Stress managementmanaging at workplace

REPORT
Submitted for the partial fulfillment of the degree of Masters of Business Administration

Supervised By
Avina Mathur Mentor,DEI

Submitted By
Surabhi Agarwal MBA 3 rd Sem

D.E.I Study Centre, Ellora Branch Dayalbagh Educational Institute (Deemed University) Dayalbagh Agra-282110

CONTENTS
Acknowledgement2 A Case Study of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)...3 Preface..4 Review of literature.6 Major HR challenges faced by the Indian organizations..7 Objectives of the study9 Stress management system10 The problem of stress12 Managing stress at work14 Causes or sources of stress...16 Organizational stressors17 How stress is caused.18 Workplace factors causing stress.20 Consequences of stress21 Stress management techniques22 Indian methods of managing stress.24 Stress management techniques applied in some companies..25 Individual stress management.28 Organizational stress management..30 A risk assessment strategies- six stages..31 A study of stress management in tata group..33 Tips on coping with stress...42 Stress control workshops and Employee assistance programmes.45 Stress management training programs highlights46 Tips for managing stress in the workplace..47 Conclusion48 Bibliography49

Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven't fallen asleep ye

""People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them." - George Bernard Shaw

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I have had considerable help and support in making this project reality.

First and foremost, gratitude goes to Mrs. Avina Mathur (Facilitator for HRM) who provided me all the guidance and support in realizing the dissertation.

I am especially indebted to her as she is the Mentor, who gave me an opportunity to prepare a report on Stress management.

Last but not the least I also convey my regards to my parents and friends, without their co-operation this project could not have been thought of.

SURABHI AGARWAL

EMPLOYEE STRESS MANAGEMENT DURING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE - A Case Study of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)
In the current global scenario, organizations are being faced with consistent change. These changes vary in terms of demographics, nature of activity, industry, etc. Changes in an organization has very strong effects on various stakeholders of an organization, including employees, customers, competitors, investors, etc Some changes are successful and tend to be beneficial for the organization while others become unsuccessful. To ensure better performance and competitiveness of an organization, it is essential for managers to plan changes. But realistically, most drastic changes are those that are emergent and, managers also need to be well prepared to deal with emergent factors. To enhance productivity, managers at all levels should be able to cope with change and help their subordinates in doing the same. Lack of ability to handle change may result in stress on the employees as well as the managers and that in turn leads to lower productivity and affects the bottom line of the company. This study examines the change management process of ABN AMRO to Royal Bank of Scotland and analyzes the impact of organizational change on employee stress level. For this purpose, quantitative research was conducted using hypothesis testing and qualitative research was conducted through in-depth interviews and questionnaire. The findings of the survey revealed that majority of the employees rated the management ability below average in implementing the change successfully. None of the employees reported high stress before the change. However, few employees were highly stressed out after the acquisition by RBS. The hypothesis test proves that employee stress after change is dependent on employment tenure. This means that employees who worked in bank for many years faced higher level of stress after the acquisition of ABN AMRO by RBS as compared to those employees who have served the bank for few years.

PREFACE
In the fast changing world the success of an organization very much depends upon the quality, capacity and utility of men power. The human beings are the most important assets in an organization which represents heavy investment, hence their utilization require very careful handling as well as most efficient and proper managing (i.e.) planning, organizing, leadership and evaluation. The role of human resources or personnels is to keep the wheel that is the organization moving. Human being also put needed objects otherwise useless into productive use. Here the innovation power, skill and capacity of human resources are utilized. In present scenario the importance of HRM is growing very fast in every organization, since there is a change in social climate, value & norms, the employees who join now are more educated, competent & informed. While they are great assets yet can become problem if the organization fails to manage, motivate & meet their aspiration. As I have discussed above with the changing trends the idea of personnel management which was confined to recruitment, salary, administration & industrial relation has become the thing of past & is replaced with HRD which besides above involves placement, selection for promotions providing financial rewards or incentives & other actions as motivation & encouragement, but above all the human welfare in order to achieve, smooth harmonious comprehensive progress of organization.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION
Human resource management (HRM) is the strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organizations most valued assets -the people working there who individually and collectively contributes to the achievement of the objective of the business. The terms human resource management and human resource (HR) have largely replaced the term personnel management as a description of the process involved in managing people in organizations. Human resource management is evolving rapidly. Human resource management is both an academic theory and a business practice that addresses the theoretical and practical techniques of managing a work force. The basic premise of the academic theory of HRM is that human are not machines: therefore we need to have an interdisciplinary examination of people in the workplace. Fields such as psychology, sociology, industrial engineering, industrial and organizational psychology and industrial relations and critical theories like post modernism and post structuralism ply a major role. The key word is fit, i.e. a HRM approach seeks to ensure a fit between the management of an organizations employees, and the overall strategic direction of the company. HRM is concerned with people dimension in management. Since every organization is made up of people, acquiring their service, developing their skills, motivating them to higher levels of performance and ensuring that they continue to maintain their commitment to the organization are essential to achieving organizational objectives. This is true, regardless of the type of organization government, business, education, health, recreation or social action.

