the demands of the job and the resources and capabilities of the individual worker to meet those demands a list of such stressors includes the following:

Task demands- being asked to do too much or being asked to do too little;

Role ambiguities- not knowing what one is expected to do or how work performance is evaluated;

Role conflicts- feeling unable to satisfy multiple, possibly conflicting, performance expectations;

Ethical dilemmas- being asked to do things that violate the law or personal values;

Interpersonal problems- experiencing bad relationships or working with others who do not get along;

Career developments- moving too fast and feeling stretched or moving too slowly and feeling plateaued;

Physical setting- being bothered by noise, lack of privacy, pollution, or other unpleasant working conditions.

Nonwork and personal stressors - a less obvious, though important, source of stress for people at work is the “spillover” effect from forces in their nonwork lives.

Family events (e.g., the birth of a new child), economic difficulties (e.g., the sudden loss of a big investment), and personal affairs (e.g., a separation or divorce) can all be extremely stressful. Since it is often difficult to completely separate work and nonwork lives, stress of this nonwork sort can affect the way people feel and behave on the job as well as away from it.

Another set of stressors includes personal factors, such as individual needs, capabilities, and personality. Stress can reach a destructive state more quickly for example, when experienced by highly emotional people or by those with low self-esteem. People who perceive a good fit between job requirements and personal skills seem to have a higher tolerance for stress than do those who feel less competent as a result of a person–job mismatch.

Therefore, it is important that life stress both on an off the job to be kept at a level low enough for most people to tolerate without disorders

For example Peter Randall was transferred from a small city to a very large city where his commuting time to work was nearly one hour. He disliked city noises, heavy traffic and crowds and he felt was wasting his time while commuting. His new job also had more responsibilities.

Within a few months he developed intestinal problems and when a medical examination showed no medical cause of his difficulties, he was sent to a counselor.

There was only slight improvement, so finally his counselor in cooperation with his physician recommended that he transfer to a smaller city. His firm arranged his transfer, and within a short time his problems disappeared.

Peter case is a emerging evidence that in some situations an organization can be held legally liable for the emotional and physical impact of job stressors an employee.