STRESS MANAGEMENT

Name of the student: GAAYATRI DEVI S Register No College : 3511010206 : SRM SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

ABSTRACT
Stress is a part of day-to-day living of every individual. The reason for stress differs from person to person. Therefore, it is necessary for an individual to study the root cause of stress both in his personal life and in an organization. The main objective is to identify the major factors that causes stress among the workers. This study deals with different types of stressors, factors that causes stress at work, effects of stress, stress management techniques. Occupational stress is a major hazard for many employees. Hence an attempt was made to study about the stress in an organization.

KEY WORDS

Stress Consequences and coping Stressors Workload Job design

INTRODUCTION:
Stress is a part of day-to-day living of every individual. The college students may experience stress in meeting the academic demands, people on the job, business men may suffer stress to reach office in time and to complete the projects on time and even the house hold ladies may experience stress in managing the home affairs and to look for the maid servant. The reasons for the stress differ from person to person. The stress people experience should not be necessarily treated as harmful. But a high level of Stress can be a serious threat to the personality traits of the Individual and can cause physiological and social problems.

DEFINITION:
Hans selye in 1979 defined Stress as It is not necessarily something bad it all depends on how you take it. The stress of exhilarating, creative successful work is beneficial, while that of failure, humilation or infection is detrimental". Stress can therefore be negative, positive or neutral.

STRESS MANAGEMENT:
The word stress is derived from the Latin word stringere, meaning to draw tight. Stress can be managed if one understands the reasons that cause stress and the level of stress. He/she should also try to estimate if he could bring about any change in the environment that can subsequently reduce stress.

Job stress in organizations is widespread. About half of all workers feel the pressures of job-related stress. Extensive research shows that excessive job stress can adversely affect the emotional and physical health of workers. The result is decreased productivity, less satisfied, and less healthy workers. There are two ways of looking at stress. One is Good stress helps keep us alert, motivates us to face challenges, and drives us to solve problems. These low levels of stress are manageable and can be thought of as necessary and normal stimulation. Another type of stress is Distress, on the other hand, results when our bodies overreact to events. It leads to what has been called a "fight or flight" reaction. Figure shows work stressors and non-work stressors Work related stressors Physical environmental stressors Role related stressors Interpersonal stressors Organizational stressors
STRESS

Individual differences Perception Job experience Social support Locus of control Hostility

Consequences of distress 1. Physiological Heart disease Ulcers High blood pressure Headaches Sleep disturbances More illness 2. Psychological Job dissatisfaction Depression Exhaustion Moodiness Burnout 3. Behavioral

Non work Stressors

Lower job performance More accidents Faulty decisions Higher absenteeism Work place aggression

ROLE RELATED STRESSORS:

1. ROLE CONFLICT: Role conflict occurs when people face competing demands. 2. ROLE AMBIGUITY: Role ambiguity exists when employees are uncertain about their job duties, performance expectations, level of authority and other job conditions. 3. WORK LOAD: Work under load, receiving too little work or having tasks that do not sufficiently use our talents, is a possible stressor. However, work overload is a far more common stressor these days. Either employees have too much to do in too little time, or they work too many hours on the job. Long work hours lead to unhealthy life styles, which in turn cause heart disease and strokes. In Japan, death by over work is called Karoshi. Karoshi accounts for nearly 10,000 deaths each year in Japan. 4. TASK CONTROL: Employees are more stressed when they lack control over how and when they perform their tasks as well as the pace of work activity.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRESSORS:
1. ORGANIZATIONAL POLICIES: Policies provide guidelines for action. Unfavorable and ambiguous policies may affect the functioning of the individuals adversely and they may experience stress. Thus unfair and arbitrary performance evaluation, unrealistic job descriptions, frequent reallocation of activities, ambiguous procedures, inflexible rules, inequity in compensation etc. work as stressors.

2. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE: Structure refers to pattern of formal relationships within the organization. Lack of participation in decision-making, lack of opportunity for advancement, high degree of specialization, excessive interdependence of various departments, line and staff conflict etc. work as stressors. 3. ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESS: Faulty organizational processes like poor communication, poor and inadequate feedback of work performance, ambiguous and conflicting roles, and unfair control systems cause stress. 4. ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE: Most forms of organizational change are stressful. Mergers and acquisitions, downsizing, lay off are some of the common organizational stressors. Research has shown that several factors of job determine the levels of stress they generate.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS:

Some stressors, such as excessive noise, poor lighting and safety hazards are found in the physical work environment. Physical stressors also include poorly designed office space, lack of privacy, ineffective lighting and poor air quality.

