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Stress Manasement
Part I I- Class Notes
Siress 15 a state of discomfort experienced by an individual. It is an inseparable part of work
life. Stress is defined as a state of mental and emotional pressure or strain, caused by
cha ging or unfavourable Circumstances. It is an outside force that rules an individual"s
feelings and behaviour.
Features of Stress:
Stress is not necessarily bad in itself. It also has positive value.
° Stress is additive. It build up. Each new and persistent stressor adds to an individual's
stress level.
« Stress occurs due to discrepancies between situational demand and the employee's ability
to fulfil those demands; in essence, it is the imbalance between the perceived state and
desired state, resulting in psychological, physiological and behavioural deviations.
« It is common to both the genders.
° It is symptomatic. Potential stress appears with the symptoms. If the potential stress is
ignored it leads to actual stress.
« Stress is an interactive concept. It comes from interaction of the human being with the
environment.
Stress is related to the attitude of the person. Stress does not occur when the person is
having an indifferent attitude.
Classification of Stress:
Eustress: It refers to positive stress, wherein the situation offers an opportunity to the
dual to gain something. It is seen as a molivalor Ihat encourages people to meet
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and, without Which an individual lacks the spark needed to raise their Jevej of
challenges
performance.
« DistressS: It is described as negative stress, in which an individual experiences
or inadequacy because of helplessness, disappointment. Distress can cause cardiovascular
diseases alcoholism, marital breakdown, drug abuse, and much more.
Acute vs. Chronic Stress:
Acute stress is short-term stress. Chronic stress is long-term stress. The body is good at
handling episodes of acute stress. The body isn't so good at handling chronic stress. Over
time, chronic stress gradually increases your testing heart rate, blood pressure, breathing
rate and levels of muscle tension.
Causes of Stress:
Organizational Stressors:
e Working Conditions
Task Demands
° ÖOrganizational Policies
° Organisational Structure and Design
® Organisation Process and Styles
® Organisational Leaderships
® Organizational Lifecycle
e Group Dynamics
Individual Stressors:
e Personality and individual differences
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Age
Education and health
Greater degree of locus of control leads to stress.
Another personal disposition related to stress is psychological hardiness.
Family Problems
Economic Problems
Life Styles
Life Change
Life Trauma
Role Demands
Models of Workplace Stress:
e Demand-control model can be summarized as high work demands tend to lead to
high levels of workers' stress, but having high control with regard to one's Job will
help buffer the stress caused by high work demands- and in turn lower the levels of
work stress experienced by workers.
Effort-reward imbalance model focuses on the relationship between the workers
efforts and the workrelated rewards the employee receives. The ERI model suggests
that work marked by high levels of effort and low rewards leads to strain.
Person-environment fit model underlines the match between a person and his/her
work environment. For healthy working conditions, it is necessary that employees'
attitudes, skills, abilities, and resources match the demands of their job.
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istics Model propoSeS that for an employee to be successful in any job,
o Job Charactel
needs to have some degree of autonomy and he should be able to give a feedback
he
which is heard. Such conditions result in Job enrichment and employee loyalty. The
absence of these factors can cause work disassociation and drops in productivity.
Jobs-Demand Resources Model posits that workplace stress can be associated to the
o ODS-
difference of job demands and resources. Experienced at managerial levels, it is
caused when a bully management expects managers to deliver high results with low
resources.
e Diathesis-stress model looks the individual's susceptibility to stressful life
experiences. Individuals differ on that diathesis or vulnerability. If the individual has
a very high tolerance (is relatively invulnerable), an intense stressor may not lead to
a mental or physical problem. However, if the stressor (e.g., high workload, difficult
coworker relationship) outstrips the individual's diathesis, then health problems may
ensue.
Consequences of Stress for Individual:
Physiological Consequences: Stress influences the biological system of the human beine.
Certain visible forms of stress are increased blood pressure, proneness to heart disease
cancer, sweating, dry mouth, hot and cold flashes, frustration ‚ anxiety, depression,
increased level of cholesterol, ulcer, arthritis etc. Physical stress incre ases the body
metabolic rate.
Psychological Consequences: Psychological consequences are interrelated to biological
consequences. They are invisible, but affect the employees' job performance.
Psychological stress creates a pressure on human brain. This is EXpressed in terms
psychological symptoms such as anger, anxicty, depression, nervousness, irritation,
tension, boredom, aggressiveness, moodiness, hostility and poor concentration.