Major HR challenges faced by the Indian organization

Managing Knowledge Workers
Essentially, here we are looking at different kind of people who does not obey the principles of management for the traditional group. This boils down to higher educational qualifications, taking up responsibilities at a lesser age and experience, high bargaining power due to the knowledge and skills in hand, high demand for the knowledge workers, and techno suaveness.

Managing Technological Challenges

In every arena organizations are getting more and more technologically oriented. Though it is not in the main run after the initial debates, preparing the work force to accept technological changes is a major challenge. We have seen sectors like banking undergoing revolutionary changes enabled by technology.

Competence of HR Managers
As it is more and more accepted that lot of success of organizations depend on the human capital, this boils to recruiting the best, managing the best and retaining the best. Clearly HR managers have a role in this process. Often it is discussed about lack of competence of HR managers in understanding the business imperative. There is now a need to develop competent HR professionals who are sound in HR management practices with strong business knowledge.

 Developing Leadership
It is quite interesting to note that there is less importance given to developing leadership at the organizational level. Though leadership is discussed on basis of traits and certain qualities, at an organizational level it is more based on knowledge. The challenge is to develop individuals who have performance potential on basis of past record and knowledge based expertise in to business leaders by imparting them with the necessary soft skills.

Managing Change
Business environment in India is volatile. There is boom In terms of opportunities brought forward by globalization. However this is also leading to many interventions in terms of restructuring, turnaround, mergers, downsizing, etc. Research has clearly shown that the success of these interventions is heavily dependent on managing the people issues in the process. HR has a pivotal role to play here.

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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

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STRESS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Stress is not just a personal problem its a business problem that can be solved in four steps. Experience shows that stressed employees are treated a bit like radioactive material no one wants to handle them, and the employee is sent on sick leave for a month (or several) in the belief that time alone will reduce their stress and that they will return healthy, motivated and more resilient. Nothing could be further from the truth. Stressed employees need support not isolation; fear of becoming

unemployed or estranged from colleagues are two of the greatest stressors! Understanding this requires the spotlight to move from the individual and broaden to illuminate the whole organization and workforce. This widening of focus also requires a change in perspective from re-action to pro-action. A reactive stance is not only resource intensive, it fails to provide any meaningful understanding of the causes and contributing factors of stress peculiar to an organization. Having a framework of the right policies, procedures, and resources, which protects your organization and employees from the impacts of stress, is the only way to effectively take a proactive stance at reducing the financial and personal impact of work-related stress. 1. Audit To allocate resources cost effectively requires a deep understanding of workplace stressors peculiar to your organization; this can be achieved through a preliminary stress audit, and then continued through a monitoring and assessment programme. It is prudent at this stage to not only expose the stressors, but also trace the financial and cultural impacts that result.

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2. Training Having first made a diagnosis, it is then necessary to put preventive and reduction measures in place. Such measures are built firmly on a foundation of education and training, and practiced through the cultivation of positive twoway relationships between line managers and employees. Awareness and selfmanagement training for all can help individuals build an ability to reduce stress. 3. Support Having thus raised the skill levels amongst management and workforce, the third task is to create procedures to manage an employee who is unable (or unsafe) to continue working due to their reaction to stress. Even if the relationship between line-manager and employee is excellent, this is no time for amateur therapy! A line-manager should act as the essential conduit for support and information, between employee and colleagues, rather than a faceless HR manager 4. Culture Workers already have responsibilities for providing feedback on issues that affect production, safety and welfare. To include stress, and remove the stigma, direction is required from the top, cooperation from the bottom and appropriate stress awareness from the boardroom to the shop floor. Helping working practices match the policies is culture-building! Stress management systems will not work without widespread belief in the value of managing stress. Busiest sector on a weekend Stress has been defined in different ways over the years. Originally, it was conceived of as pressure from the environment, then as strain within the person. The generally accepted definition today is one of interaction between the situation and the individual. It is the psychological and physical state that results when the resources of the individual are not sufficient to cope with the demands and pressures of the situation. Thus, stress is more likely in some situations than others and in some individuals than others.

