Assignment 4: Stress

We are assigned to perform an analysis on stress within a case study about an employee
called Jim black. Stress is defined in the textbook as An adaptive response to a situation that is
perceived as challenging or threatening to a persons well-being (p.108). Jim Black is
experiencing a number of stress symptoms. The first two symptoms are impatience and
dependence. His behaviour can be described through the general adaptation syndrome, which
includes three stages shown in Exhibit 4.5. Namely, these stages are alarm reaction, resistance,
and exhaustion. It is shown that Jim impatiently drums on his steering wheel, showing that he
is quite irritable and that he is smoking shows that he has turned to his dependence on nicotine
to help him calm his nerves. Jim is also shown to be smoking heavily as he immediately starts a
new cigarette once he finishes the first. It is stated that the traffic seemed much heavier on
this particular day while also indicating that traffic is always heavy in the afternoons, this is an
example of how the stress is causing Jim to perceive his surroundings in an exaggeratedly
negative way as stress is known to increase pessimism in people. Next, Jim shows signs of
aggression as he accelerates into another lane, aggressive behaviour can come about as a result
of being overly stressed. More direct symptoms of stress shown in the case study are sleepless
nights and a headache.
Jim is feeling stress from a multitude of stressors in this scenario. Stressors are defined
as any environmental conditions that place a physical or emotional demand on a person. There
are multiple examples of the three main causes of stress: harassment, work overload and low
task control. Jim is feeling psychological harassment from his wife, his boss and his customers.
Role perception has a direct influence on the level of stress. Jim was not informed
accurately when he should come to work, so role misperception created a state of frustration in
his life. He is overbooking his appointments to cram them all in so that he is consistently late to
each one. A second example of overworking is that he is shown to be finishing his work in the
evenings which was taking a toll on his family life as well as his work life.

Furthermore, low task control has an impact on the level of stress. Jim is experiencing low task
control in two ways. Jim has no control over the compressed gas market that he is currently
operating in, which happens to be on a downturn during the economic recession. The second
aspect of Jims work life which he has no control over is the potential buy-out from a larger
American company (and Noram Canada Ltd competitor). If this buy-out is to occur Jim may lose
his job or it may remove the ability to move up in the company.
There are a few techniques Jim could employ in attempts to minimize his stress. One important
way that Jim may remove the stressor is teleworking. As a salesperson Jim may have the ability
to perform some of his sales calls over the phone instead of in person which could avoid the
tardiness to appointments by removing the wasted travel time as well as giving Jim the chance
to relax more and work from other sites. Also, Jim may have some personal leave built up but
taking time off may not be feasible in the scenario when his job is in danger and the company is
at risk of being bought out. It is more feasible for Jim to attempt to withdraw from the stressor.
This may possibly be accomplished in Jims case by alternating tasks on certain times such as
taking care of administrative paper work for a couple days in a row to avoid stressful sales calls.
Jim could attempt to seek social support from friends or family to help him deal with the
pressures of work.
Finally Jim could attempt to improve his physical wellbeing. It is shown that Jim is a smoker and
smoking leads to increased blood pressure which amplifies the effects of stress on the human
body. Jim could attempt to quit smoking or look into joining recreational clubs or societies. If
he could enter a state of better physical health he would have a healthier heart, lower blood
pressure, lower heart rate, less muscle tension and calmer breathing which all assist in
decreasing the effects of stress. A healthier life style also typically results in more restful
sleeping which could help Jim manage his stress better.