Stress Management: What Stress Is Not?
Stress Management: What Stress Is Not?
Stress Management: What Stress Is Not?
Definition
Stress may be defined as "a state of psychological and / or physiological imbalance
resulting from the disparity between situational demand and the individual's ability and /
or motivation to meet those demands."
Stress is the body's reaction to a change that requires a physical, mental or emotional
adjustment or response. It can be caused by both good and bad experiences. When people feel
stressed by something going on around them, their bodies react by releasing chemicals into
the blood. These chemicals give people more energy and strength, which can be a good thing
if their stress is caused by physical danger. But this can also be a bad thing, if their stress is in
response to something emotional and there is no outlet for this extra energy and strength.
Stress can be positive or negative. Stress can be positive when the situation offers an
opportunity for a person to gain something. It acts as a motivator for peak performance.
Stress can be negative when a person faces social, physical, organisational and emotional
problems. Stress can cause headaches, eating disorder, allergies, insomnia, backaches,
frequent cold and fatigue to diseases such as hypertension, asthma, diabetes, heart ailments
and even cancer.
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stress reaction, like energy consumption, may have good or bad effects.
Stress cannot and should not be avoided:
Everybody is always under some degree of stress. The statement "He is under
stress" is just as meaningless as "He is running a temperature. What we actually
refer to by means of such phrases is an excess of stress or of body temperature.
If we consider these points, we may easily be led to conclude that stress cannot be defined,
and that perhaps the concept itself is just not sufficiently clear to serve as the object of
scientific study. Nevertheless, stress has a very clear, tangible form. Countless people have
actually suffered or benefited from it. Stress is very real and concrete indeed, and is
manifested in precisely measurable changes within the body.
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Stressors like heat, pain, toxins, viruses, cause the body to respond with a fight-orflight response.
Alarm
Phase
Resistance
Phase
Exhaustion
Phase
LEVELS OF STRESS
Stress can be both positive and negative. It is our response to stresshow we manage stress
that makes a difference in terms of how it affects us.
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Two types of Levels:
EUSTRESS
Stress resulting from pleasant events or conditions is called eustress. Eustress can be defined
as a pleasant or curative stress. We can't always avoid stress, in fact, sometimes we don't want
to. Often, it is controlled stress that gives us our competitive edge in performance related
activities like athletics, giving a speech, or acting.
DISTRESS
Stress resulting from unpleasant events or conditions is called distress.
Bad stress
If a stimulus we react to is negative, we are actually feeling distress though we
label it as stress. e. g. death of a close friend.
Acute stress
Acute stress is usually for short time and may be due to work pressure, meeting
deadlines pressure or minor accident, over exertion, increased physical activity,
searching something but you misplaced it, or similar things.
Chronic stress
Chronic stress is a prolonged stress that exists for weeks, months, or even years. This
stress is due to poverty, broken or stressed families and marriages, chronic illness and
successive failures in life. People suffering from this type of stress get used to it and
may even not realize that they are under chronic stress. It is very harmful to their
health.
Both distress and eustress elicit the same physiological responses in the body. While stress
may not always be negative, our responses to it can be problematic or unhealthy. Both
positive and negative stressful situations place extra demands on the bodyyour body reacts
to an unexpected change or a highly emotional experience, regardless of whether this change
is good or bad. If the duration of stress is relatively short, the overall effect is minimal and
your body will rest, renew itself, and return to normal.
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POTENTIAL STRESSORS
Factors that cause stress are called "Stressors." The following are the sources or causes of an
organisational and non-organisational stress.
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While the 'Type B' people are exactly opposite and hence are less affected by stress due to
above mentioned factors.
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3) Organisational Leadership: Represents the managerial style of the organisations senior
executives. Some chief executive officers create a culture characterised by tension, fear
and anxiety.
4) Organisational Changes: When changes occur, people have to adapt to those changes
and this may cause stress. Stress is higher when changes are major or unusual like transfer
or adaption of new technology.
5) Occupational Demands: Some jobs are more stressful than others. Jobs that involve risk
and danger are more stressful. Research findings indicate that jobs that are more stressful
usually requires constant monitoring of equipment and devices, unpleasant physical
conditions, making decisions, etc.
6) Work Overload: Excessive work load leads to stress as it puts a person under
tremendous pressure. Work overload may take two different forms : Qualitative work overload implies performing a job that is complicated or beyond
the employee's capacity.
Quantitative work overload arises when number of activities to be performed in
the prescribed time is many.
7) Work Under load: In this case, very little work or too simple work is expected on the
part of the employee. Doing less work or jobs of routine and simple nature would lead to
monotony and boredom, which can lead to stress.
8) Working Conditions: Employees may be subject to poor working conditions. It would
include poor lighting and ventilations, unhygienic sanitation facilities, excessive noise
and dust, presence of toxic gases and fumes, inadequate safety measures, etc. All these
unpleasant conditions create physiological and psychological imbalance in humans
thereby causing stress.
1) Technological Changes: When there are any changes in technological field, employees
are under the constant stress of fear of losing jobs, or need to adjust to new technologies.
This can be a source of stress.
2) Civic Amenities: Poor civic amenities in the area in which one lives can be a cause of
stress. Inadequate or lack of civic facilities like improper water supply, excessive noise or
air pollution, lack of proper transport facility can be quite stressful.
