Assignment

On
“MANAGEMENT OF SELF IN
ORGANIZATION”

INDIAN SCHOOL OF MINES, DHANBAD

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Prof.G.S.Pathak JayshreeBharti

AngitaKumari

Barun Kumar

Indrajeet Mukherjee

KanishkaPathak
 MANAGING STRESS AT THE WORK PLACE
1.0 INTRODUCTION

Stress is a state of physiological imbalance in thebody which has unpleasant emotional

andcognitive components. It is the state the body issupposed to be in when you’re faced
with a realthreat, like the approach of a hungry lion. Thebody enters this state to prepare us
to defendourselves (fight) or run away (flight). Every timethe mind interprets something as
unusual, excitingor alarming, the body is instantly primed foraction. This so called ‘fight-or-
flight’ response isin fact a life-saving function. Staying in this statelong-term can do serious
harm to the mood,health and performance because the physiologicalchanges that underlie
stress are extremelydestructive.

“Stress has been defined as a stimulus, a response, or the result of an interaction between
the two, with the interaction described in terms of some imbalance between the person
and the environment” (Cox, 1978)

When a person is stressed, the brain releasespowerful hormones called glucocorticoids

whichraise the blood pressure and tense the muscles. The body responds to almost any
threat, real or perceived, using this ancient defence system which is meant to operate for
short periods only or just long enough to get us to safety or defeat our adversary. Left in this
state for prolonged periods, a number of the body systems deteriorate. Eventually,
prolonged stress can leadto death.

2.0 CONSEQUENCES OF STRESS

In stressology, the understanding of the effects of stress and how it overloads the coping
resources as well as dealing with the demands placed on us by circumstances can also be
easily understood by visualising the negative effects of stress in 3 different consequences:

a) The Physical Consequences

b) ThePhysiological Consequences; and

c) TheOccupational Consequences.

2.0.1 The Physical Consequences

Stress does not automatically cause one to be ill physically. Its impact on health could
bemediated by a combination of personality variables, genetic makeup, upbringing
andenvironment. Studies have shown that about 80% of visits to the doctors are for stress
relateddisorders (Scala, 2000). But the clear physical consequences once under
prolongedstress will make the immune system weakened thereby vulnerable to illnesses.

Glucocorticoids, the stress hormones cause the white blood cells to migrate to the bone
marrow, making them less available for combating diseases. As the immune
systemweakens, increased susceptibility to cancer tends to become more prominent as well
asweakening of the muscles and glands. Cardiovascular diseases (heart diseases and
stroke)are some of the common outcomes. Others physical consequences are ulcer,
diabetes,hypertension, cholesterol levels rises, ulcers, spastic colons and other
gastrointestinaldisorders such as acidity levels brought on by the elevation of stress
hormone cortisol, andnocturnal bruxism (teeth grinding at night).

2.0.2 The Psychological Consequences

Stress is always directly associated with emotional difficulties and behavioural problems. As
too much demand is placed on the body, the ability to relax and enjoy life is affected.This in
turn creates a host of other effects such as anxiety, phobias, panic attacks, depression,
obsessions, compulsions and other psychiatric disorders. Other common effectsare
insomnia, aggression, alcoholism, other habitual addictions and divorce.

2.0.3 The Occupational Consequences

Stress and the inability to function as a result of thoughts, fears, phobias and
concentrationfailure are always directly related. The inability to cope with life stressors
leads to lowerproductivity, absenteeism, and increased mistakes on the job as well as
accidents. Occupational consequences are always directly related to both psychological
(emotional)and physical consequences and in turn create major financial losses to the
individual andthe organization. Even insurance companies are plagued by a surge in claims
for disability due to stress-related disorders.

3.0 Managing Stress at the Workplace: The Application of Wan Hussin’s 3 dimensional
Stress Management Model

This model was developed by Wan Hussin to facilitate the understanding of stress and its
coping strategies (Wan Hussin, 2007a, 2007e, 2007f). There are three stages or dimensions
in this model through which stress can be effectively handled.

 The initial stage, called the Unexpected Stage, is the survey part, which is the
collection of information and identifying all the unexpected stress contributors, so
significant in shaping the stress situation one is facing, using various field methods.

 The second stage which is the transformation stage is termed as the Projection
Stage. It is the crucial stage whereby findings from Stage 1 (The Unexpected Stage) is
transformed using various available mechanisms, i.e. the various Stress Projection
Types which uses the various stress tests and inventories to determine the extent of
the problem. Results from the second stage are then mapped (i.e. Mapping the
Findings) in Stage 3 (the Expected Stage) which leads to the formulation of the
suitable stress coping strategies.
  The third stage, called the Expected Stage, is the mapping stage using the
transformation results from the second stage which is the process of mapping out
the expected findings from the initial stage using a practical transformation process.

