Management of Stress - Essay Example

Stress management Q There are thought to be both individual and situational factors that may lead to individuals suffering from stress at work. From your own experience of work or university describe a situation in which you feel you suffered from stress. Explain the different stressors in terms of individual factors and situational factors. Which, in your view, were the most important in leading to your experience of stress? Hurrell (2010, p. 296) defines occupational stress as “the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker.” Job-related stress is an inherent aspect of job irrespective of individual’s passion, commitment, resources, pay, job role etc. One such stress is the one that an individual at the top management or leadership role constantly experiences due to various factors. Individuals at top management level are responsible for different outcomes with respect to the work/job task, individuals, organisation and customers/clients. It could be only one outcome, of say achieving a particular score in customer/client satisfaction, for the manager, which is linked to effective management of people; delivering efficient work productivity through people’s efforts and commitment; efficient resources and performance monitoring etc. To achieve such multidimensional outcome, the manager possesses all qualities such as knowledge, passion and commitment, discipline and focus, and emotional balance; yet, the expectations attached to his/her job role cause substantial stress. Such stress experienced by the individual at the top management could be a result of both individual factors and situational factors. Such stress can be identified with the Job Demand-Job Control model of stress explained by Karasek (1979; cited by Sonnentag & Frese, 2003), which identifies the potential conflicts between job demands and decision authority of the manager; the latter usually guided by a variety of policies and procedures. Such clashes are the most serious forms of stresses that affect individual’s psychological health (Sonnentag & Frese, 2003). In general, factors causing stress have been divided into two categories: individual and situational factors. Individual factors include age, personality, marital status; and situational factors include family situation, physical working conditions, job role/tasks, organisational culture, job security, and also interpersonal relations (Hurrell, 2010). Usually, external/situational factors interact with individual factors to modify, increase or reduce, job stress. French et al., (2011) identify two types of individual personality, Type A and Type B; the former being competitive, ambitious, disciplined, focused, and emotionally balanced type and the latter being the opposite of former. They assert that the Type B personality experiences relatively lesser stress compared to the Type A; however, the point to be noted is that the people with Type A personality usually have better chances of growing up the ladder and occupying top management positions compared to the Type B. This could be a reason for the stress experienced by people at top management positions, which coincides with the reasons for their stress. Here, situational/external factors such as expectations, job demands, working conditions etc complement the individual factors in intensifying the stress levels of an individual. In the case of stress experienced by a top management professional, individual factors, such as his/her own personality type, causes immense stress compared to the external factors. For a leader in the top management position, it is important that this leader works with a variety of other personality types, which can include the extreme Type B individuals also. For an individual that is disciplined, focused and committed to his/her work/task, working with Type B individuals can cause the Type A leader to reach the burnout stage eventually. Such burnout causes physical and mental exhaustion and proceeds further in three stages: emotional exhaustion; insensitivity to others; and negative self-esteem and self-concept (Sims, 2002). Individual differences in personality types causes work to be viewed differently, which adds to shared occupational stress. Individuals of Type A tend to hide their feelings, causing a build up of emotional stress, which eventually results in negativity about themselves and surroundings thereby bringing out negative consequences in terms of work outcomes and individual’s life situations as they tend to carry the work stressors outside and vice versa (Ford, 2004). To point out a particular type of stressor as more severe is quite difficult as both, individual and situational, stressors have an impact on each other in worsening the stress condition and its outcomes in the long run. However, studies indicated that individual stressors tend to cause more mental and emotional harm than situational factors, and the former can be controlled with individual counseling and training on self-realization and better handling of self and others; in short, individual stress can be lowered by increasing emotional intelligence (Ciarrochi et al., 2002; Matthews et al., 2006). Therefore, the ability to identify the factors causing stress and managing the same would be essential for achieving desired outcomes in terms of mental and physical health, and work. Q.2 Think of a job role you know well. This can be a job you have done yourself or one you know well from observing it. What aspects of that job might lead to stress in an individual? What could the organisation do to prevent this happening? Describe this in terms of primary, secondary and tertiary interventions. (1000 words) One of the job roles that is potentially very stressful is that of a staff at fast-food restaurant where the job requires the staff members to perform multiple tasks at the same time. Mullins (2010) describes hotel job as one of the most stressful jobs and that such a job role requires the staff to be constantly at the service of its customers, maintain the premises neat and clean, and also manage the production activities in some small restaurants. Moreover, staff is also required to work extra hours depending upon requirement that could emerge based on demand, absenteeism due to injury, ill health or other personal reasons. In addition, mental and emotional demands from customers and management add to their stress levels. Such intense and high-expectation jobs require effective management to avoid stress of various forms. Effective management can be achieved through various types of interventions at different levels. Implications of employee stress are huge on organisations in terms of finance, reputation, performance and sustenance. Hence, organisations adopt different practices to reduce and manage employee stress. Murphy (1988; cited in Liukkonen, Cartwright & Cooper, 2012) has divided stress management interventions into primary, secondary and tertiary categories. In general, primary interventions to reduce stress include pacing of work activities; job