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Behavioural Consequences: An abnormal behaviour is observed in those individuals who
Aare Prone to stress. A change in eating h abits, sleep disorder, increased smoking,
alcoholism, fidgeting and aloofness are some of the behavioural changes observed in
stressful employees. Sometimes stress leads to anxiety, apathy, depression and emotional
disorder. This leads to impulsive and aggressive behaviour and frequent interpersonal
conflicts. Under eating, overeating, drug abuse and sleeplessness are some of the
behavioural consequences.
BURNOUT
Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and
prolonged stress. The concept of burnout comes from psychology. Herbert Freudenberger.
a clinical psychologist, first identified the concept in the 1970s. Workers who experience
bumout may no longer view their Job as meaningful. They feel work as tedious. redundant.
and insignificant. They experience total fatigue which may show itself in the form of
boredom, depression and a powerful sense of alienation.
Consequences of Stress for Organization:
° Absenteeism: Employees subject to stress were found to addict to drugs and alcohol.
Thus, they abstain from the jobs frequently. This creates discontinuity in the jobs and
adversely effect performance of other employees.
Turnover: Turnover and stress have shown some relationships. An employee
experiencing continued stress develops disgust and frustration. Therefore, they are
likely to change their jobs.
Reduced Productivity: Too much stress might lead to decline in performance of the
individuals. Thus, overall productivity and quality will suffer leading to reduced
margin of profit.
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Decision-Making: Excessive stress distorts perception of managers. This adverge]
ellects their capacity to take decision. Thus, stressful executives become irrational in
Ihe decision making. This leads to loss of organisational resources and reputation.
Disturbed Customer Relationships: Employees experiencing excessive Stress
develop irritation, looses emotional stability and emotional tolerance. Intolerance
impels them to pick up conflicts easily due to misunderstandings. Employees dealing
with the customers and the public disturb relationship due to their inpatient
behaviour.
Vicious Cycle of Stress
The consequences of stress are multifaceted. Stress has a vicious circle. Most of
the consequences of the stress are interdependent. One has roots into the other.
For instance, psychological consequences result in physiological disorders, the
later will produce behavioural consequences and ultimately the organisation suffers
from adverse effects. The ill effects of stress are more dangerous.
Addiction to smoking, drinking alcohol, narcotic drugs, atrocities on women and
children, criminal attitude, terrorism and indecent behaviour are some of the social
consequences of stress.
Stress Management Techniques (Individual):
Time Management : Time management and stress are inversely related. Improper
and poor management of time are the root cause of a greater degree of stress.
Improper and inadequate utilisation of time cause anxiety.
« Physical Management : Physical exercises greatly help in relieving tension and
stress. When body is conditioned with physical exercise, oxygen is inhaled properly
and blood circulation increases. This promotes healthy secretions from glands and
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the Supply of blood to all the parts of the body keeps every organ active.
onsequently, immunity to withstand stress increases.
PSychological Management : Most of the stresses arise because of psychological
tens1ons. Meditation and Yoga are important psychological management techniques.
Other techniques include Behavioural Self-control and Cognitive therapy
(counselling).
Social Management: Developing good social networks involves grouping of people
who are good listeners and confidence builders. This increases social support to
individuals. Social clubs, recreation clubs, friendship clubs, informal gatherings,
birthday parties, and family are some of the social networks that increase social
support and reduce stress.
° Self-awareness Management: Self-awareness is similar to self-audit or personal
audit. Managers are required to understand themselves in a free and fair manner.
They should encourage open communication and willing to listen to others especially
on their deficiencies.
° Inter Personal Management: One of the most successful techniques of stress
management is developing inter personal understanding. Inter- personal
communication, inter personal attraction and inter personal knowledge improve
understanding of others behaviour. Most of the organisational stresses are created
due to misunderstanding, organisational politics, setting one self-aloof from others
and encouraging unreliable comments.
Stress Management Techniques (Organization):
Selection and Placement Policy: Stress and personality characteristics of
employees are closely related. Thus selecting the employees by a proper personality
fit suitable to jobs minimise the chance of stress in the individuals.
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| Setting: Goal ambiguity, lack of proper perception of goals, challenging goaj
an d unattainable goals cause stress in individuals. Therefore, organisations should
follow a strategy Of participation in goal setting to provide motivation, reduce
frustration and ambiguity of goals. Management by Objectives (MBO) is an
appropriate technique.
Job Enrichment and Job Design: Job enrichment provides motivation to the
employees. It enriches job factors such as responsibility, recognition, and
opportunity for advancement, growth and self- esteem. Routine, unstructured and
poorly designed jobs cause greater stress in individuals.
