The Stress Phase Model - Essay Example

The alarm phase

            This is the stage, in which the employee comes face to face with the stressor. During this stage of stress response, the brain will send an emergency signal to other body parts letting them know of the dangerous situation the individual is facing. The individual can either choose a fight or flight reaction. For example, during a bank robbery, an individual may decide to ‘fight’ the robbers or run away from the scene ‘flight’. In an organizational setting, this phase does not usually affect the performance of an employee. This means that too little stress is unlikely to affect the productivity of employees (Quick, Wright, Adkins, Nelson & Quick, 2013).

The resistance phase

            At this stage, an employee will attempt to resist the stressor. This process is initiated so that the individual can regain balance. It is at this stage that the body puts up a fight, and the human body is likely to achieve its maximum activity levels. The body digs deep into its reserve, and an individual usually feels under pressure and is usually very anxious.  According to the Yerkes-Dodson Law curve, it is at this stage that employees in an organization reach their peak performance. This goes to prove that people will usually work their best when under pressure. However, at this stage, an individual’s body is usually very weak and is vulnerable to diseases due to a weakened immune system.

The exhaustion phase

            At this stage, the human body is no longer able to cope with the stress and the body’s adaptive mechanisms collapse. At this stage, the stress is too much, and the body is usually unable to fight the stressor. At this phase, an individual is usually tired, broken, and exhausted. An individual is likely to have sleeping problems, raised blood pressure, digestive issues and is also at a higher risk of suffering from heart disease. Additionally, the individual may suffer from serious conditions like memory loss, mental illness, and impaired judgment. The individual may break down due to feelings of hopelessness, depression, loneliness, fear, helplessness trauma, and loss. During this stage, the productivity of the employee is likely to hit rock bottom. This is because too much stress will interfere with the employee’s capability of performing more so when it comes to completing complex tasks (Quick, Wright, Adkins, Nelson & Quick, 2013).

            As such, stress management strategies should mainly be aimed at ensuring that employees in an organization are healthy and performing at their peak. It is important to ensure that the well-being of employees is looked into as the organization tries to improve productivity.