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THE PROBLEM OF STRESS

For the individual For the workplace/organisation

Threats to: Health Increased absenteeism and turnover

Well being/quality of life Reduced quantity and quality of work

Functioning/goal achievement Self esteem/confidence

Reduced job satisfaction and morale Problems of recruitment Poor communication and increased

Personal development

conflict

Signs of stress can be seen in people's behavior, especially in changes in behavior. Acute responses to stress may be in the areas of feelings (for example, anxiety, depression, irritability, fatigue), behavior (for example, being withdrawn, aggressive, tearful, unmotivated), thinking (for example, difficulties of concentration and problem solving) or physical symptoms (for example, palpitations, nausea, headaches).

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A MODEL OF STRESS AT WORK

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Managing Stress at Work

Managing an over worked and stressed human resource have become a challenging and ever difficult task for today's managers. With a view to utilize the available human resource thus minimizing costs and maximizing profits, today both managers and their subordinates have to coop with work related stress. This stress if it goes to certain extent without being controlled can affect the person's family/social life, health, performance etc and changes the employee's whole attitude towards work- frustrating, demotivating and frightening him/her which in the long run damages the organization and the employee both.

Key Words: Stringers, Biofeedback, stressors, Food exchange

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Life is tough and getting tougher by the day! The stress of daily living, especially as the pressure to excel mounts, impacts everyone, not just on the work front but in every single area of an individual's life In today's world of doing more with less, employees find themselves with more work, fewer resources, and less time. With a tight deadlines and a competitive work environment only the best performers are guaranteed continued employment. All of these factors add up to a very stressful work environment. Ultimately employees take work home and worry about missing deadlines or performing inadequately and end up working longer hours.

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Stress can be caused by many things in life, pressures from work, the family, social commitments and other everyday events. The word stress is derived from the Latin term 'Stringers' which means "to draw tight". Some define stress as the nonspecific response of the body to any demands made on it. Stress is our physical, mental, and emotional response to the various demands, changes, and events in our life. It is an internal phenomenon and a mental attitude. In some cases, stress motivates and encourages us to complete a task we find difficult so that we can take pride in ourselves and what we achieve. Hans Selye was one of the founding fathers of stress research. His view in 1956, which holds true today also, was that stress is not necessarily something bad it all depends on how one takes it. In an ideal world, there should be just enough stress to keep employees working to their full potential, but not enough to cause overwhelm or excessive anxiety. Too much or too little stress is where we run into problems.

Stress symptoms begin to manifest themselves when an individual perceive or feel that life demands are exceeding their ability to deal with them. When stress begins to take its toll, they may experience both physical and psychological effects.

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Causes or Sources of Stress

Situations that are likely to cause stress are those that are unpredictable or uncontrollable, uncertain, ambiguous or unfamiliar, or involving conflict, loss or performance expectations. Stress may be caused by time limited events, such as the pressures of examinations or work deadlines, or by ongoing situations, such as family demands, job insecurity, or long commuting journeys. Historically, the typical response from employers to stress at work has been to blame the victim of stress, rather than its cause. Increasingly, it is being recognized that employers have a duty, in many cases in law, to ensure that employees do not become ill.

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Organizational Stressors
1. Roles in the Organization a) Role conflict b) Role ambiguity c) Minimum management support d) holding mid-management position c) Poor communication d) Restriction on behavior f) Lack of opportunity/performance evaluation/pay 5. Physical Environment a) Working conditions like noise, lighting, aesthetic appeal of rooms etc. 6. Change 3. Job Qualities a) Time pressures b) Work over/under load c) Level of accountability 7. Career Development 4. Organizational Structure a) Status conflicts a) Lack of participation b) No sense of belonging b) Obsolescence of skill c) Mid-career stage a) Individual life stages b) Organizational- transfer, promotion, job expansion etc.

2. Responsibility a) with superiors/subordinates/ colleagues b) Inability to delegate

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HOW STRESS IS CAUSED

The degree of stress experienced depends on the functioning of two protective physiological mechanisms:

Alarm reaction. When confronted with a threat to our safety, our first
response is physiological arousal: our muscles tense and breathing and heart rate become more rapid. This serves us well when the threat is the proverbial bull in the field rushing towards us. We either fight or flee. Present day threats tend to be more psychologicalfor example, unjustified verbal attack by a superior at work. It is usually not socially acceptable to act by fight or flight, and an alternative means of expressing the resultant emotional and physical energy is required. This falls in the arena of assertive communication.

Adaptation. The second adaptive mechanism allows us to cease responding

when we learn that stimuli in the environment are no longer a threat to our safety. For example, when we first spend time in a house near a railway line, our response to trains hurtling past is to be startled, as described above. Over time, our response dwindles. If this process did not function, we would eventually collapse from physical wear and tear, and mental exhaustion. Stress is experienced when either of these mechanisms are not functioning properly or when we find it difficult to switch appropriately from one to another. This forms the basis of individual approaches to stress management

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It is the perception, or appraisal, of the situation that is key to whether or not it causes stress. This is the basis of the transactional model of stress, whereby the ability of a person to prevent or reduce stress is determined by that person's appraisal of (a) The threat within a situation (primary appraisal), and (b) The appraisal of his/her coping skills to deal with that threat (secondary appraisal).