Role Clarity: Organisational stress is associated with role ambiguity, role overlap,
lack of role clarity and role conflict. Proper role definition helps employees
understand their role in organisation and appraise interpersonal roles. This reduces
the chance of role conflict and increases role compatibility. This eliminates stress in
the individuals.
Counselling: Counselling is discussion of a problem by a counsellor with an
employee with a view to help the employee cope with it better.
Career Planning and Development: The employee development is aimed at the
enrichment of skills and the development of personality for undertaking future
managerial jobs.
Democratic Leadership: Democratic leaders create confidence in the subordinates
and allow participation in decision making process. They create an atmosphere of
warmth, friendship, and supportive climate.
Organisation Climate: A sound organisation climate and culture characterised by
sound administrative policy, good ganisational communication, participative
culture and supportive climate ensure reduction of stress
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Wellness Programmes: As part of these programmes, workshops, seminars and
counselling sessions are conducted to help the employees understand the dangers of
smoking, alcoholism and drug abuse.
° Quality of Work Life: This technique involves improving the working conditions
and other internal and external aspects of work life.
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SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES ON STRESS MANAGEMENT
PART-
(OPTIONAL)
1 INTRODUCTION TO STRESS MANAGEMENT
People experience stress in private life and at work place. People have to work effectively
against time and within the parameter of various rules and regulations. It is not always
possible to create an organizational climate conducive to work. Various departments,
groups and external environment factors affect individual behaviour. Minimal level of
stress is required for organizations to operate effectively. Excessive stress is harmful for
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the individual as it causes mental and physical disequilibrium and subsequently leads to
physical and mental disturbance. People suffer from high blood pressure, heart attack when
stress is beyond control of the human beings. It is therefore necessary to identify causes of
stress and modify behaviour so that the individual energy is directed towards organizational
productivity and healthy organization climate is created.
Hans Selye, a medical researcher first used term "Stress" to describe the body's biological
response mechanism. He defined stress as "the nonspecific response of the body to any
demand". He views that stress is the spice of life, the absence of stress is death. Stress is
usually considered to be negative and caused due to something bad. Thus stress refers to
distress. Ivancevich and Matterson define stress as "the interaction of the individual with
the environment" According to Beehr and Newman, stress is a condition arising from the
Interaction of people and their jobs and characterised by changes within people that force
them to
deviate from their normal functioning. Stress is a dynamic condition in which a
person is faced with lot of constraints while functioning in the organiation. Stress causes
discomfort, which leads to disequilibrium in the individual's mind set. Stress is not always
negative in nature. ]n a broader sense It 1s discomfiture whether it creates problems.
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ce of inspiration. When there is a stress for any work it leads to higher
perfor ance When stress is
gravest It reduces employce productivity. But there are
example
wher€ people may get immune to stress having no negative effect on their
performance. Such people do not get tense. This type of immunity is achieved through
constant experience and training. John M. Ivancevich and Michael T. Matterson have
defined stress as "adoptive response, mediated by individual characteristics and/ or
psychological processes, that is a consequence of any external action, situation or event
that places special physical and/or psychological demands upon a person". As it is clear
from the definition that stress is caused due to external factors. situations or events. These
have adverse impact on the individual characteristics and psychological processes. These
together put an additional burden or demands on individual. hence the stress. External
factors may include social setting, work ethics in the organization, leadership stvles,
availability of resources, workload, level of technology and the work environment. The
internal factors that are effected are psychological in nature and includes emotions. &g0
state, attitude, perception, motivational factors, need and demographics. If employees feel
that external factors are of not much consequence and have no compelling effect the stress
is not formed within the minds of individuals. High desire, uncertainty. result of promotion
examination, unrealized ambition may cause stress to the individual.
Stress should not be confused with anxiety or nervous tension and damaging. They vecur
as regular features in many cases and have no long - lasting impact on the working
capacities of the employees. Mishra (2003)3 has very aptly explained that anxietv may
remain purely psychological and may not cause any physical impact. Similarly, only
physical impacts will not be stress unless it is Tell by the mind and heart. The psychological
and physical impacts are visible in the form of stress. Anxiety is the cause of stress but not
stress itself.
2 Classification of Stress
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According to Dr. Pestonji of L.I.M. Ahmedabad, the stress can be categorised as under:
Eustress
This stress is because of the sudden overjoy. Fortunately this type of stress is not
longlasting. Furthermore it is a state of happiness. Eustress, therefore, is not harmful, being
occasional and fleeting.