In other words, if one perceives a situation to be threatening in some way, then he or she
will react with the fight-or-flight response and experience stress. If one perceives it as non-
threatening, thenhe or she is not going to be stressed by it. In fact, the way one thinks about
things determines how he or she will experience the world.

3.0.1STAGE 1 - The Unexpected Stage

The Unexpected Stage is the stage where stresses are surveyed and information gathered
are booked in a stress diary. Also called stress journaling, it is an act of writing about feelings
of stress, as well as exploring potential solutions to these problems. Studies have shown
that the use of stress diary or stress journaling can soothe and help you process difficult
feelings and also take proactive steps against future stress. For example, if you are stressed
at home, is it when your child behaves defiantly, or when your spouse acts indifferently
towards you. In this stage, therefore, the objective is to realistically identify those things
that make your life difficult on a regular basis. Admitting that you are stressed is already a
battle half won; identifying its probable sources will eventually complete the stress battle.

3.0.2 STAGE 2 - Stress Projection Types

The various Stress Projection Types are the various stress tests and inventories that could be
used to determine the extent of the problem and these tests could vary due to various
circumstances:
3.0.2.1 Office Stress –
A survey of the workplace to find out what is creating stress for the workers, and a test of
how well the organization addresses the workers’ problems it produces. Office Stress also
comes in 2 parts: The Organization Survey and the People Survey. The Organization Survey is
only appropriate if there is a problem with stress in your workplace, so you need to do the
People Survey first which will tell you if you have a problem - if there’s no evidence of such a
problem, then the organization Survey isn’t really worth doing.

3.0.2.2 Organization Survey–

This is done to determine, if there is a problem with stress at the workplace. Questions
asked include issues like stress-related sickness absence, overall sickness absence rate in the
organization, is sick leave stress-related or work-related, workplace stress policy and its
coverage on health and safety, equality and human resources issues. From the questions
above, a sketch of the workplace, often termed as Workplace StressMap may be produced
using the percentage of workers answering 'yes' to the above questions. To identify the
main stressors, a Likert Scale of 1 (for strongly disagree) to 5 (for strongly agree) is used for
each question.
3.0.2.3 People Survey–
This survey only covers stressors at work and it is not meant to include stress caused outside
the workplace, although that can add to the work-related stress. Questions are intended to
determine whether employees are stress or not, their level of stress, any symptoms (e.g.
headache, depression, indigestion, anxiety, etc.), what makes them stressed at work (e.g.
demands of the job, control, work-life balance, relationships at work, change, conflicting
roles, working environment). Again, the Likert Scale of 1 (for strongly disagree) to 5 (for
strongly agree) is used.

3.0.2.4 Other stress tests that can be conducted are:

 The Simple Stress Test – a test about personal relationship that requires a score to
be assigned for each event according to the number of times it has happened in the
last 12 months.
 Holmes-Rahe Life Readjustment Scale – a set of questionnaires that measure life
changes set out to study whether there is any relationship between the
number,seriousness and pervasiveness of changes, and the frequency of illness.
 Stress Symptom Quiz – used to examine the different ways that stress may or may
not be affecting you, and provides ways to deal with stress symptoms that you may
have.
 Stress Reliever Personality Test – a self assessment tool that allows you to answer a
few questions about your lifestyle and personality, and then direct you to stress
relievers that may fit best for your particular situation.
 The Type A Behavior/Personality Quiz – to test whether personality characteristics
have something to do with being competitive and work-obsessed that can bring an
increased risk of health problems.
 Anatomy of Illness Test
 Stress Hardiness Inventory
 Workplace Stress Test

3.0.3 STAGE 3 - The Expected Stage

Primarily, this is the mapping stage, the stage where the findings based on responses from
the questionnaires or quizzes from Stage 2 are put into practice, generally termed as
mapping the findings. In this stage, the stress situations and its degree of seriousness are
identified. Thus this stage is termed as the Mapping the Expected Stage and the following
are the recommendations:

3.0.3.1 Physical Consequences:

 Exercise regularly for the physical and mental well-being. It provides a stress release
and keeps the body healthy
3.0.3.2 Psychological (Emotional) Consequences:
As some are born more emotionally reactive, others may have a more sensitive physiology
and find that stress impacts their blood pressure, induces headaches, or causes other
physical responses. Some important basic self care strategies are (Wan Hussin, 2007c):
 Sleep - a very important for the emotional and physical wellbeing as lack of sleep
can negatively impact the ability to handle stress.
 Maintain proper nutrition.
 Maintain social support to keep us healthier and happier,