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WORKPLACE FACTORS CAUSING STRESS

The workplace is an important source of both demands and pressures causing stress, and structural and social resources to counteract stress. The workplace factors that have been found to be associated with stress and health risks can be categorized as those to do with the content of work and those to do with the social and organizational context of work. Those that are intrinsic to the job include long hours, work overload, time pressure, difficult or complex tasks, lack of breaks, lack of variety, and poor physical work conditions (for example, space, temperature, light). Unclear work or conflicting roles and boundaries can cause stress, as can having responsibility for people. The possibilities for job development are important buffers against current stress, with under promotion, lack of training, and job insecurity being stressful. There are two other sources of stress, or buffers against stress: relationships at work, and the organizational culture. Managers who are critical, demanding, unsupportive or bullying create stress, whereas a positive social dimension of work and good team working reduces it. An organizational culture of unpaid overtime or presenteeism causes stress. On the other hand, a culture of involving people in decisions, keeping them informed about what is happening in the organization, and providing good amenities and recreation facilities reduce stress. Organizational change, especially when consultation has been inadequate, is a huge source of stress. Such changes include mergers, relocation, restructuring or downsizing, individual contracts, and redundancies within the organization.

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Consequences of Stress

1. On the Individual:

a. Physical Aliments e.g. headache, insomnia and heart problems b. Mental e.g. anxiety, lack of clear thinking, loneliness c. Behavioral e.g. excessive smoking, drinking, withdrawal from relationships Low productivity, poor quality, absenteeism, low job satisfaction, accident proneness and poor interpersonal communication.

2. On the Organization:

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Stress Management Techniques

There are numerous techniques that experts recommend for relieving the symptoms of stress. 1. Talk about your worries to colleagues, spouses or friends 2. Exercise take up physical activities such as jogging, walking, and cycling which can relieve the feelings of stress. Chemicals released in the brain during exercise produce a 'feel good' mood. 3. Learn biofeedback this is a relaxation method in which a person learn to consciously control your breathing rate and heart rate so that stressful situations do not elicit a major physiological reaction. 4. Take up a new hobby like gardening or join a group so that you can socially interact with people who have the same passions. 5. Join a Yoga class yoga is one of the oldest forms of relaxation known to man. 6. Learn the difference between work and home- By separating the two main areas of your life you can leave the stress of work behind when you finish for the day. 7. Help out with a charity- Charities are always looking for volunteers to help with events and collecting. Find a charity that you are passionate about and donate a few hours to helping them in the community. 8. Take time to read- Novels and autobiographies are particularly good for diverting your thoughts away from the stresses and worries of the day.

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9. Learn to meditate- the art of meditation is easy to learn and as it allows you to suspend your thoughts for a period of time it is great for forgetting about the pressures that you are under. 10. Vacation away- helps in avoiding and changing the stressors or environment for a short time. It doesn't matter which type of stress relief method you choose because they will all work to some degree however some people will prefer physical activities such as dance or exercise whereas others will prefer meditation and relaxation techniques. Find what works for you and have fun doing it.

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Indian Methods of managing Stress

Indian philosophy consisting of Upanishadas, Vedanta, etc, is very helpful in winning stress. Dr. Satish Chandra Pandey (8m Journal, JIMS April-June 1997) has given some valid points on managing stress, some of which are as follows-

1. Develop training programs for executives and other staff members for their total personality development based on Indian values, so that they can develop their own strategies for coping with their organizational environment/stressors.

2. Each organization must develop its own management philosophy based on Indian values and educate its employees about that philosophy to motivate them for achieving excellence in different areas.

3. Organizations must know that reducing organizational stress is as important as motivating employees. Both the process is complementary to each other: they are not replacements. 4. Develop strong philosophical base by combining different Indian values 5. Create awareness among organization members about these values 6. There must be compulsory course on Indian philosophy in professional management courses so that todays management students can develop their own managerial philosophy based on Indian values 7. Stress management programmes for employees must be based on sharing different philosophical values and developing strategies through group learning.