Distress
This is anti-thesis of eustress. Distress is caused whenever a person is suddenly very sad
or angry. Distress is caused because of the demands of the modern life and anxiety to cope
with them. This results in feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, nervousness, loss etc. This type
of stress is harmful. It is this stress that has caused more havoc in the executive life. It is
this stress that justifies the saying "Ulcer. is the surest sight of executive success".
Since it is distress that takes a heavy toll of executive efficiency, the organisations should
try to alleviate it. An atmosphere of objectivity and mutual trust would go a long way in
reducing distress.
Hyper Work Stress
This type of stress is caused because of the hyper activity and travails of life to meet
deadlines etc. Target mindedness and the eleventh hour rush or continuous overwork cause
hyper stress. The key therefore, to deal with hyper stress lies in good planning.
Hypo Stress
This type of stress is the opposite of the hype1 st1ess. This stress is caused by less than
optimum activity. The effects of hypo stress are slower than other types but are more
penetrating and longer lasting. There are examples when the Organisation have deliberately
created hypo stress by denying legitimate work to their employees. Such situations, beyond
creating stress, deprive a person of the fulfillment of self-esteem needs. More often the
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retired persons eXperience this stress. For them it is a transition from hyper to hypo stress.
This underlines the necessity of planning the post-retirement period, doing proper time
management by planning activities so that an individual remains optimally busy.
Theabove discussion shows that whatever an individual does or does not so, there is always
some sort and some amount of stress on him. This is why stress is known as "non-specific
response of the body to the situation.
There are three broad categories of stressors. They are :
Örganizational stressors;
Life stressors; and
Personal stressors.
Organisational stressors
Organisational membership is a dominant source of stress. The concept of organizational
stress was first evolved in the classic work of Kahn et al. They were the earliest to draw
attention to organisational stress in general and role stress in particular.
Some of the organisational stressors are intrinsic to the job. They are boredom, time
pressures and deadliness, exorbitant work demands and technical problems.
Some organisational stressors relate to the role in the Organisation. They are role
ambiguity, role conflict, role overload etc.
Some organisational stressors relate to the organizational structure and the climate. They
are lack of participation in the decision-making, lack of responsiveness and appreciation,
pressers towards conformity eic.
Life stressors
Life stressors can be catagorised in three classes.They are:
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Life changes
Daily stressors
Life trauma
Personal stressors
Personal stressors relate to the personal health and the familial life of an individual.They
are like menopause or male menopause,commuting problems,reduced self-confidence as a
result of aging etc.
3 Symptoms of Stress
Stress is generally of a mild nature and one recovers from it easily. Once a person gets used
to environmental factors and people with whom one generally works on a daily basis, there
is no existence of stress. It is the work environment, plant, people and situations, which
one is not used to, creates tension and resultant stress. The stress diminishes gradually when
one get used to it. However the stress can be mild, stiff and chronic in nature. Mild stress
is visible when person develops lack of appetite and high blood pressure. The stress
becomes stiffer if these are not carefully countered. When stress attains a chronic stage.
where a person develops instability, frustration and feel uncomfortable and can not cope
up with problems. It affects physical efficiency and subsequently a psychological strength.
This stage is called "Burn out". In this stage individual is emotionally weakened. The stage
of burn-out is reached when an individual fails to achieve his objective. He exhibits
irritation, errors, frustration and apalhy. Executives are highly prone to burn out due to high
pressure in the work environment. In such situation Ihey resort to change the job that further
adds to existing chronic burn-out situation as they are not able cope up with the changed
environment. In such situation employees should resort to neuro - psycho treatment. In
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case of aggravation ofthis situat; ona state of" Trauma" is reached. Trauma is a very serious
form of Stress. It occurs inthe organization where employees find it difficult to adjust. This
may be caused due to pressure of work, late working hours, inability of employees to fulfill
social obligation and poor time management. The work place trauma is carried home by
where they develop various psychological disorder Non adjustment in work
place for a long time leads to suspension and firing of employee. Stress can be avoided by
adopting an approach of co-operation, help the fellow employee in distress and social
Interaction with affected individuals.
General Adaptation Syndrome:
The general adaptation syndrome (GAS) refers to development of individuals responses to
stressful events in the form of physiological, psychological and behaviour patterns. They
follow a fairly consistent pattern. These are of three types as classified by Hans Selve.
(a) Alarm Stage: This is a warning stage and occurs as first sign of stress. Many
physiological and chemical reactions occur. During this stage muscle becomes tense, pupils
dilate and there is a increased hormone flow. Increased pituitary adrenaline secretion,
increased respiration, heart trouble and high blood pressure are major symptoms of alarm
stage. Regular physically exercises and expert psychiatric treatment can prevent this
phenomenon.