3.0.3.3 Occupational (Behavioural) Consequences:

How we respond to stress in our lives is shaped by our early experiences and cemented over
time. Our habits play a role as well.
 Meditation – helps in relaxing and improving concentration
 Yoga - structured set of exercises and body movements with deep breathing and
mind concentration postural habits and these postures are non-dynamic, passive and
stable, resulting in increased flexibility of skeletal structure.
 Bubble bath can rinse away tension and leave the body pampered and the mind free.
 Massage – a great stress reliever that also feels good.
 Stress journaling - similar to updating the stress dairy

3.0.3.4 Stress Management Strategy

Managing stress can be dealt with in 3 main strategies namely:
a) Manage stress and make sure they are held to a minimum
b) Exercise mentally and physically so that the effects of stress can be faced down or
dissipated. Regular exercise can train the body to deal with the physical stress and
help normalize blood chemistry. The brain must be trained to deal with stress; if we
don’t train it sensibly; our emotional health suffers and can produce over-reactions
to minor stressors.
c) Eat correctly and use supplements sensibly so that unavoidable stress cannot exert
lasting effects on health. The saying that what you are is what you eat can never be
testified further

3.0.3.5 Stress Mastery

The path towards stress mastery is a lifelong. As the concepts and techniques become part
of the daily fabrics of our life, the capacity to thrive from stress continues to refine and
become more elegant. Try to undergo the following steps although the list can go on and
on:
 Determine honestly just how stressed are you by trying the various stress tests to
determine the real stress level.
 Keep a stress diary to identify those things that make your life difficult on a regular
basis and make a plan of action.
  Establish priorities by listing down things you intend to accomplish in the following
order- tomorrow, next week, next month, next 6 months, next year, next 5 years,
next decade, etc. Prioritize the daily tasks according to the order of importance and
urgency. People with the most stress are those who cannot prioritize their goals or
even their daily tasks.
 Set clear and realistic goals.
 Improve communication skills with others and learn to compliment others, talk and
think positive and listen to others as well.

4.0 ALTERNATE APPROACH:

Three-step way to manage workplace stress:

Step1: Check for stressful factors:

Begin by reviewing your records. Ask yourself the followingquestions:

• Have you received any customer complaints describingan employee as irritable or

stressed?

• Has there been an unusual amount of absenteeism?

• Has there been any verbal or physical conflict amongemployees?

• Is there a high employee-turnover rate that might becaused by workplace stress?

• Has there been an increase in stress-related workers’compensation claims?

• Have workers made any complaints in which stresscould be a contributing factor?

A “yes” to any of these questions doesn’t necessarily proveundue stress. It does, however,
mean that you need to assess thesituation in more detail.Ask these questions:

Do job characteristicsencourage stress?

• Does the job require more or less skill than the employeehas to offer?

• Is there a lack of task variety?

• Does the job call for high performance but little decisionmakingcontrol?

• Must the employee serve demanding or difficult customers,clients, or other

employees?

• Does the job involve nontraditional hours, rotating shiftwork, or substantial

overtime?

Does the work environmentcontribute to harmful stress?

• Is the workplace unsafe?

 • Does the environment make workers uncomfortable inany way?

• Is there a high risk of violence?

Do organizational practicesresult in stress?

• Is there a lack of communication and guidance about howto resolve problems?

• Do managers fail to recognize employees for jobs well done?

• Are there limited opportunities for skill development andadvancement?

• Has morale been affected by downsizing or job insecurity?

• Are job descriptions and expectations unclear?

• Has there been any verbal, sexual, or other harassment?

• Are assignments made unfairly rather than based on merit?

After pinpointing potential causes of stress, ask employeeshow they view these factors and
encourage them to suggestsolutions. You can gather such information informally, in
smallgroups or individually. An anonymous questionnaire is also agood way to gain
feedback.

Step 2:2Activate measures to reduce stress

If jobs involve high demand, low control, repetition of simple tasks, or hurried pace, try
these ideas:

• Retrain employees, and rotate them through different jobs.

• Encourage employees to delegate responsibility.

• Supply a greater variety of tasks.

• Experiment with giving employees more authority tomake decisions.

• Reorganize the job to include other skills.

• Offer education and skill development for employees.