redesign to avoid any occupational hazards and accidents; and safety and hygiene of premises and resources used (Palmer & Gyllensten, 2008). For small-scale restaurant, specific primary interventions could include staff training to handle and perform various work activities in a manner that minimises physical and mental stress. Secondly, their work activities need to be organised in a manner that increases efficiency and reduces wastage of time as well as risks of physical injuries. For instance, systematic and planned placement of various equipment required to perform different activities can be a significant method to reduce stress. Thirdly, maintaining hygienic environment can assist in preventing illnesses caused due to diseases; and safe handling of equipment such as fuel, sharp objects and utensils can reduce the risk of injury and fire-related accidents. Palmer and Gyllensten (2008) explain that secondary interventions to minimize work-related stress are those activities that help individuals cope with stress, relaxation techniques, educational activities and health promotion programmes. This category is mainly concerned with detection and management of stress through training and skill development (Zolnierczyk-Zreda, 2002). The fast-food restaurant can conduct stress management training sessions to modify or control their reactions to stressful situations, especially while dealing with irate customers; secondly, they can be trained to manage their work with discipline and order. The staff members can also be taught some muscle relaxation exercises that can be performed periodically, which will help in relieving physical stress on a daily basis. This can be applicable to both front line and back end staff members as both categories of staff indulge in lifting, bending, and other physical activities. Finally, tertiary interventions are those that employers adopt to minimize the negative outcomes of stress and are directed based on symptoms presented by the stressed employee. These interventions help the individuals to cope with stress by treating the symptoms of stress effectively. These approaches often referred to as the Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) include activities such as counseling, coaching and guidance to psychologically stressed individuals (Harrington, 2012). Initiatives towards this intervention usually include rehabilitation and recovery assistance to the stressed employees. Execution of tertiary intervention usually requires professional medical practitioner along with management team. Such interventions require effective coordination and understanding between the parties involved in care-giving process. In their report, Blaug, Kenyon and Lekhi (2007) explain that tertiary intervention is performed in planned stages, which include assessment of the stressed employee’s condition; planning and setting objectives related to desired condition and returning to work; coordinating with different entities involved in treatment; executing the plan and providing all required resources to the employee and other entities; and finally, monitoring the employee’s condition and evaluating the plan if required. The most important and challenging aspect of tertiary intervention is adherence to the plan by the employee and care-giving professionals. For the fast-food restaurant, tertiary interventions can include contracting a medical therapist that can extend assistance to stressed employees as per the need. It would be good practice to assist stressed employees in performing physiotherapeutic activities to manage physically stressed/injured individuals, which is the most common form of stress found in such workplaces. Other than that, counselling and effective feedback and encouragement by the manager also have significant impact on emotionally stressed staff members. To conclude, management of stress can be achieved through different levels of interventions and these interventions must be customized as per the job role or nature of stress. Prevention of stress through primary and secondary interventions would be the most appropriate approaches to stress management. Physical stress is more evident than mental stress and also can be addressed with effective tertiary interventions. However, managers should be able to detect mental or psychological stress experienced by the employees due to various individual and situational factors. Organisations can benefit from preventive measures, effective assistance and timely detection of stress and therefore prevent the negative and detrimental outcomes of stress. References Blaug, R, Kenyon, AM and Lekhi, R. 2007. Stress at work: A report prepared for The Work Foundation. London: The Work Foundation. (71-87). Available from, http://www.theworkfoundation.com/downloadpublication/report/69_69_stress_at_work.pdf (Accessed 18 April 2014). Ciarrochi, J, Deane, FP and Anderson, S. 2002. Emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between stress and mental health. Personality and Individual Differences, 32: 197-209. French, R., Rayner, C., Rees, G. and Rumbles, S. 2011. Organizational behaviour. Hoboken: Wiley. Ford, S. 2004. Workplace stress: Environmental and individual factors. Australian Psychology Society. Available from http://www.psychology.org.au/publications/inpsych/stress/ (Accessed 17 April 2014). Harrington, R. 2012. Stress, health and well-being: Thriving in the 21st century. Belmont, CA: Cengage learning. (Ch.9; 243-300) Hurrell, J.J. Jr. 2010. Occupational stress. In Levy, BS, Wegman, DH, Baron, SL, and Sokas, RK’s Occupational and environmental health: Recognizing and preventing disease and injury. 6TH Ed. New York: Oxford University Press. (296-313). Liukkonen, P, Cartwright, S and Cooper, C. 2012. Costs and benefits of stress prevention in organizations: Review and new methodology. In Cooper, C and Kompler, M’s Preventing stress, improving productivity: European case-studies in the workplace. London: Routledge. (33-51). Matthews, G et al., 2006. Emotional intelligence, personality and task-induced stress. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 12 (2); 96-107. Mullins, L. 2010. Essentials of organisational behaviour. 9th ed. Harlow: FT/Prentice Hall. Palmer, S and Gyllensten, K. 2008. Stress management for employees: an evidence-based approach. In Kinder, A, Hughes, R and Cooper, CL’s Employee well-being support: A workplace resource. England: John Wiley & Sons. (Ch.20; 239-250). Sonnentag, S and Frese, M. 2003. Stress in organizations. In Borman, WC, Ilgen, DR and Klimoski, RJ. (Eds.). Comprehensive Handbook of Psychology, Vol 12, Industrial and Organizational Psychology. New York: Wiley. (453-492). Sims, R. 2002. Managing organizational behavior. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing. (Ch.5; 109-134). Zolnierczyk-Zreda, D. 2002. The effects of worksite stress management intervention of changes in coping styles. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics. 8(4); 465-482. Available from, http://www.ciop.pl/3506 (Accessed 18 April 2014). Read More