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Stress management techniques applied in some organization

Dell Inc Dell was founded in 1984 with $1,000 and an idea by Michael Dell. The idea was to build relationships directly with customers. Michael Dell, born in February 1965, is presently the chairman of the Board of Directors and chief executive officer of Dell. Mr. Dell became the youngest CEO ever to earn a ranking on the Fortune 500. Dell Inc. (Dell) is a technology company, which offers a range of product categories, including desktop computer systems, storage, servers and networking products, mobility products, software and peripherals, and enhanced services. Dell entered Asia-Pacific/Japan in select markets and began investing in regional facilities, management, service and technical personnel in 1993, with its first operations in Japan and Australia. Dell direct sales operations are currently in 13 markets in the region: Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. In addition, 38 distributors serve another 31 markets. Dell was the No. 3 vendor in the industry in the region in 2007. Dell had a market value of $4 billion (20 Oct, 2007). Industry Type: BPO/Call Center (Dell) Average age of employee: 21+ Qualification: HS/Graduation Work profile: Attending customer calls. Some stress management techniques adopted at Dell are as follows27

1. Lighting-Bright light with carefully chosen wall colors 2. In-house cafeteria and Gym 3. Food festivals-on special days/festivals at cafeteria 4. TV's placed in corridors, adequate number of bunks for taking rest 5. Food exchange-employees are encouraged to bring home made food. These foods are exchanged-this technique help bridge cultural differences as employees get to taste may be Bengali, Marathi, Andhra or Punjabi food. Small rewards are offered to the best recipe. 6. Quarterly tours are organized. If the place is far or exceeds budget, Dell pays part expense. 7. Gaming stations, cricket pitch (net practice) and table tennis playing provisions are also maintained. 8. Dell also undertakes social services like sponsoring education to some poor children. These children are brought to Dell office and the employee interacts with them along with a in-house cafeteria party. 9. For newly joined employees mentoring (buddy) is done relieving the new appointees stress and helping him/her settle down. 10. Quarterly good performers are rewarded along with a party (recently held in Taj Deccan) with theme based programme like Hollywood night. Best dressed individuals are also rewarded.

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Sipera Systems Inc Founded in 2003, Sipera is headquartered in Richardson, Texas US, with a development center in Hyderabad, India. Sipera is backed by three well-established venture capital firms and is led by a seasoned, experienced management team. Industry Type: IT/Software Average age of employee: 27+ Qualification: BE Work profile: Software development Some stress management techniques adopted at Sipera Systems are as follows-

1. Weekend Salsa class.

2. Gym, Meditation sessions.

3. Saturday morning cricket, TV, Cafeteria.

4. Well lit interiors/ambience/carefully chosen wall colours

5. Share-the Director of India operations encourage individuals to invest in shares, he himself is also an avid investor-he claims it to be his de-stressing workout. Recently the Sipera also invited Networth Stock Broking Ltd an investment firm to give presentation on "How to invest in shares" to its software developers.

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INDIVIDUAL STRESS MANAGEMENT

Most interventions to reduce the risk to health associated with stress in the workplace involve both individual and organisational approaches. Individual approaches include training and one-to-one psychology servicesclinical, occupational, health or counselling. They should aim to change individual skills and resources and help the individual change their situation. The techniques listed in fig mirror the active coping (fight/flight) and rest phases (habituation) of the stress model presented earlier.

Training helps prevent stress through:

becoming aware of the signs of stress Using this to interrupt behavior patterns when the stress reaction is just beginning. Stress usually builds up gradually. The more stress builds up, the more difficult it is to deal with

analyzing the situation and developing an active plan to minimize the stressors

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learning skills of active coping and relaxation, developing a lifestyle that creates a buffer against stress

practicing the above in low stress situations first to maximize chances of early success and boost self confidence and motivation to continue. A wide variety of training courses may help in developing active coping techniquesfor example, assertiveness, communications skills, time management, problem solving, and effective management.

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ORGANISATIONAL STRESS MANAGEMENT

The prevention and management of workplace stress requires organisational level interventions, because it is the organisation that creates the stress. An approach that is limited to helping those already experiencing stress is analogous to administering sticking plaster on wounds, rather than dealing with the causes of the damage. An alternative analogy is trying to run up an escalator that's going down! Organisational interventions can be of many types, ranging from structural (for example, staffing levels, work schedules, physical environment) to psychological (for example, social support, control over work, participation).

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A risk assessment strategysix stages

Hazard identification: Reliably identify the stressors which exist in relation to work and working conditions, for specified groups of employees, and make an assessment of the degree of exposure

Assessment of harm: Collect evidence that exposure to such stressors is associated with impaired health in the group being assessed or of the wider organisation. This should include a wide range of health-related outcomes, including symptoms of general malaise and specific disorders, and of organisational and health related behaviours such as smoking and drinking, and sickness absence

Identification of likely risk factors: Explore the associations between exposure to stressors and measures of harm to identify likely risk factors at the group level, and to make some estimate of their size and/or significance

Description of underlying mechanisms: Understand and describe the possible mechanisms by which exposure to the stressors is associated with damage to the health of the assessment group or to the organisation

Audit existing management control and employee support systems:

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Identify and assess all existing management systems both in relation to the control of stressors and the experience of work stress, and in relation to the provision of support for employees experiencing problems.