(b) Resistance Stage: If the alarm stage is not controlled in time, body organs develop
resistance but leaves its ill effects. During the resistance stage individual is unable to rest
and develops irritating nature. There is increased nervousness, tension frustration and
uneasiness in the day to day work environment. Individual develops ulcer, loss of appetite
and illness. Though an individual feels that he has over come the stress situation but its ill
effects persist for along time. It is therefore necessary to identify roots of stress and remove
them for a permanent solution.
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When the body, psyche is affected it is believed the stress has reached the
(c) EXhaustion: and mental
stag fexhaustion. During this stage individual experiences physical * pressurEs
develops ulcers and high blood pressure. Exhaustion develops moodiness,
individual
negative attitude, individual appears fatigued and displays helplessness in his behaviour.
Organizations where employees suffer from exhaustion must take corrective action. Poor
health of employees, negative emotions and depression reduces the organizational
effectiveness to a large extent. Large number of organizations have started physical and
psychological treatment of employees on a regular basis.
4 SOURCES OF JOB STRESS
Organization, Group and individual have impact on the performance of a job. Enviornment
also effects adversely on the efficiency of the individual.
1. Environment Factors: There are innumerable environmental factors that have caused a
great deal of work stress on the employees. Ivancevich and Matterson have identified
societal, ECONOMIC financial, cultural, familial and technological factors which have
tremendous influence on mental health of the employees. Societal factors have forced both
husband and wife to do the job to maintain a high level of life style. Government NGOs
and other voluntary organizations have introduced various schemes for the welfare of the
people. Though the life span in general has increased but the immunity in the body has
decreased to a great level and large number of people are suffering from various disease
caused by work stress. People have become more ambitious. They want their children to
do well in life this causes stress. Environmental stressors like family demands and
obligation, economic and financial conditions, race, caste, creed, ethnic identity, relocation
due to transfer cause adverse effect on individuals. Recent communal violence around the
world have changed political scenario, defence affiliations of nations have siphoned off the
large resources toward defence preparedness. People are living in a fearful environment.
These problems have to be solved by educating people and diverting their energies to the
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basic objective of the Organisaion Science and technology should be used for the
development and Progress of human race and not for destruction purpose. All family
problems should be resolved by assisting each other and that the people should learn to live
in an atmosphere of peace co-existence should be the keyword
2. Organizational Stressors: Organizational stressors can be classified into mission
Sulement, Strategies, policies, organizational structure and design, reporting channels,
communication, various processes, systems and last but not the least the working
conditions. Organization mission and subsequent departmental goals have a long lasting
impact on the employees. Over ambitions goals leave employees more streached for
attaining the same. Good organizational polices, procedures, rules, regulations keep
employees in high spirit. On the contrary, adhockism, inadequate compensation, rigid
rules, ambiguous organizational policies and faulty job design cause tremendous amount
of stress. Job related policies must be sound and updated. Task design should include job
autonomy, task variety so that employee derive pleasure while at work. Work place, and
work environment are two very important factors. Poor hygiene in work place, inadequate
space, light, lack of physical security at work place are stressors. Stress is caused by
inadequate support from subordinates, conflicting job requirements, inadequate and poor
performance measurement, and lack of empowerment. Managerial style, role of superior
boss, command and control mechanism leave much to be desired from Indian
organizations. Policies should be sound and employee participation must be ensured at
each level. It must be understood that wisdom and innovativeness is widely spread in the
workers, it is the ability of mangers to identify and canalize for organizational betterment.
3. Group Stressors: Hawthorne studies have established the impact of group cohesiveness,
group norms and importance of group objective for attainment of organizational goals.
Lack of cohesiveness create conflict. Employees must be given full opportunities to
develop themselves. People join group for social security that should be provided.
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m t ensure that job well done is recognized, omission ON this account Create;
Managers us e
stress like situation in th of the employees. Group social events and group activitj
e organized on A regular bases. Managers should form the part of group, which
must b
don rank and position. Employee morale must be kept high to avoid
should not be base
group stress.
4. Individual Stressors: Personal life and events of official life cannot be separated. Events
of marriage, divorce, death in the family has a remarkable impact on work situation.
Personal life difficulties are highly stressful.
(a) Job Security: Job and career enhancement can become a source of stress. Job security
is one of the major reasons for an employee. Insecurity increases during times of recession.