INTERPERSONAL STRESSORS:
Interpersonal stressors include supervision, office politics and other conflicts experienced with people. The trend towards teamwork also seems to generate stressors that are more interpersonal because employees must interact more with coworkers. Sexual harassment, work place violence, work place bullying etc. also generate stress

FACTORS THAT CAUSES STRESS AT WORK:

Physical Conditions and Work Environment: Noise - whether external (traffic etc), or internal (machinery, open plan working), incorrect temperature - too hot or too cold, poor lighting and / or ventilation, overcrowding, badly designed furniture and equipment / dangerous equipment, poor maintenance, poor canteen, toilet, and rest facilities and exposure to possible violence/danger. Job Design: Unrealistic targets, boring or repetitive work, incorrect use of skills, poor/insufficient training, inadequate rest breaks and lack of / too much supervision. Shift work: Too much/too little work, isolation, lack of direction, lack of decision making, lack of control over the job, poor opportunities for peer support, time pressures, responsibility for lives, uncertainty about responsibilities and new technology. Contractual/Work Organization: Lack of job security/promotion prospects, too much unnecessary or badly planned change, poor communication from management, inadequate staffing levels, long hours culture, low pay, job insecurity, temporary/short term contracts, unsocial hours, continuous changes in work organization, financial constraints, flexible working, rigid hierarchies, punitive disciplinary procedures and excessive overtime.

Relationships: Harassment/discrimination, poor relationship with colleagues/managers, conflict between home and work responsibilities, unsympathetic

management, denial of training, assistance, support, complaints by patients, poor communication, social isolation and impersonal treatment.

THE EFFECTS OF STRESS ON THE ORGANIZATION:

The major effects faced by the organizations due to stress are as follows: Increased sickness absence, high absenteeism, accident rates Reduced productivity/work performance Poor timekeeping, Customer/patient complaints Conflict between managers, staff, colleagues, clients/patients Increased turnover of staff, Poor staff morale.

STRESS MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES:

A. Stress Diary - Finding Your Optimum Stress Levels Keeping a stress diary is an effective way of finding out what causes his/her stress, the level of stress he/she prefer, and his/her effectiveness under pressure. In this diary keep track of his stress levels and his feelings, everyday. In particular, note down stressful events. Record the following information:

Analyzing the Diary: After a few weeks one should be able to analyze this information. It may be interesting as he/she carry out the analysis to note down the outcomes of the jobs he/she was doing when he/she were under stress. This should give him/her two types of information:

One should be able to understand the level of stress you are happiest with and the level of stress at which one work most effectively. One may find that his/her performance is good even when he/she feel upset by stress.

One should know what the main sources of unpleasant stress in your life are. One should understand what circumstances make stresses particularly unpleasant, and should be able to see whether the strategies for handling the stresses are effective or not.

B. Psyching up- raising stress level to improve performance How to use tool: Where you are not feeling motivated towards a task, either because you are bored by it, or because you are tired, then you may need to 'psych yourself up'. This will increase your arousal so that one can perform effectively. One can try the following:

Focus on the importance or urgency of the task Set yourself a challenge - e.g. to do the job in a particular time or to do it to a particularly high standard

Break job down into small parts, do each part between more enjoyable work, and take satisfaction from the successful completion of each element.

Get angry about something!

C. Anticipating stress- Managing stress by preparing for it By anticipating stress one can prepare for it and work out how to control it when it happens. One can do this in a number of ways. D. Get a hobby or two, relax and have fun: Talk with friends or someone who trust about your worries/problems. 1. Learn to use your time wisely: 2. Set realistic goals and priorities 3. Practice relaxation techniques.

Theoretical Model of Stress Management: This model explores the relationship between Employment information, Status in work life and Infrastructure factor on coping strategy.

Employment Information

Status in work life

Coping strategy

Infrastructure factor

Figure shows Theoretical Model of Stress Management Conclusion: According to stress, the responses of the person differs based on the factors which are relating to. This indicates that the respondents have different perceptions based on those variables.