Recommendations on residual risk: Take existing management control and employee support systems into proper account, make recommendations on the residual risk associated with the likely risk factors related to work stress

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A study of stress management in TATA Group

Leadership with trust
The Tata Group comprises 98 operating companies in seven business sectors: information systems and communications; engineering; materials; services; energy; consumer products; and chemicals. The Group was founded by Jamsetji Tata in the mid 19th century, a period when India had just set out on the road to gaining independence from British rule. The Tata Group is one of India's largest and most respected business conglomerates, with revenues in 2006-07 of $28.8 billion (Rs129,994 crore), the equivalent of about 3.2 per cent of the country's GDP, and a market capitalization of $59.64 billion as on January 24, 2008. Industry Type: Steel Average age of employee: 46+ Qualification: HS/Graduates/Engineers Work profile: Production of steel from natural ores. Recent Stress management programs organized by TATA

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Values and purpose

Purpose At the Tata group we are committed to improving the quality of life of the communities we serve. We do this by striving for leadership and global competitiveness in the business sectors in which we operate. Our practice of returning to society what we earn evokes trust among consumers, employees, shareholders and the community. We are committed to protecting this heritage of leadership with trust through the manner in which we conduct our business. Core values Tata has always been values-driven. These values continue to direct the growth and business of Tata companies. The five core Tata values underpinning the way we do business are:

Integrity: We must conduct our business fairly, with honesty and transparency. Everything we do must stand the test of public scrutiny.

Understanding: We must be caring, show respect, compassion and humanity for our colleagues and customers around the world, and always work for the benefit of the communities we serve.

Excellence: We must constantly strive to achieve the highest possible standards in our day-to-day work and in the quality of the goods and services we provide.

Unity: We must work cohesively with our colleagues across the group and with our customers and partners around the world, building strong relationships based on tolerance, understanding and mutual cooperation.

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Responsibility: We must continue to be responsible, sensitive to the countries, communities and environments in which we work, always ensuring that what comes from the people goes back to the people many times over.

1. A spate of cultural activities, including a "Hasya Kavi Sammelan" (stand-up comedy) and an art exhibition, was organised by the Jharia Division during the last few months.

2. Held on March 29, 2007 the focus on the Domestic Management Programme was to encourage spouses of employees to take better charge of managing their homes and create a stress free and happy home environment. Mrs Divaker, wife of General Manager, Jharia, Mr Ch Divaker, took a lead role in successfully conducting the programme, sharing her own experiences with the ladies. Over 75 participants benefitted from the inputs and experiences shared.

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Putting people first A host of skill and talent development programmes along with processes that encourage and nurture employee involvement is what makes Titan Industries a great place to work Titan Industries is not a brick and mortar company. It is built on the passion and emotion of its proud employees. Titan can be best described as a huge living organism pulsating with highly motivated and dedicated employees. Every employee is treated with care and concern and is allowed to grow and blossom. No wonder then that the company has won the Indias Best Companies to Work For - 2009 award, having bagged the 24th position across all industry categories and the first position in the Retail Industry category in the 'Great Places to Work' study instituted by The Economic Times. The company has been recognised for many firsts both in terms of its products as well as employee initiatives. Some of the noteworthy contributions are a state-of-the-art Titan township in Hosur, designed by renowned architect Charles Correa. Over 600 families reside in this wellplanned township. It also boasts of the Titan School, which is open to all the residents children. S Ramadoss, vice president, HR and Administration, says, Titan has always believed in the concept of Human Capital. Putting people first comes naturally to us.

The company provides a host of welfare measures such as a crche facility at the manufacturing units, gymnasium, canteen, medical, transport, etc. Loans for marriage, house deposit allowances, an interest subsidy on housing loans, vehicle loans, internal and external accident benefits, death relief fund, etc are offered to unionised and nonunionised employees.
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A culture of camaraderie is evident in the enthusiastic celebration of all Indian festivals and special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, long service awards, cultural programmes, sports competitions, business meets, etc. The company also extends medical facilities and provides highly subsidised food to workers who are not on its rolls, an act of kindness that goes beyond statutory requirements.

Family members are also made to feel welcome at Titan by including them in awareness programmes, factory visits, family picnics, celebrations such as Fathers Day, Spouses Day, Childrens Day and community initiatives. Mr Ramadoss says, More than 1,000 children participate in the Childrens Day programme each year to display their talent in drawing, painting, music, etc.