The prospect of losing job, specially when an employee is the sole bread earner for the
entire family is very stressful. Another reason for job related stress is promotion or
enhancement of appointment. A person must have a job commensurate with his
qualification. Promotion must be related to efficiency and due care should be exercised in
this regard. Nothing is more stressful that a junior employee being appointed as a senior to
an equally competent person.
(b) Relocation: Relocation is related to transfer of a person to a different place. Transfers
upsets the daily routine of individuals. The fear of working at new location with different
people itself is stressful. Unpredictability about new work environment and creating new
relationship cause anxiety. Transfer also creates problems for family members. It may be
admission in schools, adjustment to social environment, house and may even be language.
In case a person has to search a new job at a different location, the stress is even greater.
(ce) Changes in life structure: Span of life has many facets. Some of these are socio-
economic environment, culture, systems, religion, race, education and person's interaction
with society in different roles. If all these aspects are favorable, then the stress is minimal,
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stress i also determined b
TRPETSON Io cOpe up with it
life is stable and Movemnva u and the faith. Ifa person's
with asl Pace, there are less stress
stress Whilea and more ability to cope with
Person who has great ambition and moves with fast
up with stress pace is not able to cope
(d) Stress
and Behaviour: Stress isa state of mind which reflects biochemical reactions in
the human body. Environmental and internal forces cause sense of anxiety, tension and
depression to human being. As stress is the non specific response of the body to any
demand, it is necessary to understand specific or routine activities that cause stress. There
are two types of activities. Desirable activities and undesirable activities. Both these
activities create stress. The stress created by desirable and successful effects is called
"eustress". Eustress is a positive, healthy and developmental stress response. It leads to
better performance and a more adjusted personality. In eustress situation, we learn how to
deal with the situation better. It improves our capacity to deal with stressful situations.
Stress created by undesirable outcomes is known "distress". It is primarily the distress form
of stress which causes undesirable effects on physical and psychological well - being of
the person. Highly stressful activities weakens individuals ability tocope up with various
situations. Just as extremely high level of stress is harmful and damaging, extremely low
level of stress is also equally harmful. It causes boredom, reduces innovativeness and
ability to face challenges. Thus moderate level of stress is desirable for higher level of
performance.
5 Consequences of Stress
Physiological Response
When stress appears, immediate biochemical changes take place. Heart beat and
heightening of all the body senses. Serious health problems occur as body faces stress for
long period of time. Baron concluded that stress could lead to breakdown of body's
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such as high blood
health problems pressure
result in serious
immune systems and may N
level stress can result 1n physical changes that threaten
Icer and even heart
our health and well-being.
Psychological Response
different levels of handling stress. Those who are highly affected by stress
People have
tend to be depressed and display Iack of self confidence. They believe th at they have lost
n handling a situation and develop a feeling of helplessness and elicit sympathy
the battle i
eater fear of unknown, display irritating behaviour, become
from others. They have a gr
impatient and tend to blame others for the inefficiency. Workers who are seriously affected
loose confide inthemselves and display a low productivity To overcome this situation,
individuals should be kept busy, put through promotional cadres and subjected to regular
physical exercises. This reduces work stress and help individual to develop.
Behavioral Response
Chohen carried out studies on the impact of stress on human-being. As per the study people
under constant stress behave differently as compared to the people who are emotionally
balanced. High level of stress is usually associated with smoking, increased use of alcohol
and consumption of drugs. They are either defensive or offensive in their behaviour. Stress
induces irrational interpersonal behaviour. They withdraw from the social environment and
confine themselves to isolation.
Frustration
Frustration is a form of behaviour which occurs when a person is prevented from achieving
a goal or objective. It refers to obstruction or impediment to goal oriented behaviour.
Frustration is caused firstly due to delay in getting advancement or recognition through a
promotion is insight. One even get frustrated waiting for some one to meet at a scheduled
time and date. Secondly non availability of various resources. A faculty member may not
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be able to
carryOut research Work
may because he 18 over burdened with other
nn geufustrated due to non - responsibilities
availability of time resource. The third cause of
frustration IS non attain ment of goal . For example failure in the examination, non
attainment of Production or Sales target‚ failure to gel promotion are some of the causes of
frustration which are Manifested in streSs
Anxiety
Jit S Chandan explains "
anxiety" as a feeling of inability and helplessness in formulating
appropriate responses for dealing with the anticipated negative outcome. It occurs when a
decision has to be made but the outcome of the decision could have positive as well as
negative consequences. Anxiety also occur when there is situation when one does not know
as to what is right. For example, an employee is serving in an organization for over ten
years and fully satisfied with the organizational culture but asked to move on promotion to
a different organization and to a far away place. Hammer and Organ8 explains various
causes of anxiety in the work environment. They explained that "difference in power in the
organ1zation which leave people with a feeling of vulnerability to administrative decisions
adversely affecting them. These are as under:-
(a) Frequent changes in organizations, which make existing behaviour plans obsolete.