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3) Caste and Religion Conflicts: Employees living in areas which are subject to caste and
religious conflicts do suffer from stress. In case of religion, the minorities and lower-caste
people (seen especially in India) are subject to more stress.
4) Economic Factors: Changes in business cycle create economic uncertainties. When the
economy contracts, people get worried about their own security. Minor stress also cause
stress in work force.
MODERATORS
Variables that cause the relationships between stressors, perceived stress and outcomes to
be weaker for some and stronger for others. An awareness of moderators helps managers
identify those who are more likely to experience stress and negative outcomes.
OUTCOMES
Physiological consequences
o 50%-75% of all illnesses
o Lower for women
o cardiovascular diseases
o ulcers, sexual dysfunction, headaches
o Burnout
Behavioral consequences
o work performance, accidents, decisions
o absenteeism -- due to sickness and flight
o workplace aggression
Cognitive Consequences
o Poor concentration
o inability to make sound decisions or any decisions at all
o mental blocks
Psychological Consequences
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o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Anxiety
Frustration
Apathy
Lowered self-esteem
Aggression
Depression
Moodiness
emotional fatigue
Burnout
A psychological process resulting from work stress that results in:
o Emotional exhaustion
o Depersonalization
o Feelings of decreased accomplishment
INDICATORS OF BURNOUT:
Emotional Exhaustion
Depersonalization
Frustrated
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Implementation and Recommendations for the potential stressors.
INDIVIDUAL STRATERGIES:
1)
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3) Meditation: Meditation is a practice in which an individual trains the mind and/or
induces a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit, although it can be argued
meditation is a goal in and of itself. The term meditation refers to a broad variety of
practices (much like the term sports), which range from techniques designed to promote
relaxation, contacting spiritual guides, building internal energy, receiving psychic visions,
getting closer to a god, seeing past lives, taking astral journeys, and so forth, to more
technical exercises targeted at developing compassion, love, patience, generosity,
forgiveness and more far-reaching goals such as effortless sustained single-pointed
concentration, single-pointed analysis, and an indestructible sense of well-being while
engaging in any and all of life's activities. Thus, it is essential to be specific about the type
of meditation practice under investigation.
4) Cognitive therapy: Based on the theory that depression is due to distortions in the
patient's perspectives, such as all-or-none thinking, over-generalization, and selective
perception. The therapist initially tries to highlight these distortions, and then encourages
the patient to change his or her attitudes.
5) Relaxation technique: A relaxation technique (also known as relaxation training) is
any method, process, procedure, or activity that helps a person to relax; to attain a state of
increased calmness; or otherwise reduce levels of anxiety, stress or anger. Relaxation
techniques are often employed as one element of a wider stress management program and
can decrease muscle tension, lower the blood pressure and slow heart and breathe rates,
among other health benefits.
ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGIES:
Stress is a factor that everybody has to contend with on a daily basis both in the work and
non-work spheres of life. Since the body has only a limited capacity to respond to stress, it is
important for individuals to optimally manage their stress level to operate as fully functioning
human beings.
There are several ways in which stress can be handled so that the dysfunctional
consequences of stress can be reduced. Some of them are:
1) Role Analysis Technique (RAT): The Role Analysis Technique helps both the manager
and the employee to analyze the requirements and expectations from the job. Breakingdown the job into various components clarifies the role of the job for the entire system.
This also helps to eliminate reduction of work and thus lowering down the stress level.
2) Employee Assistance Program: Another widely used strategy is the employee assistance
Programs, which offer a variety of assistance to employees. These include counselling
employees who seek assistance on how to deal with alcohol and drug abuse, handling
conflicts at the work place, dealing with marital and other family problems. It includes:
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Diagnosis. An employee with a problem asks for help; EAP staff attempts to
diagnose the problem
Treatment. Counseling or support therapy is provided either by internal staff or
outside referral
Screening. Periodic examination of employees in highly stressful jobs for early
detection of problems
Prevention. Education and persuasion used to convince high risk employees to
seek help to change
Physiological
Emotional
Behavioral
It includes:
Paying more attention to work/life balance with regard to child and elder care
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6) More Information and Help: Some new employees have to spend more time on a job
than necessary because they are not sure what they are doing. So it is necessary that some
help should be provided before doing the work that would lead to much efficient,
effective work. It would also reduce anxiety and stress among the employees.
7) Job Relocation: Job relocation assistance is offered to employees who are transferred, by
finding alternative employment for the spouses of the transferred employees and getting
admissions in schools for their children in the new place. These arrangements help to
reduce the anxiety and stress for the moving family.
8) Supervisor Training: Another type of stress management Program that organizations
are experimenting with is supervisor training. The emphasis on supervisory training
Program is how to prevent job stress. Managers are trained to give better performance
appraisals, to listen to employees problems more effectively, and to communicate job
assignments and instructions more clearly.
9) Individual Stress Reduction Workshops: Some organizations have also sponsored
individual stress reduction workshops for their employees. These programs include
biofeedback, meditation to career counselling, time management and interpersonal skills
workshops. In lectures and seminars, participants are given a basic understanding of the
causes of stress and its consequences. Then, participants are given materials to help them
identify the major sources of stress in their own lives, and some strategies for dealing
with that stress more effectively.