These occasions are used by the management to communicate the goals and aspirations of the organisation. Company representatives also visit newlyweds at their residence to congratulate them and give them gifts, a practice that has helped cement ties between the organisation and employees and their families. But it isnt all play at Titan. The company has established a structure consisting of sm all group activities, suggestion schemes such as SEED and Idea Plus, and cross-functional teams to enable employees to express their ideas for making things better. This enables employees to play a more active role in their work lives. Employees are recognised and rewarded for going the extra mile through a well drawn out three-tiered recognition programme, namely, Moment of Fame, Outstanding Titanian, and Dream Team awards. Titan has also instituted a special recognition programme for frontline employees, namely, Face of Titan, Super Stars and Look for Stars.

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Apart from this, the company has formed several committees through which employees can express their talents. These committees are related to the canteen, safety, sports, cultural activities, etc. While the sports committee enables sportspersons to participate in local, regional and national events, the cultural committee hones employees' talent and encourages them to perform at special events within and outside the company. Employees with a flair for writing are encouraged to contribute to in-house newsletters such as NEWS BOX, Glitter Buzz, Retale, Champions.

The company also has a strong culture of volunteering. Over 300 volunteers participate in blood donation camps, eye camps, AIDS and environmental awareness, and other community initiatives. The efforts of volunteers are actively supported by the management too. Titans HR structure is designed so as to understand and cater to the needs of employees at every level. At the local level, there are regional HR executives and Unit Personnel Executives (UPE). The UPEs are entrusted with the task of taking care of specific units within the company and acting as a single point of contact for employees. Mr Ramadoss adds, The UPEs communicate with employees, enable deployment of welfare measures and larger HR initiatives, resolve grievances and counsel employees.

The UPE system, which is well entrenched within the organisation, combines with the biannual open house interactions to instill confidence in employees that their opinions and views are important to the company. The open house interactions are typically presided over by the MD and heads of key functions.

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Employees are free to directly communicate with the MD via email or phone. They can also approach other managers to discuss official and personal issues. Mr Ramadoss says, Titan has a formal documented grievance redressal procedure. Often the management forms committees which specifically focus on understanding and resolving employee grievances. U.speak@titan.co.in is another formal e-channel, which encourages employees to express their concerns and complaints in a non-invasive manner. These are centrally monitored by HR. There are other formal structures that deal strongly with issues such as ethical conduct, sexual harassment, etc. In addition, the presence of a formal union, with designated office bearers and executive members representing various units, ensures that employee needs are catered to. The growth and development of its people is very important to Titan. We have a formal structure to impart knowledge and skills through in-house as well as external training programmes," says Mr Ramadoss. "All categories of employees go through an average of two to five man days of training each year.

There is a structured Talent Management process in place at Titan, which is meant for grooming future leaders in the organisation. The programme ensures that the organisation has a continuous supply of high-potential individuals. The focus is to recognise high performance, address the aspirations of the talent and provide opportunities for career growth, which will help them, take leadership roles.

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Training is also provided on stress management and yoga, personality development and grooming, English and Hindi speaking, etc. Additionally, Titan encourages its employees to participate in public events, seminars and competitions by providing additional training and mentoring. The company also encourages employees to take up higher studies. The Tata philosophy is quite evident in Titans approach towards its employees. Titanians, in turn, have acknowledged the approach by naming it a great workplace .

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Tips on Coping with Stress

Coping strategies may be adopted by individuals without reference to the organization. Individual coping strategies tend to be more reactive in nature. That is, they tend to be ways of coping with stress that has already occurred. Some individual strategies, such as physical exercises, can be both reactive and proactive, but most are geared towards helping the person who is already suffering from stress. Following are the major individual coping strategies. Physical Exercise: Physical exercises of different types such as, walking, jogging, swimming, playing etc, are good methods of overcoming stress. Physical exercise helps people to better cope with stress generally as a side effect, such as relaxation, enhanced self-esteem, and simply getting one's mind off work for a while. Job Enrichment: Through more rational designing of jobs, jobs can be enriched. Improving content factors such as responsibility, recognition,

opportunity for achievement and advancement, or improving core job characteristics such as skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback may lead to motivation, feeling sence of responsibility, and utilizing maximum capability at the work. Such a phenomenon helps in reducing stress. Organisational Role Clarity: People experience stress when they are not clear about what they are expected to do in the organization. This may happen because either there is ambiguity in the role or there is role conflict. Such a situation can be overcome by defining role more clearly. Role analysis technique helps both managers and employees to analyse what the job entails and what the expectations are.
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Career Planning and Counseling: Career planning and counseling helps the employees to obtain professional advice regarding career paths that would help them to achieve personal goals. It also make them aware of what additional qualifications, training, and skills they should acquire for career advancement. A variety of career counseling programmes can be adopted: (i) devices designed to aid the individuals in self-assessment and increased self-

understanding; (ii) (iii) devices designed to communicate opportunities available to individuals; career counseling through interviews by managers, counseling professionals

and personnel and educational specialists; (iv) Workshops and educational activities designed to assist the individuals in

goal setting and establishing action plan for change; (v) Educational and experimental programmes to prepare individual with

skills and knowledge for new activities and new career; (vi) programmes for enhancing the individuals' opportunities to make job and Various career planning and counseling programmes for

career changes.