(b) Competition, which creates the inevitability that some persons lose "face", esteem and
status.
(c) Job ambiguity (especially when it is coupled with pressure).
(d) Lack of job feedback, volatility in the organizations' economic environment, job
insecurity and high visigibility of one's performance (success as well as failures). (e)
Personal problems such as physical illness, problems at home, unrealistically high personal
goals and estrangement from one's colleagues or one's peer group.
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6 BURNOUT
istent physical mental or emotional exhaustion caused by long-term stress,
Burnout is perS
essive workplace and/or personal responsibilities.
usually as & result of exc
cO€xist with engagement, it's a serious problem for the enterprise.
cannot
Because burnout illnesses and
Burnout 1s associa d with higher stress levels, poorer perormance, more
absenteeism, and less productivity In a corporate culture that places high demands on
employees, the cumulative effect can be lower profitability and higher staff turnover.
The concept of burnout comes from psychology. Herbert Freudenberger, a clinical
ologist, first identified the concept in the 1970s. Social psychologists Christina
psych
ubsequently developed an assessment tool, the Maslach
Maslach and Susan Jackson s
Burnout Inventory, that characterizes burnout as a syndrome involving exhaustion,
cynicism, and inefficacy. The predominant characteristic of burnout is often considered to
be exhaustion.
Burnout is not considered a separate disorder because it overlaps significantly with
depression. A recent study by Bianchi, Schonfeld, and Laurent found that 90 percent of
workers identified as burned out also met diagnostic criteria for depression.
Depending on the particular case, burnout may be alleviated by changes in the work
environment and job demands, as well as changes in the individual's behavior and approach
to work. If nothing changes, however, burnout tends to create a downward spiral, in which
an unsustainable situation leads to exhaustion and dissatisfaction, which lead to poorer
performance, which in turn leads to a worsened work situation or even job loss and
increased stress on the individual.
7 MANAGEMENT OF STRESS
7.1 Individual Level Strategies
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Minimum Jeve1 Of stress 1S fequired to stimulate individuals to
Excessive stressisharmful to higher productivity
both individual and organization It is a common practice to
evolve varn OUS Stress reduction strategies in the organizations. Individuals must take steps
to reduce Stress to a acceptable level. It is clarified that Every individual has different
capacity to Cope with individual] Stress. Some of the individual stress reduction strategies
are as under:
1. Define objective for Self: Setting up of objective for self is a continuous process right
from the childhood where parents generally decide as to the stream of learning, institutes
and the like. When you Join an organization, it is important to study organizational
structure, job involved and the prospects of growth. Every person must set for himself the
object vis - vis the ability and skill one possesses. It is generally observed that individuals
set high objective for themselves to be achieved in short span of time. They inhibit inbuilt
fear of failing. Setting up of high standard without analyzing resources available leads to
stressful situation. People must modify their goals based upon various resources available,
"time" being the most important resource.
2. Plan your life: Work stress has an impact on personal life at home and vice - versa. It is
therefore important to plan various aspects of life as is possible. This will include
increasing professional competence by way of acquiring additional qualification and skill,
sound financial planning, home, children education and so on. Contingency plan must also
be evolved in case of uncertainty. If this is done, a person is physically and mentally
prepared for events to come. Investment in insurance for children education may make you
free from 'stress' if it was planned well in advance.
3. Social Support: A man is becoming isolated like an island in vast ocen due to breaking
ofjoint family system, requirement of moving out of home for service purposes and thereby
losing physical contacts with kith and kin. It is important to keep close rapport with
relatives. At closer to work place develop friendship with fellow workers who can help in
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times of crisis, stress and strain. Social support can be €as1 y Social
functions, norms and following religious activities at work place. This will enable
individuals to regain sulking self confidence and build self-esteem. People have resorteq
to GOD in old age. Old age homes, citizens committees etc. are singS of existence of stress
and evolving of stress resolution strategies. The practice of confession to a priest in the
Catholic religion is nothing but a way to eliminate stress caused by some act1on.
