Stress

Stress
A demand on mind and body

General Adaptation Syndrome
Demand-Control Model of stress
Active
High Low Strain (EUSTRESS)
Job Control
High Strain
Low Passive (DYSTRESS)
Low High
Job Demands
Effort-Reward Imbalance Model
Overcommitment
High Effort Low Reward
Demands Pay
Obligations Esteem
Acceleration trap
• Faced with intense competition corporates take on more

than they can manage
• They increase the number and speed of their activities, raise
performance goals, shorten innovation cycles and introduce
new management technologies or organizational systems
• For a while this succeeds peacefully but when you try and
make it the normal pace becomes chronic overloading with
dire consequences
• Realizing something is amiss leaders interpret it as lack of
motivation or laziness in it’s employees and they increase
the pressure
• Exhaustion and resignation begin to blanket the organization
and the best employees defect
Psychological – affect (depression)
Cognition (cognitive failures)

Effect of
work
Physical –immune suppression,
stress
Behavioral – substance use, lifestyle
factors,
Organizational – absenteeism, presenteeism,

turnover, job performance, safety,
interpersonal relations
Work load and Pace
Layoffs
Lack of control over one’s job
Economic insecurity
Long working hours

Causes of Role Stressors
stress Career issues
Interpersonal
Workplace violence
Role conflict
Personality factors-Predisposition to stress,

Workaholism, Type A- Type B personality, Hardiness
Prevention
• Identifying and acting on the

causes of stress
• Stress Risk Assessments
Approaches to Management
Tackling Work-
related Stress • Giving staff the skills to cope /
manage
Treatment
• Professional medical and

psychological support
• Focus on what is truly important
Maintaining • Take advantage of work-related options
Work-Life • Protect non-work time
Balance • Manage your personal time
• Set aside specific time each week for
recreation
Increase Increase individuals’ autonomy and control
Ensure that individuals are compensated

Ensure properly
Maintain Maintain job demands/requirements at healthy

levels
Ensure that associates have adequate skills to
Ensure keep up-to-date with technical changes in the
workplace
Organizational
Increase associate involvement in important
Stress Increase decision making
Management
Improve Improve physical working conditions
Provide Provide for job security and career development
Provide Provide healthy work schedules
Improve communication to help avoid

Improve
uncertainty and ambiguity
Positive self talk
Visualization – uses imagination to put positive messages

into action
Relaxation techniques
Enough sleep and exercise
Avoid getting angry over things you can't change
Learn how to say 'no' to unreasonable demands

Coping strategies
Put 20 minutes 'me time' in your diary every day
Accept the fact that you can't be 'all things to all people'
Have one 'arrangement free' weekend every month
Eat healthy
The positive psychological
capacity to rebound, or ‘bounce
back’ from adversity, uncertainty,
conflict or failure
Factors associated with resilience

Resilience - Self efficacy
- Social support conflict skills
- Personal ethics
- Optimism
- Education
Vacations
Week ends and end of day breaks
Within day work breaks- Respites Vs Chores
Respites- activities that involve either low effort/or preferred choice

Deconstructing
the Work break
Chores- Activities that continue to draw upon the resources utilized

during the work
Issues:
• Constant monitoring
• Promised training – didn’t happen
• Pressure to sell to every customer
• Call center perceived as a “gold-plated”
sweatshop
Settlement changes:
• Advanced notification of monitoring
Striking for
• Monitoring only during regular hours
Stress at Verizon • Face-to-face feedback
• Permission to be away for 30 minutes
• Formation of a committee
• Funding for work-family support programs
• Team vs. individual performance measures
• Split shifts and job sharing
• Limits on overtime
CASE STUDY
JOHN WALKER V NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY COUNCIL
(1994)
Area manager of social work team

Increased workload - requested extra resources
Suffered first breakdown in Nov 1986
Promised extra resources
Returned to work in March 1987
No extra resources were supplied
2nd breakdown and medical retirement May 1988
Judge ruled ‘ reasonably foreseeable’
Awarded £ 175 000
SUICIDES AT FRANCE TELECOMM
 The case describes the history of France Telecom
 The change initiatives following the deregulation of the European

telecommunications industry
 Formerly a public company, France Telecom was privatised in 2004,
a move which led to major restructuring and job losses.
 Prosecutors say the company and its chief executive at the time
introduced a policy of unsettling employees in order to induce them to
quit.
 - 'Climate of anxiety' – There were cases of 39 employees, 19 of whom
killed themselves, 12 who tried to commit suicide and 8 who suffered
from acute depression or were signed off sick as a result of it.
SUICIDES AT FRANCE TELECOMM
 In July 2008, a 51-year-old technician from Marseille killed himself, leaving a letter
accusing the bosses of “management by terror”
 Two months later, a 32-year-old woman jumped out of the window of her Paris
office as horrified colleagues looked on
 Many of the deceased had left notes blaming work-related stress or management
decisions as the reasons for their extreme actions
 Lombard, who served as chairman and chief executive between 2005-2010, inflamed
the situation with remarks that came off as extremely callous, when he spoke of a
"suicide fad".
The remark was seen as a final straw, and he resigned in March 2010.
 The French government found it necessary to intervene and demand France Telecom’s
management to indicate to the workforce and society that they were taking the situation
seriously.

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Stress

A demand on mind and body

High Effort Low Reward

• Faced with intense competition corporates take on more

Cognition (cognitive failures)

Organizational – absenteeism, presenteeism,

Lack of control over one’s job

Long working hours

stress Career issues

Personality factors-Predisposition to stress,

• Identifying and acting on the

• Professional medical and

Ensure that individuals are compensated

Maintain Maintain job demands/requirements at healthy

Provide Provide for job security and career development

Provide Provide healthy work schedules

Improve communication to help avoid

Visualization – uses imagination to put positive messages

Enough sleep and exercise

Avoid getting angry over things you can't change

Learn how to say 'no' to unreasonable demands

Have one 'arrangement free' weekend every month

Factors associated with resilience

Week ends and end of day breaks

Within day work breaks- Respites Vs Chores

Respites- activities that involve either low effort/or preferred choice

Chores- Activities that continue to draw upon the resources utilized

Area manager of social work team

 The change initiatives following the deregulation of the European

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