individuals go a long way in providing them satisfaction and reducing the stress.

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Stress Control Workshops and Employee Assistance Programmes

The organization can hold periodical workshops for control and reduction of stress. Such workshops may help individuals to learn the dynamics of stress and methods of overcoming their ill effects. Similarly, the organization can make arrangement for assisting individuals in overcoming their personal and family problems. This arrangement may include managing personal finance, dealing with family problems, dealing with health problems, and dealing with other kind of personal and family stresses. Stress management based on Indian philosophy: Indian philosophy approach is catching the attention of Western industrially-developed countries to cope with stress. Meditation and Yoga are being practiced by more and more countries. Satish Chandra Pandey has developed a model for stress management based on Indian Philosophy consisting of Upanishads, Vedanta etc. The model is presented in the following diagram: Identify organizational goals and needs of people and core areas where development is needed. Develop a philosophical base by combining different Indian philosophies and values compatible with organizational mission and goals Create awareness among organizational members about these values for building new organizational culture. Develop training programmes, stress management programmes, motivational development programmes based on Indian philosophies and values. Organise follow-up programmes to evaluate stress management outcomes and other OD programmes Make it an integral organizational philosophy and set new goals for achieving excellence in different areas. If positive outcomes Rebuild new philosophical base and make it compatible with organizational goals

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Stress Management Training Program Highlights

Controlling information overload The tool for staying calm and in focus despite uncertainty Mastering the choice and change challenge Reduced stress through improved organization Saving time and reducing stress with improved listening How to reduce stress in others How to create important time just for you More stability & happiness from areas you can control Avoiding the "As Soon As Trap" Stress management training benefits to the individual

Stress management training benefits to the organization

Reduced negative organizational stress

Reduced personal stress Improved decision making Increased productivity Connecting better to family & friends

Increased individual productivity and responsibility

Better team communications and morale

More value, balance & happiness every day

Retention of valued employees Improved customer satisfaction

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Tips for managing stress in the workplace

Stress affects everyone and everyone reacts differently to it. A persons reaction to stress depends on their physical or mental make-up, their level of vulnerability, and what is happening in their life. Management can proactively manage the risks of stress by telling staff about the personal costs effects and risks that result from stress in the workplace. Larger organisations might invest in stress reduction strategies, such as:

Employee assistance programs: confidential services for all employees and their families to deal with problems that may be causing difficulties in their work or personal lives.

Mental wellness forums or activities that promote healthy practices such as home and life balance, physical exercise, diet, and stress reduction practices.

All organizations can:

Promote stress reduction plans in staff recruitment, induction and training processes put reminders and tips for stress management in staff bulletins or on notice boards print this fact sheet and make available to all staff.

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Conclusion
Stress in the work place has become the black plague of the present century. Much of the stress at work is caused not only by work overload and time pressure but also by lack of rewards and praise, and more importantly, by not providing individuals with the autonomy to do their work as they would like. Most of the employees were not satisfied with the grievance handling procedure of the organization which was found by the unstructured interview. Organization must begin to manage people at work differently, treating them with respect and valuing their contribution. If we enhance the psychological well being and health of the employees, organization well said as in the coming future the

would A

make more revenue as retention. Because it is Healthy Employee is a Employee

employee

that,

Productive

Although most worktoo huge to shake art of coping with rid of any negative that peace would

related worries may seem off, once you master the stress, and are able to get thoughts, you would find come to you naturally.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ashwathappa K, Human Resource Management, Tata Mc Graw Hill, New Delhi, Fifth edition, 2009. Dr. Sanjeev Bhatnagar, Personnel management, 2009 www.humanresources.about.com www.hremguide.com- HRM related articles, features and link www.hr-topics.com- Human resources news and releases Source: http://www.tatasteel.com/webzine/tatasteel_news/page_22.htm Source: TATA steel news Issue 1 2007-08 Robbins.P.Stephen, Organizational Behaviour, 10th Ed, Prentice Hall. Kreitner, Kinicki, Organizational Behaviour, 8Ed McGraw Hill

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