4. Physical Fitness: Healthy body and mind are stress resistance. It has been conclusively
proved that individuals who exercise and so strengthen their endurance and cardiovascular
system, are much less likely to suffer from certain types of stress related illness. Regular
physical exercises like walking, jogging, light gymnastics exercises keep person fit and
develop an ability to sustain greater level of stress. Soldiers are definitely more stress
resistants as they keep themselves physically fit. They develop an ability and mind to
withstand worst of the situations. Appropriate daily diet help individual to keep good
health.
5. Biofeedback: Biofeedback is the human ability to bring some of the bodily functions
under voluntary control. It is the methodology designed to remove undesirable body
responses through psychological transformation. Use of sophisticated electronics devices
are designed to measure the level of stress in an individual. With subsequent relaxasation
Or yogic exercises the individual is brought back to normal standard situation by removing
stress. The relaxation exercises are helpful to control heart attacks, acidity, brain
haemorrhage, blood pressure and muscle tension etc. Changes in these deceases are caused
due to high level of stress which an individual is not habitual to experience. Biofeedback
takes care to control the effects of stress on voluntary basis by proper exercises.
6. Yoga: Yogaisa methodology to integrate body and mind and achieve a required level
of harmony with the God. This is achieved by physical exercises called Asanas which
stimulates various systems in the body like respiratory system, nervous system, blood
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circulation system etc. This bri ngs a remarkable change into individuals physical capacity
and mental ability to sustain through various stress and strain situations. Yoga is also
considered as a process of attainment of ultimate peace. But for acommon man, it is merely
the physical exercises which are aimed at healthy body and mind to counter stress
7. Meditation: Indian history is replete of examples of various saints having achieved
salvation by meditation. Lord Gautam Budha had achieved 'nirwana' by meditation
Meditation involves sitting at quite place, closing eyes and concentrating on some symbol
with uttering of simple world like 'OM'. It is aimed at total concentration thus forgetting
routine situations. This technique also caters for syncranised breathing exercises aim being
to block extraneous thoughts from one's mind. Meditation is combination of body,
concentration of mind on a particular symbol, utterance of words, regulating of breathing
thereby achieving a total concentration of body and mind to achieve a super natural
personal power. If this is achieved a person can comfortably handle stressful situation with
ease. Meditation brings peace to the mind, develops tolerance power, improves personality
and ultimately leads to sainthood.
8. Time Management: Time management is one of the methods of reducing stress. Life has
become very fast. Executives down to a common worker is pressed for time. Everybody
has to play various roles in life. All the roles have to be performed in a given span of time.
It is therefore necessary to plan time adequately. Time management can be for various
events in life like education, marriage etc. Day to day level, it is related to planning daily
routine events. Every individual must maintain a diary in which work schedule and
progress should be reflected when more than one job is required to be done at a particular
time, priority should be accorded to comparatively important job. It is important to keep
up to the schedule of events as planned and ensure the same from the subordinates. This
eases pressure on the work schedule and facilitates managing private/ personal work. It
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instills in an individual a habit of punctuality and a greater sense of responsibility and
commitment to the organization.
9. Live a simple Life: It is advisable that every person should live a simple life free from
cumbrances. Too much of issues being handled at any one time saps individuals energy,
One should not complicate issues rather provide simple, straight forward solutions. Do not
ask your subordinates to wait for any decision or action on your part. Cases must be
disposed off fast without loss of time. In personal life too simplicity of behaviour help
individual resolve issues in time. This reduces tension and facilitates time management.
7.2 Organizational Level Strategies
Organization play a decisive role in ensuring peaceful environment free of stress. Basically
stress relates to two categories of events. First.the orgänizational structure and policy and
second relating to personal development and growth that the job can provide. Following
aspects must be carefully examined and evaluated for its effectiveness and implementation.
(a) Organizational goals must be in realms of achievement. Too much high goals not only
put the employees under undue stress but also creates unhealthy work environment.
(b) Organizational polices should be clearly defined with particular reference to training
and development, promotion, leave, wages and salary administration, discipline,
Incentives, etc.
(ce) Authority and responsibility must be clearly defined by setting up reporting channels.
Principle of unity of command should be adhared to.
(d) Organizational structure, redesigning of jobs and improved communication reduces
stress.
(e) Corporate policies, physical work environment should be suitable for higher
productivity.
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t An updated systems and ProcesSCS incrCases
(g) Management efficiency
Must create an healthy working environment
(h) Career plan for Mangers must be developed and implemented in letter and spirit
Nothing discourages employees as baddevelopmental Programmes
( i) Employees must b€ empowered. They should be provided with suitable time to time
selling by way of advice Teassurance‚ good communication, release of emotional
tension and clarified thinking. Re-orientation is important to keep employees free of stress
for increased productivity.
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