If jobs require interaction with demanding people,lessen stress with these strategies:
• Provide training in communication skills that includes waysto handle difficult
people and defuse hostile situations.

• Ensure that employees can refer a troublesome person totheir supervisor if they’re
unable to handle an unpleasantsituation.

• Hold group meetings at which employees can discusstheir mutual problems with
one another.

For jobs involving high vigilance, consider the followingstress-management methods:

 • Support and recognize employees for good work.

• Urge workers to help plan and implement job changes toreduce the level of
vigilance required for certain jobs.

• Require people to take regular breaks if they have a habitof working straight
through.

For jobs with non-traditional work schedules,consider thefollowing:

• Involve employees in the planning when switching themfrom traditional to

nontraditional work hours.

• Rethink the idea of overtime. Substantial overtime mayintensify workplace stress

to the point that it isn’t worthwhile. If voluntary overtime isn’t possible, try flexible
overtimehours to accommodate employees’ needs.

If workers say that organizational practices are causingstress put the following ideas into
place:

• Let people participate in evaluating and reorganizing theways they do their jobs.
• Teach managers and supervisors to be effective communicators,coaches, and
facilitators.
• Help employees understand their limits, and encouragethem to alert their
supervisor if they feel they are approachingthose limits.
• Train supervisors to recognize and reward employeeachievement.
• Hold employee recognition events.
• Grant special benefits, such as employee-of-the-monthawards, for outstanding
performance.
• Encourage anonymous feedback with a suggestion box ortoll-free phone number.

If employees feel that the work environment is stressful, hereare some approaches that
have proved successful in otherorganizations:
• Provide training to help employees perform a wider range of job assignments.
• Support employees’ efforts to educate them and improve their skills.
• Job descriptionsthat define responsibilities and lines of authority.
• Give special attentionto employees who report to morethan one supervisor.
Consider simplifying the supervisory relationship. Train supervisors to be sensitive to
the problems faced by employees with more than one supervisor.
• Furnish benefits and privileges equally to all employees.
• Generate clear policies regarding hiring, promotions, discrimination, harassment,
and disciplinary actions. Be sure everyone understands these policies and follows
them consistently.
• Inform employees of their legal rights and what steps the organization will take to
address harassment or discrimination.
 • Institute a stress-management workshop for employees during uncertain economic
times.
• Develop violence-prevention plans if security risks exist.

Step3:Track progress
After you’ve created a stress-reduction plan, monitor it to assure that progress is made.
Written records are useful tools to see if employees feel less stressed and approve of your
changes. Stress management is a trial-and-error process. If your changes don’t improve the
situation, revise the plan. Keep a record of what’s working, and make adjustments as
needed. Success will follow.

Organizational Strategies for coping with stress

This will help to control employee turnover, absenteeism, and as a result productivity will
improve.

• Health maintenance –many organizations provide facility of gym, swimming pools as

well as psychological counselling. They hold seminars, lectures and workshops to
help employees in understanding the nature and source of stress and the way to
reduce it.
• Selection and Placement – the basic hiring process should be based upon matching
skills, personality and work requirements. Being placed in a job which is not
compatible with your ability and temperament can be highly frustrating and stress
producing.
• JobEnrichment – This will help to reduce stress caused by monotony, routine work,
and work ambiguity. Work overload or under load. Work enrichment enhances
motivation and leads to more challenging assignments.
• EffectiveandEquitablePerformanceAppraisalandrewardsystem – It is necessary that
performance be appraised in an objective and nonbiased manner and the rewards
be clearly and proportionally related to the performance. The employee must know
what s expected of him and what exactly he is accountable and responsible for. This
will reduce the role conflict and reduce stress

Conclusion

Stress is always a complex issue but will be even more complex is left unattended.Various
recommendations arealso presented to combat the physical, physiological (emotional) and
occupational(behavioral) consequences of stress.If an organization reduces the various
forms of stress in its workplaces, the organization will lower stressrelated costs, increase
productivity and decrease employee related costs thus increasing its bottom line.By
acknowledging that stress is as an experienceof change however, individuals can identify
strategiesto help them to respond healthily to stressin the workplace.
REFERENCES:

Journal references:

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Hussin’s 3 Dimensional Models, Pranjana: The Journal of Management
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Books referred:

11. Cooper, Cary L., Dewe,Philip J.,O’Driscoll, M.,Organizational Stress - A review and
critique of theory, research and applications, Sage Publications, New Delhi(2009
reprint) p 150-169.
12. Schafer, W. (2004) Stress Management, Wadsworth Cengage Learning, India Edition,
fourth edition (2000) p 329-353.